Let’s start off this edition of The Collins Council Report with a warm welcome back to all council members, staffers, lobbyists, activists and the like.
Since the last edition, and the council recess that followed, the council went from a 12-person legislative body to 13. The council also made some movement on the RENTAL Act and the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act.
Council members, along with their constituents, had to also weather the storm of an intrusive Trump administration and federal agencies.
Those events have set the stage for a Sept. 17 legislative meeting that allowed room — and a lot of time — to delve into housing insecurity, the Washington Commanders’ return to RFK campus, and policing and youth affairs.
Also looming large was the fallout from votes on the Hill that could ultimately prove detrimental to the District’s laws.
All that and more in the latest edition of The Collins Council Report. Happy reading!
As TOPA Dominates Final RENTAL Act Deliberations, a High Schooler Sheds Light on Housing Insecurity
On Sept. 17, the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants and Landlords Act, also known as the RENTAL Act, passed on its second reading with a 10-3 vote, with D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8), fresh from his reinstatement, voting in opposition alongside D.C. Council members Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) and Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4).
Throughout much of the calendar year, as the D.C. Council and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser gathered feedback about the RENTAL Act from those on both sides of the city’s housing dilemma, District high school student Zachi Elias was collecting the oral history of D.C. residents living in inclusionary zoning rental units, as well as those in transitional and affordable housing— a process he said highlighted the reality of housing security in the District.
“A common thread was how hard it is to make it work in subsidized housing, let alone market-rate housing, even while working full-time,” said Zachi, a senior at St. Albans High School in Northwest and Street Sense Media intern. “Many residents shared that without some form of housing support, they simply couldn’t afford to stay in D.C. and many people they know have already had to leave.”
Zachi, 17, told The Informer that the oral histories, all to be included in his soon-to-be-completed documentary titled “Housing Our Stories,” shows the reality of housing insecurity in the District.
Amid all the conversation about the RENTAL Act, Zachi counts among those who demanded more clarity about the degree to which public input shaped the legislation. In making his case, he cited the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness as an entity providing a platform for people directly affected by housing insecurity.
While Zachi also mentioned the D.C. Housing Authority’s Stabilization and Reform (STAR) Board, he pointed out that residents don’t get to discuss housing issues broadly, more so than agency oversight.
“I know D.C. is trying to bring resident voices into housing conversations but I think more can be done,” Zachi said. “I am not saying no one is listening. I am saying there is a gap between where those stories are shared and where decisions are made. That is why I am asking the council to build on what already exists and take it further.”
The final version of the RENTAL included an amendment by D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D) that allows for a protective order requiring tenants to pay rent into the court registry throughout the duration of an eviction case.
The council also approved an amendment by Mendelson, Nadeau, and Lewis George that: re-establishes the Qualified Purchaser program to attract those who have experienced navigating the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and working with tenant associations; modifies the definition of tenant to account for instances when neither tenant nor landlord have a copy of the lease; strikes a provision of the RENTAL Act exempting properties with the promise of a new affordability covenant from from TOPA; restoring the “cooling off” period that allows tenants to meet with tenant support providers; and removing the provision that restricts tenants and tenant association from successfully negotiating a TOPA transaction.
D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large), who successfully advanced an amendment in the nature of a substitute for the RENTAL Act, clashed with his council colleagues on their amendment, which he said he found detrimental to the local housing ecosystem.
“When we allow a tenant to take a buyout in order to waive affordability for future tenants, that has a real cost on the city,” At-large D.C. Councilmember White said. “This is a time where we spend on average over half a million dollars per affordable unit. We’re throwing money at this problem, but here we would create that problem.”
Frumin, in response to the passage of Mendelson, Nadeau, and Lewis George’s amendment, would later remove three of the four amendments he introduced. His final amendment, which the council struck down, would’ve prospectively, not retroactively, applied a 15-year TOPA exemption for new construction.
Earlier, while speaking to The Informer, Frumin said he wanted to balance the council’s obligations to landlords while not leaving tenants out to dry.
“On the tenant side, we have to be creating opportunities for folks and we’ve got to empower them to be able to have housing,” Frumin said. “On the landlord side, the rent delinquency issue continues to be giant. We have a lot of buildings that are teetering financially because of the rent delinquency issue. And that’s what really is creating a barrier to investment in the District.”
With the support of a friendly amendment by D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At large) successfully advanced a RENTAL Act amendment that built upon a 2018 single-family home TOPA exemption by exempting buildings with four or fewer units from the law — while clarifying that only mom-and-mom landlords would benefit.
Had it passed, Bonds’ second amendment, which some council members didn’t embrace too warmly, would’ve allowed, in the assembly of the STAR Board, the Citywide Resident Advisory Board and the Residents Council to nominate public housing resident board member candidates that the mayor would choose and the D.C. Council review.
Meanwhile, Ward 8 Councilmember White circulated amendments aiming to: institute a 30-day notice of eviction in first-time eviction cases and allow for pre-eviction mediation between landlords and tenants. The council struck down the former, with only White, and Lewis George and Nadeau voting in approval.
