I was honored to join Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia this week for the annual Women Build event. As chair of the Council’s Human Services Committee for six years, I pushed for funding to ensure a path to safe and affordable housing for every resident. I’m grateful for Habitat for Humanity’s partnership in those efforts, and I look forward to supporting their work for many years to come.
Hello Neighbors:
Reforming our tax code is about ensuring a fair, shared responsibility for the programs and services—for safe and clean streets, for public infrastructure, for housing assistance, for healthy food access—that we all rely on. Our District must work for all of us, not just those who can most easily afford it.
Last week, the Council held a public hearing on revenue proposals for the fiscal year 2028 budget, a conversation long overdue. Proposals on the table included my bills to establish a wealth proceeds tax and to revise our land assessment methodology, as well as a new business activity tax, and changes to the sales, property, and income taxes.
Fundamentally, the tax and revenue proposals the Council discussed are about fairness.
In every budget, the Mayor and the Council are forced to make difficult choices. And far too often those choices include cuts to our social safety net. And asking our most vulnerable neighbors to “figure it out” as funds are drained from housing, TANF, Alliance, childcare assistance, and other programs is not fair.
Nor is fair that District taxpayers in the top 20 percent for income have lower effective tax rates than those in the middle.
On top of that, it has been six years since the Council has had a dedicated Finance and Revenue Committee to help guide us through this process. And those six years have been some of the most tumultuous for the District’s finances and revenues since the 1990s.
Even when the Council re-established the Tax Revision Commission, we made little progress in creating a more sustainable and equitable tax code.
The changes we have made to the tax code in the last six years have been made outside of the Committee process, without official recommendations from the Commission, through amendments to the budget.
I am of course proud of what we have been able to accomplish. That includes my work on the Homes and Hearts Amendment in 2021, which resulted in funding for housing for 2,000 residents. We made it happen through a small tax increase on our wealthiest residents without any discernable tax flight, analysis from the Tax Revision Commission later found.
But I also know there is a better way to do this. There is a better way to do fair taxes.
That’s why I introduced a bill to establish a permanent tax and revenue commission. District leaders need good, non-politicized information and recommendations to generate and vet proposals on a regular basis. Just as the size of our budget is not going to be changed by cuts here and there, we cannot achieve a sustainable financial picture with a piecemeal approach to revenue.
Not all of these tax proposals will generate a ton of revenue. Some of them will be revenue neutral. But they do all make our District more equitable and fair, and that’s what this is about for me.
And we shouldn’t wait to act. The Council should set up the next mayor for success by holding an official hearing this fall on the Wealth Proceeds Tax legislation and then reintroducing and passing the bill early next year so the CFO can start implementing it. It’s a straightforward proposal that protects ordinary wages and ensures that those who receive substantial returns from accumulated wealth contribute fairly to the city we all depend on.
Read more about how my proposals would help propel the District into an economic future that is stable, equitable, and fiscally responsible, one in which everyone pays their fair share.
COUNCIL UPDATES
Making ride-hailing work for drivers and passengers, especially those in wheelchairs
The Council’s Public Works & Operations Committee, which I chair, heard seven hours of testimony Monday on legislation that would reign in rogue ride-hailing services like Empower and overhaul the District’s for-hire-vehicle laws.
The bill, the For-Hire Passenger Service Reform Act of 2026, would equalize the regulatory burden on taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, establish simpler and clearer definitions based on types of service, and ensure autonomous vehicles used for pre-arranged rides are covered by for-hire vehicle laws.
It would require more transparency so that drivers know what they will be paid for rides, better enforce against geographic discrimination, and establish first-in-the nation service standards for wheelchair accessible vehicles and provide subsidies to support accessible vehicles and their drivers.
We have taxi and ride-hailing regulations that were drafted in a different time and they no longer meet the needs of passengers and drivers, especially for safety and consumer protection. Companies are especially failing in their responsibility to physically disabled passengers, who sometimes wait hours for rides. I was deeply moved by some of the testimony we heard, as reported by Zara Norman in the Washington Sun.
The bill would make clear that all for-hire vehicle activity is covered by the law, even if some or all of a trip in the District is free of charge – an attempted loophole employed by ride-hailing company Empower.
Multi-billion-dollar company Uber apparently is still operating from its 2012 playbook of fear mongering and propaganda, telling its customers that they can’t afford to protect drivers and passengers.
Anyone who takes ride-hailing in DC and elsewhere knows, the cost of trips has already been jacked up by surge pricing and other opaque algorithms. This bill includes price transparency and other protections to bring down those costs and keep more money in driver’s pockets.
If fares go up, the legislation isn’t the problem; the business model that boosts profits at the expense of drivers and customers is the problem. Even after all this time, Uber still seems to think it shouldn’t be held accountable in the way that other industries are.
Read more and review the legislation.
