As of April 1, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) hasn’t submitted her Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal.
This delay, as explained by D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), stems from uncertainty about whether D.C.’s current fiscal year budget, under the threat of a continuing resolution that triggers $1 billion in budget cuts, will remain intact. WIth Bowser’s budget submission timeline now out of whack, it remains to be seen when, or if, the council will finalize the Fiscal Year 2026 budget and accompanying Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act.
However, the council had more than enough business to handle during its April 1 legislative meeting. This edition of The Collins Council Report explores council deliberations that centered on: transparency, D.C. Public Charter School Board leadership, and emergency rental assistance. We also explore the reelection bid of former Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember Trayon White, who was expelled from the council nearly two months ago.
An Expelled Trayon White Launches Reelection Bid
As supporters, and even some detractors, speculated, former Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember Trayon White threw his hat into the ring for the very seat that he lost after catching a federal bribery charge.
On March 30, on the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, former Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember White announced his reelection bid in an Instagram post.
A subsequent post, on March 31, showed White picking up petitions from the D.C. Board of Elections. He now joins at least 18 other candidates — including Sheila Bunn, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Salim Adofo, Mike Austin, and more recently, his confidant Jauhar Abraham — vying for the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat.
If White wins the special election — scheduled for July 15 — he will, once again, become an elected official. However, he still has hanging over his head an early 2026 trial and possible 15-year prison sentence.
White also has a contingent of Ward 8 residents who are skeptical, and even angry, about his leap back into politics. Some people, including Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Robbie Woodland, have gone as far as mentioning, on Facebook, Congressional Republicans’ allusion to White’s bribery charge in their attempt to revoke District home rule.
However, White said he remains focused on the more positive aspects of this electoral battle.
“I have some detractors, but the love and support has been overwhelming,” White told The Informer in an Instagram direct message. “I’m so humbled and appreciative. On July 15, the people will decide who will lead Ward 8.”
White ended his statement by focusing on the rapport he’s established over the years.
“People know my work and my heart, and I’m hopeful that will be reflected on the ballot,” he said.
On April 1, Just as the council was wrapping up its legislative meeting, White and members of his campaign team posted up in front of Giant on Alabama Avenue in Southeast with petitions in hand.
Regina Pixley, a Ward 8 community member and civic leader who has been standing in solidarity with White since his August 19, 2024 arrest, counted among those who collected signatures on behalf of the former council member.
For her, Ward 8’s future depends on White’s return to the Wilson Building.
“We’ve been in a state of emergency,” Pixley said. “This is a very inopportune time for the city council to expel our council members. It’s budget season. We’re already suffering. We’re already the least of and the less of.”
The Controversy Around Open Meetings
As the second Trump administration bullies the White House press corps and pushes constitutional boundaries, the D.C. Council has perturbed local journalists and open government advocates with its approval of emergency legislation exempting the legislative body from the Open Meetings Act under certain circumstances.
On April 1, the emergency legislation, titled the Open Meetings Clarification Emergency Act, passed with only D.C. Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) voting in opposition. With the meaning of “open meeting” adjusted, the council, when not taking any official action, doesn’t have to provide the public advanced notice about private meetings involving a quorum of council members.
While D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) successfully shepherded an amendment editing the legislation’s language, Allen failed to convince his council colleagues to narrow the scope of the emergency bill.
Though there were hints of support on the morning of April 1, the council ultimately struck down Allen’s amendment by a 4-to-8 vote, with only D.C. Councilmembers Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), and Christina Henderson (I-At large) backing Allen.
Had Allen’s amendment passed, the council would only be able to conduct private meetings when speaking about federal government affairs and economic development negotiations. Though he acknowledged the need for the emergency legislation, Allen warned against going too far in jeopardizing the public trust.
“What’s being presented is actually to essentially exempt the council from all of these [Open Meetings Act] requirements,” Allen told The Informer before the council’s legislative meeting. “So I think the bill goes too far, which is why my amendment narrows it down to the very legitimate things where we need to be able to get the people’s work done, but not shut the door on the public and the press in the process.”
