Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  Work on the Council can get full of noise—competing priorities, lots of moving legislation and oversight, and hundreds of thousands of neighbors counting on their government to deliver. Amid the many demands, I am clear-eyed about one thing: everything we do must be people-first.  As a city, we are grieving for…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  Tuesday night was historic.  I am thrilled for the paradigm-shifting elections that we saw across the United States. From Keisha Lance Bottoms making history in Georgia, to Abdul El-Sayed defying cynical attempts to conflate default pretenses with principle, to former teachers like James Talarico reminding us that decency still has a…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  It's hard to think of anything spookier this Halloween than not exercising your right to vote! 👻 There are only two days left of Early Voting (which ends Sunday at 7:00 p.m.). After that, your last chance is Election Day, November 3, from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Get out and…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  The General Election is coming up on November 3, and early voting begins this Monday, October 26! Now is the time to make your plan to vote. By now, you should have received your mail-in ballot. You can turn that in at any Board of Elections drop box across the city,…

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.…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  There is no substitute for safety, and every resident deserves to feel safe in their home and in our community. Sadly, that has not been the case for every Ward 5 neighbor in recent months. As I shared last week, a rash of break-ins—across the ward and acutely in the Brookland…

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…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  The Council headed back to the dais this week for our first Committee of the Whole meeting and Legislative Meeting since July. We voted on several measures, but I want to highlight a few bills we considered and voted on Tuesday.  First, the Council took up consideration of a bill introduced by…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  Tomorrow is the biggest party of the year celebrating all things Ward 5! I hope to see you there. We'll have food from more than a dozen Ward 5 restaurants (oxtail pizza, anyone?), live go-go from Sirius Company, a soccer clinic with DC United, go-karts and moon bounces, line dancing, community…

Dear Ward 5 neighbors,  September 11, 2026 Dear Ward 5 neighbors, There's a lot to talk about this week. The Council returns from recess next Tuesday, September 15, and that means the calendar of hearings and markups is getting full again. There is one markup in particular I want residents to pay attention to, but more on…