November 8, 2024

Dear Ward 5 neighbors, 

It has been a long week as we moved through the 2024 General Election. Neighbors are feeling a range of emotions, and the impacts to the District of Columbia are still coming into view. 

On the local level, I want to express my warm appreciation for the many Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) candidates who ran great campaigns to serve their neighbors. To all of our outgoing ANCs: thank you. Your partnership in working to build healthy communities is invaluable, and your many efforts too often go unthanked. I am grateful for you and I know that even as you take on different roles within your community, your impact will still be felt. To all of the newly elected and re-elected ANCs: congratulations! I am excited to work alongside you and see what we can achieve together in these next two years. 

I also wish to express my congratulations to my Council colleagues who all won re-election: Councilmembers Pinto (Ward 2), Lewis George (Ward 4), R. White and Henderson (At-Large), and T. White (Ward 8). And of course, congratulations and welcome to our new colleague, Ward 7 Councilmember-elect Wendell Felder. We have our work cut out for us in addressing the city’s many needs, but I am confident we will tackle them with thoughtfulness, creativity, and drive.

District neighbors also voted in favor of Initiative 83, which proposes allowing Independents to vote in DC’s Primary Elections, and introducing Ranked Choice Voting. This ballot initiative will now come to the Council for consideration, and I look forward to taking up the measure with my colleagues as we examine its implications for democracy in DC.  

We are also carefully considering the impact that a second Trump presidency will have on the District and our autonomy. While we work to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power in what is both the national seat of power and our home, we will remain focused on our work to represent DC residents and protect our right to self-governance.