The Open Meetings Act, approved in 2010, places the D.C. Council among one of the nation’s more transparent governments. It requires that any public body, including the council, provides 48-hour notice or two business days, whichever is greater, for meetings where a quorum of members are discussing public business.
Per the Rules of Organization and Procedure for the Council of the District of Columbia, Council Period 26, Resolution of 2025, a quorum equals the majority of council (seven members) and council committees (three members). The notice for a public meeting must include time, date, location and agenda.
Meetings covered in the policy include: hearings, roundtables, and regular, special, and emergency meetings. One can also include the council breakfast among the meetings covered.
The mayor’s cabinet, D.C. Courts, and advisory neighborhood commissions are exempt.
In recent days, open government advocates spoke in opposition to the Open Meetings Clarification Emergency Act. Mendelson also had to answer to the press; during his March 31 press briefing, The Informer, along with other local media organizations, vehemently questioned the chairman’s rationale in moving the broad measure without public input.
Mendelson, in response to reporters, noted that a permanent version of this bill is currently making its way through the legislative process. During the April 1 legislative meeting, he expressed plans to move on the permanent legislation during the latter part of April or sometime in May — despite the uncertainty around the council’s budget approval timeline.
In defending the emergency bill, Mendelson told reporters that, as long as the District is at the mercy of Congress and the Trump administration, the council needs more latitude to privately discuss political strategies with the mayor, Office of the Attorney General, and other parties.
Mendelson also brought up instances when a quorum of council members couldn’t conduct business outside of council chambers.
“Our ability to hold a retreat where members can informally discuss their personal views affecting policy is arguably prohibited, and we no longer have monthly mayor council breakfasts because neither side wants to publicly air disagreements,” Mendelson told reporters. “It is really hard on legislators to be able to talk to each other because of these constraints.”
On the dais, D.C. Councilmembers Robert White (D-At large) and Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) recounted instances when they couldn’t plan visits outside of the John A. Wilson Building — such as tours to public housing communities or meeting with agencies — without fear of violating the Open Meetings Act.
Frumin, though empathetic to their experiences, looked to the near future, while making his position on the matter clear.
“I do hope that through the hearing process we can have a very thoughtful conversation about where this should ultimately land,” Frumin said. “We are putting our weight on a very broad approach. And maybe that’s right, but I don’t want to suggest that by voting for this bill I necessarily will vote for it in the same form as the permanent legislation.”
The Council Deliberates on Emergency Rental Assistance
On its first reading, the D.C. Council approved the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2025 — but not without questions about whether the legislation would make a rental housing market collapse more imminent, or if it even addresses the root cause of housing insecurity.
The legislation, as originally intended, builds upon an emergency bill the council passed last fall to narrow eligibility for emergency rental assistance. It keeps that provision intact while permitting courts to enter a stay of eviction upon a tenant’s submission of an Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) application.
D.C. Councilmember Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), chair of the council’s Committee on Human Services, sparked discussion — and mayoral opposition — with a committee print that: incentivizes landlord participation in the emergency rental assistance application process via a court order in the early stages of eviction proceedings; allows first-time ERAP applicants to delay eviction; and mandates Department of Human Services’ circulation of information to service providers that clarifies the qualifications of a rental emergency.
Frumin said conversations with stakeholders compelled him to ensure that tenants stay current on their rents, while landlords do their part in submitting documentation that expedites the ERAP application process.
Those who are approved for ERAP, Frumin said, would be awarded what he called a manageable amount that would put them on a path to pay rent independently.
“This amendment is for the small number of tenants who can be saved,” Frumin said during the council breakfast that preceded deliberations on the dais. “I’m not trying to pretend it wouldn’t happen, but the bigger picture is reinforcing the incentive of staying current on rent to avoid eviction.”
D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) voted “present” on Frumin’s amendment. He, along with D.C. Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie (I-At large) and Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7), would ultimately vote similarly on the legislation.
On the dais, Parker expressed his concern about the “unintended consequences” of prolonging eviction proceedings. In making this point however, he made sure to strike down a prevailing narrative that delinquent tenants are “gaming the system.”
