WARD 1 UPDATE
Hello Neighbors:
At Monday's Council vote on the First Reading of the FY 2026 budget, we restored funds to critical programs, approved funding for ranked choice voting, and postponed action on the ill-conceived repeal of I-82, the tipped minimum wage.
I’m going to highlight a few of the topline wins here – and some things I still hope to fix before the final vote on July 28. And I encourage you to read my longer post about the budget to dive deeper.
One of the biggest pieces of news: with an 8-4 vote, the Council supported a proposal I introduced along with my colleague At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson to fund implementation of Ranked Choice Voting, something voters approved overwhelmingly (and in all eight wards) last November. I’m committed to looking for funding for the full implementation of I-83, to include open primaries.
In addition, the budget approved Monday:
- Restores some funding for Emergency Rental Assistance and Permanent Supportive Housing for families.
- Restores funding for substance use disorder and behavioral health services targeted outreach, including a highly successful program I launched in Ward 1 that has since been expanded to other parts of the District.
- Funds Medicaid coverage for home visiting for expectant parents.
- Invests in road safety, funding the STEER Act and fraudulent tags legislation, which allow for more readily booting and towing vehicles with dangerous drivers and vehicles with fake license plates.
- Takes care of workers: includes funds for early childhood educator pay equity, teacher wellness, and, with the postponement of action on the proposed I-82 repeal, also protects restaurant workers, thanks to an amendment I co-introduced with Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Matt Frumin.
- Preserves programs that reduce waste and improve the environment: more composting, more money for Anacostia River cleanup—setting the stage, I hope, for the next major piece of environmental legislation – a beverage container deposit program to remove millions of bottles and cans from the Anacostia River, our streets, and neighborhoods.
- Made a breakthrough on public restrooms – increasing the number of incredibly popular Throne self-standing moveable restrooms from six to 10, paving the way for a long-overdue permanent public restrooms program in the District.
- Makes investments in both housing preservation and production.
- Partially restores funding to the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children, an office that is critical to safeguarding children and families.
Ward 1 investments
We’ve managed to protect and expand investments in Ward 1, including funding to support:
- A much-needed annex for Bancroft Elementary School.
- Rosemount Early Childhood Center to secure its location for the future.
- Mt. Pleasant Senior Village and Vida Senior Center in Adams Morgan.
- Maintenance of the Walter Pierce Park restroom.
- Support for parks and plazas around the ward, including Amigos Park, the triangle at 625 T St., NW.
- Improvements and maintenance at GALA, Lincoln, and Howard theatres.
- Adding a water source for Wangari Gardens.
We’re not done yet!
There is more to be done before we finalize the budget on July 28. While the Health Committee did a lot to restore cuts to Alliance, there is still inadequate funding to retain people’s benefits.
Right now, the budget does not include adequate resources for people living outside. I’m glad to see Permanent Supportive Housing for families, but we need to address Permanent Supportive Housing for individuals.
There is not enough funding for community violence prevention. The budget restores funding for six Cure the Streets violence interruption sites but does not include funding to continue the site that includes neighborhoods in Ward 1 and Ward 4.
And we need to restore the child tax credit and ERAP fully.
I’ll also be working with colleagues on how we can finally get the research and recommendations for real reforms to taxes and other revenues. For years, we have known that we need to stabilize revenue so that it doesn’t fluctuate in good times and bad.
That’s a lot, but there’s even more, which you can read in my full report out from the Council meeting.
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