Food waste control is rodent control
Food waste control is rodent control, and I’m excited to see this strategy prioritized in the Rodent Education and Management Yields Results Amendment Act of 2026 that Councilmember Christina Henderson introduced and the Council approved on first reading earlier this week. The bill will help D.C. provide businesses rodent-proof trash cans and educate the public on effective rodent prevention and control.
I’ve worked with the Department of Public Works to expand their curbside collection contract for single-family dwellings and supported their project of placing smart bins throughout the city so that people who live in multifamily buildings have a convenient place to take food scraps. And while I previously thought of composting primarily from an environmental perspective—a way to slow our contribution to landfills—I now know that it can really make the difference in our rat prevention efforts, too, by making sure that rats do not have enough food to reproduce.
I get why people are frustrated and feel like they need to resort to rodenticide. But rodenticides don’t really solve the problem, and they can lead to a population rebound that makes things even worse. Plus, these chemicals harm children and wildlife. That’s why I was happy to work with Councilmember Henderson and Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George on this issue and bring our collective efforts to the floor in this bill.
Effective services for residents start with effective contracting and procurement
Contracting and procurement is the backbone of nearly every service provided to residents, from healthcare services to food programs and cybersecurity.
But the District’s system needs help. Vendors and agencies alike often face unanswered questions about contract status and are provided limited or nonexistent communication channels to report and resolve issues. Agencies are required to comply with unnecessarily burdensome requirements for small purchases. The Office of Contracting and Procurement is often unable to address underperforming contractors who fail to deliver city services in a timely manner or do not meet quality standards.
My bill, the Contracting and Procurement Reform Amendment Act of 2026, which was given initial approval by Council this week, increases transparency and streamlines the process by:
- Reducing barriers for businesses who want to work with the District.
- Creating greater transparency for the public and Council to improve public trust and oversight.
- Promoting communication between District agencies and the Office of Contracting and Procurement to increase efficiency and shorten timelines.
- Creating new avenues for the Council to measure and enforce contractor effectiveness and performance.
- Clarifying inconsistencies in the code and updating outdated language to bring the Procurement Practices Reform Act in line with current practices.
Fixing this system is essential to improving government performance and ensuring the District can meet the needs of its residents. The reforms in this legislation reflect four years of oversight by the Committee of Public Works & Operations and bring together ideas from across D.C. government about how to make procurement work more smoothly for vendors and agencies, and to get better results for residents.
Community comes together to name their new school
I’m thrilled that Ward 1 students will go to Alma Thomas Middle School beginning in 2028 thanks to my bill the Council advanced this week. Alma Thomas was an extraordinary Washingtonian and an accomplished artist and educator. During the naming process, we engaged feeder school communities, the Ward 1 and 2 Education Council, the Euclid School Community Working Group, ANCs, and other community organizations and residents through a series of community meetings, conversations, and surveys. Through that process, Alma Thomas emerged as a name with deep resonance in the community, and someone whose life and connection to this city can make students proud.
I have a policy of naming public spaces after women, people of color, and local leaders—not slaveholders, segregationists, or union-busters. That’s why I originally introduced the Dolores Tucker Middle School Designation Act of 2025, to honor Ms. Tucker’s lifelong commitment to public service and to the Ward 1 community. I believe there is a meaningful opportunity to honor Dolores Tucker in a way that reflects her connection to this particular neighborhood.
Last month I introduced the Dolores Tucker Way Designation Act of 2026 to symbolically name the street Ms. Tucker grew up on after her, and honor her deep roots in this neighborhood, her lifelong public service, and the lasting impact she had on Ward 1. I hope that someday, students will walk along Dolores Tucker Way to attend Alma Thomas Middle School.
We need to unlock new resources for affordable housing
Councilmember Rober White and I introduced legislation in February to make targeted, smart investments and policy adjustments to sustain and grow affordable housing; this week, as chair of the Housing Committee Councilmember White held a roundtable on our bill to gather input from key partners and stakeholders.
We need more flexibility to produce and preserve the housing residents need. One-off fixes are not enough. We’re proposing a modernized D.C. housing ecosystem that unlocks new resources and provides the versatility needed to respond to today’s challenges. I look forward to the legislation getting a full Council vote in the coming weeks.
BRIANNE IN THE COMMUNITY
I had the incredible opportunity to meet Magic Johnson and spend time with Michele Kang again at a recent Washington Spirit match. I grew up a big basketball fan in the 80s and 90s so meeting Magic (and Cookie!) was so exciting. Michele continues to be an incredible role model and inspiration in her work to support women’s sports and health. The world would be a better place with more Micheles.
Congratulations to Fernanda Ruiz on her 20-year anniversary at Mary’s Center. Mary’s Center is an exceptional provider of healthcare, education, and social services here in the District, and I have been proud to partner with them during my time on the Council.
COMMUNITY UPDATES
Leaf collection begins soon!
Can you be-leaf it?! It’s that time of year again. DPW leaf collection will begin on Monday, November 2, for residents in Section A. Find your section on DPW’s website and get all the information you need in the agency’s 2026-2027 leaf brochure.
