BUILDING OUR FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS
Building a Better Ward 5
Read the latest Ward 5 news in the
Councilmember’s weekly newsletter:
Read the latest Ward 5 news in the Councilmember’s weekly newsletter:
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LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
October 2, 2026
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The work of building healthy communities is multi-faceted. From public safety to public works, from revenue estimates to ribbon cuttings, I remain clear-eyed about what it takes to help Ward 5 thrive. The work accomplished this week is just a snapshot.
Both last week and again this week, my team and I conducted public safety walks alongside ANCs, neighbors, and MPD to address hotspots where we’ve seen concerning upticks in break-ins, car thefts, and thefts from autos. In and around the 1300 block of Webster St NE and the 1000 block of Taylor St NE, we are coordinating with MPD to ensure a robust response to these incidents and strategically targeting resources for neighbors’ safety. While these are small pockets of activity in the larger trend of continued crime decreases for Ward 5, even one incident is one too many.
Also this week, DDOT finally began work addressing the years-old issues with graffiti on the Rhode Island Ave pedestrian bridge between Bryant St Market and the Metro Station. My office has fielded requests from neighbors for years about the graffiti, and through budget action DDOT is now replacing the old panels with new clearvu fencing. Thank you to the DDOT crew for advancing our efforts to beautify Ward 5!
LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Moving Ward 5 Forward
October 2, 2026
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The work of building healthy communities is multi-faceted. From public safety to public works, from revenue estimates to ribbon cuttings, I remain clear-eyed about what it takes to help Ward 5 thrive. The work accomplished this week is just a snapshot.
Both last week and again this week, my team and I conducted public safety walks alongside ANCs, neighbors, and MPD to address hotspots where we’ve seen concerning upticks in break-ins, car thefts, and thefts from autos. In and around the 1300 block of Webster St NE and the 1000 block of Taylor St NE, we are coordinating with MPD to ensure a robust response to these incidents and strategically targeting resources for neighbors’ safety. While these are small pockets of activity in the larger trend of continued crime decreases for Ward 5, even one incident is one too many.
Also this week, DDOT finally began work addressing the years-old issues with graffiti on the Rhode Island Ave pedestrian bridge between Bryant St Market and the Metro Station. My office has fielded requests from neighbors for years about the graffiti, and through budget action DDOT is now replacing the old panels with new clearvu fencing. Thank you to the DDOT crew for advancing our efforts to beautify Ward 5!
2026 Progress Report
Entering the fourth year of his first term, Councilmember Parker shared a Progress Report looking over all we’ve accomplished together since 2023. These years have been marked by resilience and results. Councilmember Parker has been focused on Standing Up for DC, Serving the Community, Advancing Bold Policy, and Fighting for DC Youth. View the full report and see more of what we achieved together here.
COUNCILMEMBER ZACHARY PARKER
Since taking office in January of 2023, Zachary has delivered for Ward 5 residents through responsive constituent services and significant budget wins. He has introduced dozens of transformative pieces of legislation, including bills to establish the District’s State Superintendent of Education’s School Support Office to improve low-performing schools, and the District Child Tax Credit which provides low-income and middle-class families fully refundable tax credits for children 17 years of age and younger.
LEGISLATION
Since taking office, Councilmember Parker has introduced more than 30 pieces of legislation, and co-introduced more than 150 additional bills. Learn about Councilmember Parker’s legislation, co-introductions, and committee assignments on the Legislation page.
COUNCILMEMBER ZACHARY PARKER
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker is an educator and a public servant. He taught 7th-grade math in New Orleans, post-Katrina, with Teach For America, and spent nearly a decade supporting DC school administrators at Ward 5 schools like Dunbar High School and Mundo Verde PCS.
Zachary sees firsthand the human impact of a system that leaves our most vulnerable behind. He grew up watching his oldest brother struggle with a one-size-fits-all school system that did not have the resources to support him, and now sees the challenges he faces in life because of it.
And Zachary suffered alongside his middle brother through a long and exhaustive battle with a healthcare system that treated him more like a problem than a patient before he ultimately passed away at 36 from kidney failure. These shouldn’t be the experiences families have when interacting with our public institutions. Zachary has dedicated his life’s work to transforming the systems that failed his brothers and so many like them.
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