Not long after, Ward 8 Councilmember White stood alone once again as his colleagues struck down the other amendment, the one concerning pre-eviction mediation, which White described as a longstanding practice that wouldn’t incur any financial costs.
“Its goal is to simply give landlords and tenants one more chance to resolve their disputes through a structured negotiation rather than going straight to the court, [where] most residents [aren’t] experts in law or know how to defend themselves in court,” Ward Councilmember White said. “I’ve personally recognized in several cases where the property manager and a tenant negotiated and came up with an agreement that both benefit both the benefit of both parties.”
Lewis George successfully advanced an amendment explicitly referencing the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Amendment Act, the Civil Rights Act, and D.C. Human Rights Act as mechanisms that protect classes of tenants against landlord retaliation, while emphasizing that domestic violence survivors cannot be evicted for crimes taking place in their unit.
In the lead up before that vote, Lewis George spoke about the need to protect the District’s most vulnerable populations.
“Over the past several days, my office has engaged with long-standing advocates in this space to hear their concerns about the language related to public safety evictions, building on the progress already reflected in [At-large] D.C. Councilmember White’s amended legislation,” Lewis George said. “This amendment helps ensure the legal protections afforded to tenants remain front of mind for both housing providers pursuing public safety cases and judges reviewing them.”
Earlier this year, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced the RENTAL Act in response to what officials anticipated to be the collapse of the housing ecosystem. Affordable housing advocates had been direct in their aim to press for the softening, and even elimination, of the RENTAL Act. At its inception, the legislation included provisions exempting majority market-rate apartments from TOPA and further enshrining changes to eviction laws made by the council last fall.
At large D.C. Councilmember White told his colleagues that elements of the legislation, as introduced before the council with his amendment in the nature of a substitute, reflect his engagement with landlords and tenants. Representatives of the D.C. Building Industry Association (DCBIA) counted among those who made the rounds at At-large D.C. Councilmember White’s office, as well as that of other council members.
DCBIA CEO Liz DeBarros told The Informer that, between first and second reading of the RENTAL Act, she and her colleagues vied for the shortening of the TOPA process timeline, and protections to the low-income housing tax credit and currently covenanted and contracted affordable housing.
Though several on the housing advocacy side feel different, DeBarros said that,at the end of the day, they all share common interests.
“We have partnered with organizations like housing associations, nonprofit developers, African-American real estate professionals,” DeBarros said. “because when, with these two sorts of converging things happen at the same time where there’s no investment, and then the rent is not collected, mission-driven housing providers are as impacted as market rate housing providers in this housing ecosystem, which is why we need such a policy move right now.”
After Much Debate, the Council Solidifies Commanders’ Return to RFK Campus
After what seemed like a roller coaster of meetings, press conferences, and legislative meetings, the council, on its second reading, approved The Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act. The legislation passed on an 11-2 vote, with D.C. Council members Robert White (D-At large) and Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) voting in opposition.
In his on-the-dais remarks about the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act, D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7) said the legislation lays the foundation for equitable development unlike anything Ward 7 has seen in decades.
“I just want to profusely thank my council colleagues, members from our government, the Commanders, as well as so many neighbors across the District of Columbia, but specifically in Ward 7, who have voiced their optimism, their concerns to make sure that we get this right,” Felder said. “It is no secret that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and since I’ve been a Council member, I’ve said this repeatedly: Ward 7 is the only ward in the District of Columbia that does not have an anchor. Today, I’m proud to say that today’s vote will change that.”
In the hours leading up to the second reading, Washington Commanders Team President Mark Clouse, in a letter, criticized the flood of amendments he said jeopardize the Commanders’ ability to construct the stadium, attract events, and follow through on conditions agreed upon in discussions between the team and union organizers.
Felder successfully shepherded an amendment directing funds to a community reinvestment fund and creating a benefits agreement oversight committee composed of residents from Wards 5,6, 7 and 8. Also included in that amendment was a portion, contributed by D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8), that includes anti-displacement protections — including rent and utility help — in the community benefits agreement.
In the leadup to the vote on Felder’s amendment, At-large D.C. Councilmember White and D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) unsuccessfully attempted to amend it, with Parker aiming for more specificity and White’s oral amendment focused on securing $5 million for home purchasing assistance for condominium owners displaced from East River Grandview Condominiums on Talbert Street in Southeast.
Later, At-large D.C. Councilmember White attempted to move amendments that: penalize the Commanders $10 million for every year of delay on the campus redevelopment; cede control of the land from the Commanders if mixed-use development isn’t completed by 2050, remove the 4.25% parking exemption and redirect the sales tax to an anti-displacement fund, establish that displacement fund, and increase the amount in the community benefits agreement to $100 million.
The council struck down the first, third, fourth and fifth of these amendments. Though the second amendment, concerning a 2050 completion deadline for mixed-use development, faced a similar fate, some council members, including D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), responded more favorably to the prospect of the Commanders losing the land lease if they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.
