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
April 11, 2025
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
It is unseasonably calm in the Wilson building right now. Typically, we would be juggling a flurry of budget oversight hearings and taking up the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget for consideration. But while we press the House of Representatives to treat the DC Local Funds Act with the urgency it deserves, our budget process is delayed.
For now, it seems we will need to move forward with plans for next year’s budget regardless of action on the part of the House. We currently anticipate receiving the Mayor’s proposal sometime the week of April 21. Unfortunately, we will have to prepare for massive cuts to critical DC services—from public safety, to education, and more—while the House ignores calls from the Council, the Mayor, the Senate, and even the President to urgently pass the DC Local Funds Act. There are rumors that the matter could be taken up the week of April 28; but, amidst continued uncertainty, we know we cannot rely on rumors. I will continue to prioritize caring for District residents and fighting for a budget that works for all of us, regardless of federal activity.
It is with this priority that I invite neighbors to join me on April 26 for our annual Healthy Communities Spring Cleaning. We know we cannot count on the federal government to take care of us; we take care of us. ANCs, civic associations, churches, and other community organizations are teaming up with my office to host sites all across Ward 5 for this day of community care and neighborly connection. Click here or on the image below to find a site near you and sign up to join your neighbors for a community clean-up. Oh, and it’s the week of Earth Day – a perfect way to celebrate!
LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Spring Cleaning, Spring Break, and DC Emancipation Day
April 11, 2025
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
It is unseasonably calm in the Wilson building right now. Typically, we would be juggling a flurry of budget oversight hearings and taking up the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget for consideration. But while we press the House of Representatives to treat the DC Local Funds Act with the urgency it deserves, our budget process is delayed.
For now, it seems we will need to move forward with plans for next year’s budget regardless of action on the part of the House. We currently anticipate receiving the Mayor’s proposal sometime the week of April 21. Unfortunately, we will have to prepare for massive cuts to critical DC services—from public safety, to education, and more—while the House ignores calls from the Council, the Mayor, the Senate, and even the President to urgently pass the DC Local Funds Act. There are rumors that the matter could be taken up the week of April 28; but, amidst continued uncertainty, we know we cannot rely on rumors. I will continue to prioritize caring for District residents and fighting for a budget that works for all of us, regardless of federal activity.
It is with this priority that I invite neighbors to join me on April 26 for our annual Healthy Communities Spring Cleaning. We know we cannot count on the federal government to take care of us; we take care of us. ANCs, civic associations, churches, and other community organizations are teaming up with my office to host sites all across Ward 5 for this day of community care and neighborly connection. Click here or on the image below to find a site near you and sign up to join your neighbors for a community clean-up. Oh, and it’s the week of Earth Day – a perfect way to celebrate!
Progress Report: January 2023 - January 2025
Check out the latest Progress Report from Councilmember Parker! Our office has been hard at work alongside Ward 5 neighbors to build healthy communities through transformative policy, fighting for Ward 5, and making government accessible and transparent. 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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