As part of preparations for the upcoming school year, I am visiting Ward 1 schools with the Department of General Services and school admin teams to identify building issues and ensure our facilities are ready to go in just a few weeks! Read more about these tours below.
WARD 1 UPDATE
Hello Neighbors:
I have opposed, from the start, the use of taxpayer dollars to support a stadium for a private organization, owned by billionaires, that will make them billions of dollars. The more the deal is analyzed, the more resolved I am in my position.
We have learned that subsidies are not needed to make this private venture viable.
We learned that the $4.4 billion we are being asked to spend on the stadium over 30 years will return only $1.3 billion to the city. And that the city would take in more tax revenue over 30 years by developing the entire parcel for mixed-use rather than dedicating 16 percent of it to parking garages and a stadium.
And we learned that without the stadium, the land would support nearly double the number of housing units – 5,000 more than the anticipated 6,000 in the current deal. This at a time when D.C. faces a housing crisis and an affordable housing crisis.
The deal still does not include a guaranteed timeline to build that housing. Without the guarantee of expedited housing development, there is no economic advantage to a stadium.
None of this is surprising – every piece of evidence, including decades of studies around the country, shows that football stadiums are net revenue losers for cities, as counterintuitive as that may seem.
Meanwhile, the massive development would sit alongside a beautiful and recovering section of the Anacostia River and protected lands on its edge. What happens at the site will impact the river and the environment for decades. But the plan lacks guarantees for sustainable and green development worthy of a world-class stadium project, and assurances about stormwater management, energy efficiency, and more.
And while the Commanders have agreed to a Project Labor Agreement on the stadium itself and on one hotel, there is much to be desired in commitments to labor for the rest of the project.
This is not an “either/or” – adding to labor protections but not housing or environmental guarantees would not be enough to make this a good deal for the residents of the District. Housing guarantees are essential, but without the other two, still insufficient.
The Council took six months to negotiate a solid deal with the Nationals back in 2004. Now, on a deal that is five times bigger, we are being asked to approve a massive proposal in less than three months, and vote on the latest version of it a week after it was revealed, and two days after more than 400 residents signed up to testify. All while the Council has been working on a challenging budget and a significant piece of housing legislation.
I love that the team is under new leadership, righting past management and cultural issues, and rebuilding the team with a winning record. The team wants to be in D.C. and will do very well financially without handouts from D.C. taxpayers. The city does not owe it to this private organization to subsidize its profits with residents’ money. Even the Washington Post editorial board said as much this morning.
The Council will vote tomorrow on the RFK stadium deal and I’ll be voting ‘no.’ The city does not owe it to this private organization to subsidize its profits with residents’ money.
A lot more happened this week, including a disappointing move to limit tenant rights, and passage of the FY2026 budget, including some notable wins for the District and investments in Ward 1, funding for Ranked Choice Voting, and a disappointing vote on the tipped minimum wage. You can read more on all of these below.
COUNCIL UPDATES
Standing with restaurant workers
I could debate the merits of various tipped minimum wage compromise proposals and the impact – positive or negative – I think they will have.
But this is the problem: the voters told us what they wanted when they voted overwhelmingly for I-82. Twice.
And the compromise proposed by my Council colleagues yesterday is not it.
When the Council agreed to implement this I-82 ballot initiative, we agreed to following the implementation schedule voters approved in 2023.
Restaurant workers, and the organizations that represent them, have been fighting this battle for wage protections for years. They shouldn’t have to keep fighting it. And this Council should not keep on telling the voters they don’t know what’s best for them.
I understand the challenges that restaurants face and I am very sympathetic to them. But a compromise that tears away at the foundational elements of I-82 is still a slap in the face to restaurant workers and voters.
Protecting tenant rights
I am greatly disappointed in the Council’s vote to reverse decades of protections for tenants under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act program. I reject the assumption that the only way to increase production of housing for new tenants is to take away rights from existing tenants.
When the Council returns in September, I’ll push for changes to the RENTAL Act that streamline the process for developers and guarantee shorter timelines and push to remove newly proposed limitations on TOPA rights.
FY26 Budget update
It’s been said a lot, and it’s true, that this year’s budget process was especially challenging. In a year of slowing revenues and increased demands, we knew coming in that we’d have to make some tough choices and not everything, not even everything we consider essential, would survive the budget process.
Earlier this week the Council approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2026 – which starts on October 1 of this year. The budget includes a lot of good things for Ward 1, such as funding for the Bancroft Elementary School annex and support for parks and plazas around the ward, including Amigos Park in Mount Pleasant, the triangle at 625 T Street across from the Howard Theatre, and renovations to Howard, Lincoln, and GALA theaters. It restored funds for ERAP and substance use disorder and behavioral services that were cut by the Mayor. And it addresses road safety issues through funding a comprehensive modernization of the District’s parking enforcement system and enabling the impoundment reckless drivers’ cars and vehicles with fake tags. I detailed these and other budget takeaways two weeks ago.
In the two weeks since that first vote on the budget, we managed to add funds for additional smart bins for composting, enhance DPW’s Clean City initiatives, and preserve funds for Rosemount Early Childhood Center.
I worked with Councilmember Christina Henderson at First Reading to identify funds for Ranked Choice Voting, as approved overwhelmingly by voters in Initiative 83 last November. I’d hoped that at Second Reading we would be able to fund the open primaries portion of I-83 and I supported a proposal by Councilmember Brooke Pinto to do that, but it ultimately did not have the votes.
