Housing in Washington, DC has become too expensive, too slow, and too frustrating for too many people. Families are struggling with rising rents, first-time buyers feel locked out, longtime residents fear displacement, and affordable housing units often sit empty while people remain on waiting lists. That is not just a housing shortage. It is a failure of execution.

Today, it takes an average of 13 months to fill an available affordable housing unit because of administrative delays. That is unacceptable in a city with urgent housing needs. My administration will treat every vacant affordable unit as a priority and modernize the systems that keep residents waiting. We will streamline applications, improve coordination across agencies, hold property managers accountable, and publicly track vacancy turnaround times so residents can see progress.

At the same time, DC must build more housing overall. We cannot lower costs if supply continues to lag demand. I will set a new five-year housing production goal that exceeds the city’s prior 36,000-unit benchmark, with clear affordability targets built in. Growth must include homes for working families, seniors, young professionals, and residents across income levels.

That also means reforming outdated rules that make housing more expensive to build. I support modernizing zoning, legalizing single-stair residential buildings up to eight stories where appropriate, and eliminating unnecessary parking minimums near transit. These changes can reduce construction costs, support more family-sized housing, and create walkable neighborhoods connected to Metro and bus service.

For renters, affordability is about more than base rent. Too many residents are being hit with junk fees, surprise charges, and hidden costs that quietly add hundreds of dollars to monthly housing expenses. I will crack down on predatory rental fees, strengthen transparency requirements, and enforce tenant protections already on the books.

Housing stability also requires protecting the safety net programs that keep people housed during hard times. I will preserve and strengthen the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, the Homelessness Prevention Program, and Project Reconnect so that temporary financial hardship does not become permanent displacement.

And while we build more housing overall, we must remain focused on deeply affordable housing for residents with the greatest need. I will protect the Housing Production Trust Fund and the Local Rent Supplement Program, while requiring better transparency on lease-up timelines and outcomes so public dollars lead to real housing placements.

My housing vision is simple: build more homes, protect renters, move families into units faster, and run the housing system with urgency and accountability. Washington, DC deserves a government that treats housing as a basic responsibility and delivers results.

Public safety is one of the most basic responsibilities of city government. Washingtonians deserve to feel safe walking home, waiting for the bus, running a small business, or raising a family in every ward of the city. Right now, too many residents feel that the system is stretched thin, reactive, and expensive without delivering the level of safety they deserve.

DC spent over $75 million in local funds on police overtime in FY2025, more than double the budgeted amount. Taxpayers are paying more while the city continues to struggle with staffing shortages and burnout. That is not a sustainable model. My administration will stabilize Metropolitan Police Department staffing, improve retention, modernize recruitment, and reduce dependency on excessive overtime. Savings should be reinvested into smarter prevention strategies and neighborhood safety.

But public safety is bigger than one agency. On day one, I will order a full operational review of the city’s public safety ecosystem, including MPD, Fire and EMS, the Office of Unified Communications, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, HSEMA, and the Department of Corrections. The goal will be clear missions, better coordination, less duplication, and faster service for residents.

We also need to strengthen emergency response capacity. Fire and EMS call volumes continue to rise, and residents deserve timely medical response when they dial for help. I will prioritize staffing growth, operational efficiency, and better mental health support for first responders who carry enormous stress in service to the city.

True public safety also means preventing violence before it happens. I will audit violence interruption programs to ensure they are evidence-based, accountable, and coordinated with schools, families, faith institutions, and community organizations. Programs should be measured by outcomes, not slogans.

For young people, the safest path is often opportunity. I will strengthen after-school and evening programming, including initiatives like Late Night Hype, so young residents have structured, safe spaces during high-risk hours. I will also expand the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program with stronger job matching, skills development, and long-term outcome tracking so it becomes a real pipeline to careers.

We must also improve how we handle rehabilitation and reentry. I will review the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services to assess staffing, processes, and results, with a focus on reducing recidivism through mental health care, family support, education, and social service connections.

My public safety vision is simple: professional policing, faster emergency response, real prevention, youth opportunity, and accountable systems that work together. Washington, DC deserves a mayor who understands that safety is built not only through enforcement, but through competence, coordination, and trust.

A great city must be a great place to raise a child. Families in DC should be able to trust that every student, no matter their ward, race, income, or neighborhood, has access to a safe classroom, strong academics, caring adults, and a real pathway to success. Too many families today are not confident that promise is being delivered.

Washington, DC spends more per student than nearly any jurisdiction in America, with annual spending often exceeding $30,000 per student when local, federal, and capital costs are combined. Yet too many educational outcomes still lag behind what families should expect from that level of investment. Parents are right to ask where the results are.

My education agenda begins with fixing the basics students need every single day: safe and functional school buildings, stable staffing, strong attendance, reliable transportation, mental health support, and classrooms where learning can happen consistently. When the basics break down, learning suffers no matter how strong the curriculum may be.