“While that certainly probably does exist to a certain extent, I think, by and large, people are accessing the program because they are in dire need of support and help,” said Parker, who attended the council meeting virtually. “A challenge for this body [is] to find more tools to make it so that people can live and thrive in the District.”
D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large) also weighed in, saying that Frumin’s amendment, though well meaning, might not address the barriers that mom-and-pop landlords would face in acquiescing to ERAP document submission requirements.
She also alluded to larger socioeconomic factors at play that will more than likely bring the relevant parties back before a judge.
“I don’t want to needlessly extend the process just because someone has submitted an application for ERAP, even though it’s not going to cover the whole thing or their full economic situation hasn’t necessarily changed,” Henderson said. “The housing provider is going to find themselves right back here in a few more months going through this process all over again.”
As the council gears up for a second reading of the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2025, Ward 4 D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D) is calling for an examination of the options, beyond ERAP, for residents who are unable to pay their rent.
On April 1, she questioned whether, given the gravity of post-pandemic housing insecurity, a new group of ERAP applicants even exists.
Regardless of whether that’s the case, she spoke on the dais with them, and others who are searching for government assistance, in mind.
“I’m hoping we can really have a discussion about if there is some possibility of doing some level of simultaneous harm reduction to the newly ineligible group, whether that’s DHS [giving] them an opportunity to look at the other subsidies that are available, looking at the past for what they may be eligible for,” Lewis George said. “How do we help this other group of individuals who now will be harmed as a result of [the legislation]? So I’m hoping we can work between now and the second reading. That would make me come to the vote feeling more confident about what we’re doing here.”
Shantelle Wright Confirmed, Once Again, as D.C. Public Charter School Board Member
The council unanimously approved Shantelle Wright’s reappointment to the D.C. Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB).
Wright, a Ward 8 resident and current DCPCSB chair, has experience as founder and former CEO of Achievement Preparatory Public Charter School. Since 2021, when she first joined the board, Wright and her board colleagues have provided oversight to more than 130 public charter schools, including the now-shuttered Eagle Academy Preparatory Public Charter School (PCS).
Last summer, DCPCSB, under the leadership of Wright, struck down a plan that Eagle Academy presented to merge with Friendship Public Charter Schools. Shortly after that decision, Eagle Academy PCS closed its doors at its Ward 8 and Ward 6 campuses, throwing students, teachers and parents into a frenzy just before the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
In expressing her opposition, Wright outlined what she and others described as Eagle Academy PCS board members’ failure to properly maintain finances and transparency.
On the day that the council approved her reappointment, she reflected on the state of affairs at Eagle Academy PCS, while outlining her plan to ensure public charter school fiscal responsibility.
“Since Eagle Academy PCS closed, we have begun to make a number of changes to enhance our financial oversight,” Wright said. “We increased our financial monitoring of schools – and have cited schools when early warning signs have emerged. In addition, we are posting this information on our website and discuss[ing] financial oversight at every board meeting.”
Wright continued, saying she has residents’ best interests in mind.
“We consider this an important priority,” Wright said. “Moreover, the board will act swiftly to prevent crises that put students and families at risk.”
Since Eagle Academy’s closure, the council has explored the issue of public charter school accountability. A public hearing, and introduction of legislation mandating training for board members of D.C.-based public charter schools, followed D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson’s correspondence with DCPCSB Executive Director Michelle Walker-Davis about why the public charter school board didn’t act more preemptively.
On March 31, Mendelson said he had no reason to question Wright’s capabilities as a public charter school board chair.
“The issue here is the board and the staff in totality, not any one individual,” Mendelson told The Informer. “The staff [of DCPCSB] did not act more aggressively with regard to the warning signs, but there’s been no testimony that suggests that Shantelle Wright is individually responsible.”
Mendelson then explored the issue a bit more deeply.
“Part of the problem at Eagle [Academy] was that the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer were the same person,” he said. “I have to conclude that the board did not understand that they had financial practice and that they could have stepped in and said ‘no.’ I think they didn’t understand that. Maybe I’m wrong.”