Get out to vote and know your voting rights
Early voting in D.C. begins on Monday ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. You can find information about the November elections, registering to vote, and voting by mail or in person on the DC Board of Elections website, including ranked choice voting education materials.
Know your rights as a voter in the District. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a know-your-rights advisory with answers to key questions on unauthorized poll monitoring and voter intimidation.
Save the date for #EdFest26
The countdown to EdFEST 2026 is on. Get ready to explore school options for your student and learn more about the My School DC lottery for the 2027–28 school year.
- Dec. 5: Grades 9–12
- Dec. 12: PK3–Grade 8
Save the dates and stay tuned for registration details.
Learn more about urban planning in the District
Have comments or questions about DC 2050, the District’s next comprehensive plan? Join the DC Office of Planning for a neighborhood tour or virtual office hours to connect directly with planners and share what matters most to you. Learn what’s going on with DC 2050, share ideas for your neighborhood, and find out more about planning in the District.
IN THE NEWS
CITY CAST DC
What Happens Next With Taxes? All Eyes on JLG.
“Nadeau told City Cast DC on Wednesday that the Council should move ahead with the wealth proceeds tax. Failure to do so would mean the next administration won’t have those dollars as soon as possible to fund her ambitious social programs.
“We should instead set up the next mayor for success by holding an official hearing this fall and then reintroducing and passing the bill early next year so the CFO can start implementing it,’ Nadeau said.”
WASHINGTON SUN
Five Takeaways From the D.C. Council’s Big Hearing on New Taxes
WASHINGTON POST
7 ways the D.C. Council is weighing increasing taxes
“Introduced by outgoing council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), the tax would set a 3 percent surcharge on profits from wealth holdings, such as gains from the sale of stocks or bonds, dividends from investments in stocks, and rental income, among other sources.
“That in my mind makes the tax code a bit more equitable, making sure we’re asking wealthier residents to pay a more on their passive income while others hustling in their 9-to-5’s pay a higher marginal tax rate,’ Nadeau said in an interview.”
ABC7
DC considers new taxes on wealthy residents, businesses as lawmakers warn of cuts
“In an interview with 7News, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau said the District needs to examine whether its current tax system treats residents and businesses fairly.
“We need to make sure that we are closing loopholes, that everyone’s paying their fair share, and that we’re not balancing our budget on the backs of our most vulnerable residents,’ Nadeau said.”
WASHINGTON SUN
He’s Adapted to a Wheelchair. He Wishes D.C. Would, Too.
DC NEWS NOW
Duke Business Improvement District could be established along U Street Corridor
CALENDAR
Council Committee on Committee on Facilities, and Committee on Human Services Public Hearing
Wednesday, October 28, 1 pm | online and in-person at the John A. Wilson Building
The Committee will hear testimony on B26-0834 – Reeves Center Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act of 2026, legislation introduced by Chairman Mendelson at the request of the Mayor. This bill would allow for the private development of the Reeves Center in Ward 1.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1E Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, October 28, 7 pm | online
Tuesday, November 3
Council Committee on Housing Markup
Wednesday, November 4
The Committee will meet to consider B26-0597 – Housing Production Omnibus Amendment Act of 2026, legislation introduced by Councilmember Nadeau and Councilmember Robert White that would revamp and provide stability and predictability to the District’s affordable housing finance ecosystem.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, November 4, 7 pm | online
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B Monthly Meeting
Thursday, November 5, 6:30 pm | online
Tuesday, November 10, 12 pm | online and in-person at the John A. Wilson Building
Council offices closed in observance of Veterans Day
Wednesday, November 11
Tuesday, November 17, 12 pm | online and in-person at the John A. Wilson Building
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1D Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, November 17, 7 pm | online and in-person at the Mt. Pleasant Library (3160 16th Street NW)
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, November 18, 7 pm | online and in-person at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School cafeteria (3101 13th St NW)
CONTACT US
Brianne K. Nadeau | Councilmember | bnadeau@dccouncil.gov
Abigail Boshart | Deputy Committee Director | aboshart@dccouncil.gov
Nicole Bramstedt | Senior Legislative Assistant | nbramstedt@dccouncil.gov
Amanda Chulick | Senior Legislative Assistant | achulick@dccouncil.gov
David Connerty-Marin | Communications Director | dconnertymarin@dccouncil.gov
Sean Cuddihy | Committee Director | scuddihy@dccouncil.gov
Kara Dunford | Communications Manager | kdunford@dccouncil.gov
David Meni | Deputy Chief of Staff & Legislative Director | dmeni@dccouncil.gov
Maricela Nava | Deputy Chief of Staff & Scheduler | mnava@dccouncil.gov
Sabrin Qadi | Deputy Legislative Director | sqadi@dccouncil.gov
Norma Rivera | Constituent Services Specialist | nrivera@dccouncil.gov
Niccole Rivero | Chief of Staff | nrivero@dccouncil.gov
Eliza-Roche Robinson | Constituent Services Specialist | errobinson@dccouncil.gov