The budget we approved is far better than the one we were presented by the Mayor in late May, but I’d be lying if I told you it’s a great budget.
In the end, we did not allocate all the funds I wanted for Alliance, the health care program for residents who are not eligible for Medicaid; the Childcare Subsidy Program; the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in-house DNA testing at the District’s crime lab, and several other programs. Even though we have sufficient funds, the Chief Financial Officer said he would not certify the expenditures, forcing the Council to remove $30 million from the budget.
(We did add language to the budget identifying Alliance, among other key programs, to be funded if the Chief Financial Officer’s September revenue forecast projects additional revenue above what is currently expected.*)
I’ll be working over the next year to protect workers and vulnerable residents, to push for policies and programs that make D.C. a better place to live and work, and to promote the interests of our Ward 1 neighborhoods and residents.
*The full list of programs to be funded, in order, “conditional” on additional funds becoming available: Childcare Subsidy Program in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education ($5.5 million); Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund ($1.5 million); Emergency Rental Assistance Program ($2.9 million); Department of Forensic Science for in-house DNA testing ($3.5 million); Department of Healthcare Finance to increase the Medicaid personal needs allowance ($500K in 2026 – 2029); Housing Production Trust Fund to be spent on housing construction ($10 million); Housing Preservation Fund ($1 milion); lead pipe testing in charter schools ($1 million); repeal Section 401 of the Amplified Sound Mitigation Act of 2024 ($1.8 million); Metropolitan Police Department for housing incentives for police officers ($638K); and DC Healthcare Alliance Program ($21.5 million).
BRIANNE IN WARD 1
HVAC issues, broken elevators, and leaking pipes at schools have been frustrating distractions for students and teachers alike. I recently brought the Department of General Services team to Cardozo Education Campus and Cleveland Elementary School to identify problems and map out a plan for fixes with school administrators so both buildings are ready to welcome students on the first day of the school year.
COMMUNITY UPDATES
Assistance with Pepco bills
Pepco recently launched its Customer Relief Fund administered by the Salvation Army to provide eligible Pepco customers relief of up to $300 per household. Please see the eligibility criteria and application details and share with neighbors who may benefit.
Visit our resources page for additional support with utility bills.
Celebrate Social Security with free ice cream
To commemorate the 90th anniversary of Social Security, join AARP DC for an ice cream party on August 5 at Here’s the Scoop featuring a DJ, prizes, and free ice cream!
Accessing Medstar Hospital via Metro Transit
If you’re headed to Washington Hospital Center, the VA Medical Center, or Children’s National from Ward 1, there are several travel options, detailed in the above map and in an information brochure from Metro. Need Assistance? Call 202-GO-METRO.
Mentoring opportunity in Ward 1
College Bound is looking for volunteer mentors to support 8th–12th grade students in the D.C. area as they pursue their college goals. College Bound provides free mentoring, SAT prep, and academic/career guidance. Mentors meet with a student once a week for two hours at one of nine locations during the academic year.
Ready to make a difference and change a life? Complete the Partner Application to get started.
CALENDAR
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B
Thursday, August 7, 6:30 – 9:30 pm | online
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1E
Wednesday, August 27, 7 pm | online
Note: ANCs 1A, 1C, and 1D will not be holding general meetings in August.
IN THE NEWS
WASHINGTON POST
Five winners and losers in D.C.’s 2026 budget
“But council members Christina Henderson (I-At Large) and Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) successfully championed an effort to include $421,000 for ranked-choice voting in the 2026 budget, followed by an additional $39,000 each of the following three years, mostly for notifying and educating voters about the change.”
THE 51ST
D.C. Council approves ranked-choice voting, rejects rollback of tipped wage law (for now)
“It is the will of the voters,” Nadeau said. “We can advance something that will make a difference very soon in how we elect leaders in the city.”
AXIOS
D.C. Council waters down I-82, affecting local restaurants
“The voters told us what they wanted. And this is not it,” said Council member Brianne Nadeau, who voted against the amendment. “This council should stop telling voters they don’t know what’s best.”
WASHINGTON POST
D.C. Council struggles with final vote on nearly $22 billion budget
“Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) said it was a loss for tenants’ rights and that she would be working on more changes before the final vote. ‘There’s so few opportunities as a renter to actually have a voice in what happens to the property you’re living in. TOPA is still really one of the only ways for that to occur,’ Nadeau said, arguing that ensuring a building’s affordability should come through TOPA, not by rolling it back.”
WASHINGTONIAN
DC Council Votes to Slow Down and Cap Tipped Wage Increases
“Restaurant workers and the organizations that represent them have been fighting this battle for wage protections for years, and they shouldn’t have to keep fighting it. And this council should not keep on telling the voters they don’t know what’s best for themselves.”
CONTACT US
Brianne K. Nadeau | Councilmember | [email protected]
Ariel Ardura | Committee Director | [email protected]
Abigail Boshart | Legislative Aide | [email protected]
Amanda Chulick | Legislative Analyst | [email protected]
David Connerty-Marin | Communications Director | [email protected]
Kara Dunford | Communications Manager | [email protected]
Estelle McKinney | Constituent Services Specialist | [email protected]
David Meni | Deputy Chief of Staff & Legislative Director | [email protected]
Maricela Nava | Deputy Chief of Staff & Scheduler | [email protected]
Sabrin Qadi | Senior Legislative Aide | [email protected]
Niccole Rivero | Chief of Staff | [email protected]
Eliza-Roche Robinson | Constituent Services Specialist | [email protected]