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 25, 2024
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
Before we dive into this week’s newsletter, I want to share that we’ve heard from several neighbors and businesses about major power outages in Ward 5 this evening. My team is in touch with Pepco, and we’ve heard there are two primary outages – one in the Eckington area affecting appoximately 175 customers, and another along North Capitol St NW in the Bloomingdale, Truxton Circle, and NoMa areas affecting almost 1,000 customers. Pepco has crews out assessing the outage. Unfortunately, their timelines have shifted several times and we are not currently confident of a restoration timeline. I will share what we hear from Pepco through my social media (X, Instagram) as we receive updates.
New Staff in the Ward 5 Council Office
As the Ward 5 Council Office team grows, I am thrilled to introduce to you Neferteria Brown, our new Senior Policy Analyst. Neferteria is a native Washingtonian whose career has focused on public service, specifically through protecting the rights of a wide range of neighbors, including crime victims, veterans, September 11th survivors, and tenants facing eviction. She most recently worked as a Supervising Attorney in the Housing Unit with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program. Neferteria is excited to tackle policy issues as a part of our office, helping us make legislative changes that positively affect our city’s beautifully diverse population.
Please join me in welcoming Neferteria! You can reach her at nbrown@dccouncil.gov
LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
New Staff, Oversight, and Gratitude
October 25, 2024
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
Before we dive into this week’s newsletter, I want to share that we’ve heard from several neighbors and businesses about major power outages in Ward 5 this evening. My team is in touch with Pepco, and we’ve heard there are two primary outages – one in the Eckington area affecting appoximately 175 customers, and another along North Capitol St NW in the Bloomingdale, Truxton Circle, and NoMa areas affecting almost 1,000 customers. Pepco has crews out assessing the outage. Unfortunately, their timelines have shifted several times and we are not currently confident of a restoration timeline. I will share what we hear from Pepco through my social media (X, Instagram) as we receive updates.
New Staff in the Ward 5 Council Office
As the Ward 5 Council Office team grows, I am thrilled to introduce to you Neferteria Brown, our new Senior Policy Analyst. Neferteria is a native Washingtonian whose career has focused on public service, specifically through protecting the rights of a wide range of neighbors, including crime victims, veterans, September 11th survivors, and tenants facing eviction. She most recently worked as a Supervising Attorney in the Housing Unit with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program. Neferteria is excited to tackle policy issues as a part of our office, helping us make legislative changes that positively affect our city’s beautifully diverse population.
Please join me in welcoming Neferteria! You can reach her at nbrown@dccouncil.gov
The District faced many challenges in 2023: rising crime, Congressional interference, and looming budget pressures just to name a few. Yet in all of this, I witnessed time and again the resilience of Ward 5 neighbors and your commitment to working with my office to build healthy communities. I invite you to explore the 2023 Year in Review report to see all that we were able to accomplish together.
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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District Programs
The district has lots of programs available to residents – from utility bill discount programs, to tenants’ advocacy, to events and activities for children and more.
Click here to view a full list of District programs you may be able to take advantage of.
Building a stronger, healthier Ward 5 every day.
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