One of the clearest warning signs is absenteeism. Roughly 40 percent of DC students are chronically absent, and among high school students that number rises to nearly 58 percent. Chronic absenteeism is often a sign of deeper problems such as housing instability, transportation barriers, untreated mental health needs, school disengagement, or family stress.

As Mayor, I will strengthen and better coordinate the city’s existing attendance efforts by bringing together DCPS, charter schools, WMATA, OSSE, health providers, and family outreach teams to identify at-risk students earlier and intervene faster. Schools should not be left to solve absenteeism alone. We need stronger data sharing, faster follow-up, and clear accountability so students return to class before they fall permanently behind.

Academic achievement gaps also demand honesty. The four-year graduation rate for Black students is approximately 77 percent, compared with 94 percent for white students. Only 35 percent of Black students are passing an AP or IB exam, compared with 93 percent of white students. These are not acceptable outcomes in a city with our level of resources.

To address this, I will set clear citywide performance goals for reading, math, and advanced coursework outcomes over my first term. Existing literacy investments should be strengthened with stronger classroom coaching for teachers, more tutoring for struggling readers, and expanded summer learning support. Existing honors, AP, IB, and dual-enrollment programs should be expanded so advanced coursework is not limited to a small subset of students.

Only 26 percent of DC fourth graders are reading proficiently on NAEP. Reading by third grade is one of the strongest predictors of future success. I will make early literacy a top mayoral priority and require transparent annual progress reporting so families can track results school by school.

Students also need support beyond the school day. There are only enough afterschool seats for roughly 1 in 3 high school students, and students in Wards 7 and 8 often have fewer nearby options than other parts of the city.

I will treat afterschool, mentorship, and youth employment as core education investments. My administration will expand access through proven existing programs, strengthen the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, support mentorship models that already work, and connect more students to internships, apprenticeships, and career and technical education pathways tied to real jobs in DC’s economy.

Families should also be able to trust that school buildings are safe and operational. Too many students and teachers have dealt with classroom disruptions from broken heating and cooling systems, deferred maintenance, plumbing problems, and aging facilities. My administration will prioritize elimination of recurring HVAC failures, faster repairs, public maintenance response metrics, and capital upgrades in schools with the greatest need. Children cannot learn effectively in buildings that are too hot, too cold, or falling apart.

For students with disabilities, delays are unacceptable. I will strengthen existing special education systems through faster evaluations, timely delivery of services, stronger case management, and clear accountability so families no longer have to fight bureaucracy to secure legally required support.

Students themselves deserve a real voice in city government. I will revive and strengthen the DC Youth Advisory Council and make participation a paid leadership opportunity so young people from every ward have meaningful representation in policymaking. Members should regularly advise the Mayor and agencies on education, public safety, mental health, transportation, and youth opportunity. Too often adults make decisions about students without students in the room.

My education vision is simple: students in school every day, strong reading and math outcomes, safe and functional buildings, expanded opportunity, and real youth voice in government.

Washington, DC is the capital of the United States, yet more than 700,000 residents are denied the full democratic rights enjoyed by citizens in every state. Washingtonians pay federal taxes, serve in the military, run businesses, raise families, and contribute to the strength of this nation, yet we still do not have voting representation in Congress. That is unacceptable.

The fight for DC Statehood is about fairness, self-determination, and respect. But it is also about practical governance. As long as DC remains in this precarious status, Congress and the White House can interfere in local decisions, override laws passed by our elected representatives, and destabilize the city’s ability to govern itself. No thriving American city should operate at the whim of politicians who do not live here and cannot be voted out by DC residents.

We have seen Congress increasingly willing to intervene in our local affairs through the disapproval process. Our public safety laws and local tax policies have been targeted and overturned by outside politicians. If residents of DC pass laws through our democratic process, those laws deserve to stand.

As Mayor, I will proactively build relationships with members of Congress and future administrations to defend DC’s autonomy and reduce future interference. We need a Mayor who can advocate forcefully, build coalitions nationally, and make clear that attacks on DC democracy are attacks on American democracy itself.

But we also need to be honest about why statehood has not yet happened. The last major push failed not only because of Republican opposition, but because two Democratic senators would not support changing Senate rules to allow it to pass. That means the path to statehood is not just persuading our opponents. It is fully consolidating support within the Democratic Party itself.

As Mayor, I will work to make DC Statehood a top-tier national Democratic priority. That means engaging governors, Mayors, labor leaders, civil rights organizations, student groups, veterans, and Democratic parties across all 50 states so this issue is no longer seen as only DC’s fight. It must become the party’s fight and the country’s fight.

We need every Democratic presidential candidate, Senate candidate, and governor to be asked where they stand on DC Statehood. We need the Democratic National Committee fully invested. We need sustained organizing in states far beyond the District. And we need to make clear that denying 700,000 Americans representation is a civil rights issue and a democracy issue.

