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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 16, 2026
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The District is facing numerous, serious financial challenges. Our revenue estimates across the four-year financial plan show a revision downward by more than $600 million. We are trailing national performance in GDP, employment, population, and income growth. Employment is down 5.1% with losses across both major private sectors and federal downsizing. And the housing market is weakening even further with significant drops in home sales and high interest rates.
The gap between the District’s revenue and our spending continues to widen. This past budget cycle, the Council approved $660 million in one-time spending to cover that gap and maintain critical programs for District residents like housing support, food access, healthcare, and more. But this raises the question—what do we do when we are confronted with an even bigger budget gap next year?
There are, of course, two options: increase revenue or reduce spending. I’m of the mind that we can do both. Anytime we propose increasing taxes, we should take it very seriously and be careful to mindfully cut unnecessary spending at the same time. Today, the Council held a public hearing on one of these topics, with testimony from dozens of witnesses on revenue proposals for the FY28 budget.
LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Talking Taxes: Council's Revenue Hearing
October 16, 2026
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The District is facing numerous, serious financial challenges. Our revenue estimates across the four-year financial plan show a revision downward by more than $600 million. We are trailing national performance in GDP, employment, population, and income growth. Employment is down 5.1% with losses across both major private sectors and federal downsizing. And the housing market is weakening even further with significant drops in home sales and high interest rates.
The gap between the District’s revenue and our spending continues to widen. This past budget cycle, the Council approved $660 million in one-time spending to cover that gap and maintain critical programs for District residents like housing support, food access, healthcare, and more. But this raises the question—what do we do when we are confronted with an even bigger budget gap next year?
There are, of course, two options: increase revenue or reduce spending. I’m of the mind that we can do both. Anytime we propose increasing taxes, we should take it very seriously and be careful to mindfully cut unnecessary spending at the same time. Today, the Council held a public hearing on one of these topics, with testimony from dozens of witnesses on revenue proposals for the FY28 budget.
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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Building a stronger, healthier Ward 5 every day.
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