DC must also remain a welcoming city. Federal immigration enforcement actions have often created fear in neighborhoods, damaged trust in law enforcement, and harmed local businesses. As mayor, I will not support voluntary cooperation by DC agencies or MPD with immigration crackdowns that make our communities less safe and less stable. There should be no data sharing between MPD and ICE, and no local resources used to facilitate fear-based enforcement actions that undermine community trust. Residents should be able to send their children to school, go to work, and live their lives without fear.

On day one, I will order a full audit of every point of contact between DC government and federal enforcement agencies, including data sharing practices, operational coordination, referral channels, information systems access, and agency policies. Residents deserve transparency about whether local government systems are being used in ways that violate the spirit of DC’s values and autonomy. Where reforms are needed, we will act quickly.

I will also defend the District when Congress exceeds its authority or creates chaos for residents. When Congress missed the legal deadline to disapprove DC tax code changes, it created confusion for families and taxpayers across the city. I support using every lawful tool available, including litigation and emergency local legislation when necessary, to protect residents from political gamesmanship and ensure predictability in city governance.

Statehood is also connected to economic security. When Congress interferes with DC’s budget or revenue decisions, it threatens funding for schools, public safety, transportation, childcare, and housing. Local leaders should be able to manage locally raised dollars without waiting on federal approval or fearing ideological riders imposed from outside the city.

While we fight for statehood, we must also prove that DC can govern effectively and deliver results. The strongest argument for self-government is competent self-government. That means fixing local services, running agencies professionally, growing the economy, and showing the nation what Washington, DC is capable of when trusted to lead itself.

My vision is simple: full voting rights, full control over our own affairs, and a city government worthy of the people it serves. Washingtonians deserve full democracy, full representation, and full respect.

Transportation should make daily life easier, not harder. Washingtonians should be able to get to work, school, medical appointments, parks, small businesses, and home safely, reliably, and affordably. Right now, too many residents are stuck navigating late buses, unsafe crossings, broken sidewalks, confusing construction, dangerous corridors, and a city transportation system that still feels too reactive.

This is a basic quality of life issue. In 2023 and 2024, 52 people were killed in traffic crashes on DC streets each year. Traffic deaths fell to 25 in 2025, but that progress must be protected and accelerated. No family should lose someone because a crosswalk was poorly designed, a street was built for speed instead of safety, or a dangerous intersection sat on a list for years without action.

My administration will refocus Vision Zero on execution. We will prioritize the corridors with the most deaths and serious injuries, install proven safety treatments faster, and publish a clear public dashboard showing which projects are planned, funded, delayed, and completed. Residents should not have to guess why a dangerous intersection has not been fixed.

We will make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. That means better crosswalks, daylighting near intersections, traffic calming near schools and parks, protected bike lanes where appropriate, safer bus stops, improved lighting, and faster repairs to sidewalks, ramps, signs, and road markings. Safety should not depend on which ward you live in or how loudly your neighborhood can advocate.

Public transit must also work better. The end of the DC Circulator and the launch of WMATA’s new bus network changed how many residents move around the city. My administration will work closely with WMATA to identify service gaps, improve reliability, expand bus priority where it makes sense, and make sure residents in every ward can reach jobs, schools, health care, grocery stores, and nightlife without needing a car.

Buses are the backbone of daily transportation for thousands of Washingtonians. If buses are stuck in traffic, unreliable, or hard to access, residents lose time, money, and opportunity. I will support better bus lanes, clearer enforcement of blocked bus zones, transit signal priority, safe and comfortable bus stops, and real-time communication that riders can actually trust.

We also need to fix the basics of street maintenance. Potholes, broken sidewalks, faded crosswalks, missing signs, unsafe curb cuts, and poor construction coordination are not small issues. They affect whether residents can walk safely, whether small businesses receive deliveries, whether parents can push strollers, whether seniors can cross the street, and whether people with disabilities can navigate their own neighborhoods.

As Mayor, I will require DDOT to publish clearer performance data on service requests, repair timelines, resurfacing schedules, sidewalk fixes, and contractor performance. Residents should be able to see when a repair was requested, when it is scheduled, who is responsible, and whether the city met its own deadline.

Transportation is also economic development. A city that is easier to move through is better for workers, families, restaurants, retail corridors, nightlife, tourism, and downtown recovery. We need smarter curb management, better loading zones, safer pickup and drop-off areas, and more coordinated planning so transportation decisions support local businesses instead of creating unnecessary frustration.

Finally, DC should support every safe way people choose to move. Capital Bikeshare ridership has reached record levels, and more residents are choosing bikes, e-bikes, scooters, walking, and transit when the infrastructure is safe and convenient. We should build on that momentum while making sure streets work for everyone.

My transportation vision is simple: safer streets, more reliable transit, faster repairs, better sidewalks, accountable project delivery, and a city where every resident can move with dignity, safety, and confidence.