“I think this one is a clear and reasonable safeguard,” Lewis George said. “I don’t think anybody will have an issue running into this because I think they will develop the land. So I think it offers the opportunity to ensure that the city retains leverage and can act in the public interest if promises go unfulfilled.”
Earlier in the Sept. 17 legislative meeting, Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember White successfully moved an amendment allocating funds for youth sports teams. The council later struck down an amendment that D.C. Councilmember Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3) introduced to further incentivize the rapid completion of mixed-use development, including by increasing the potential fair market rent due upon failure to meet development milestones from five to 10 years and imposing a sliding scale of near-term financial penalties for failure to meet those deadlines.
Later, Frumin expressed his overall support for the RFK campus redevelopment legislation, highlighting what he described as a reality about politics.
“It had been my intention that if I could not strengthen the accountability measures that I would vote against the deal overall,” Frumin said. “But I actually was struck by things that Councilmember Pinto said today. It’s gonna happen.I think let’s all get shoulder-to-shoulder and make this as great as it can be, and try to use whatever tools we have to increase accountability.”
Mendelson (D) introduced an amendment and an amendment in the nature of the substitute that: addresses zoning flexibility on RFK campus, while attempting to clarify the Commanders’ obligation to certified business enterprises and small business enterprises, along with First Source and apprenticeship requirements.
The amendment in the nature of the substitute also requires the Executive Office of the Mayor to provide quarterly updates on progress of the construction and transaction documents. An amendment to the amendment in the nature of the substitute sets milestones for the completion of the 10 stages of development, while imposing penalties for any delays. It also clarifies that money from the Transportation Improvement Fund be allocated toward public transit improvements related to RFK campus.
Other elements require that the D.C. Department of Transportation issues a report no later than Jan. 1, 2028, that analyzes the need for a third parking garage and paves the way for the construction of a firehouse. The amendment of the nature of substitute also clarifies that non-team-related events should be designated as District events, for the purposes of collecting parking revenue, while revising LEED language to mandate that the Commanders strive for Level 5 LEED certification.
D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), chair of the council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, extolled Mendelson’s efforts to prioritize his concerns, especially amid the controversy surrounding parking and the removal of heritage trees from RFK campus.
“Football fan or not, every resident should be eager to see these 180 acres become D.C.’s next big neighborhood and be a point of pride for what can be accomplished,” Allen said on Wednesday. “Instead of overbuilding parking spots for eight home games, we’re going to have the most transit-friendly NFL stadium in the country. This stadium is going to set the new standard for how the U.S. can build big, ambitious projects while meeting the moment on climate change.”
Earlier this summer, before going on summer recess, the D.C. Council approved the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act on first reading, with Frumin, At-large D.C. Councilmember White, and D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 3) voting in opposition.
Those who supported the legislation then — like Lewis George — did so in the aftermath of a deal that the Commanders solidified with union organizers.
Josh Armstead of Unite Here! Local 23, commended Lewis George and D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) for what he described as their continuous support of organized labor. Their political maneuvering, he said, ensures equity throughout the development process.
“If the city or any type of municipality is spending money, these labor peace agreements are essential,” Armstead said. “We don’t want our tax dollars and public bonds going towards companies that are going to union bust and fight against employees who want better wages, health care and benefits.
The D.C. Council Approves Police Pay Increase, Mulls Extension of Emergency Youth Curfew
On Wednesday, the council advanced a measure solidifying the increased compensation of the local police force while getting a jumpstart on the discussion around whether to extend the District’s emergency juvenile curfew.
The years-in-the-making collective bargaining agreement between the D.C. government and the D.C. Police Union will cost $300 million throughout the financial plan. It retroactively and proactively raises the salary floor for police officers at $75,000 per year and paves the way for a bevy of benefits.
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) called the agreement a means of boosting police officer recruitment and, amid federal intrusion, proving that D.C. can stand alone in the public safety arena.
“It’s a really important step to finalize that contract negotiation and make very clear that hiring more officers is a priority of the city, of the council, of the mayor,” Pinto told The Informer earlier on Wednesday, “and in our ongoing effort to ensure that we have local control of our own city, supporting our local police department is going to continue to be really important. We don’t need the federal government stepping in when it comes to the public safety of our residents.”
After Ward 8 Councilmember White requested the transfer of the Juvenile Curfew Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act to the non-consent agenda, the council advanced that bill and the Juvenile Curfew Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution on the first reading.
The council will conduct the second and final vote on the bills during the Oct. 7 legislative meeting.
The council’s vote comes near the end of a summer where city officials poured resources into enriching youth and limiting gatherings of youth groups in the District’s commercial areas. The mayor’s emergency order allowed for the Metropolitan Police Department’s designation of curfew zones, where groups of more than eight youth couldn’t gather.
By the time that President Donald J. Trump federalized the police force, the emergency curfew had already been in full swing. On at least one occasion, law enforcement clashed with activists at Metro stops during police encounters with youth.
While D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large) acknowledged that, as Pinto and D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) pointed out, youth hadn’t been detained, she owed that to organizers who often walked the streets this summer, alerting young people to the curfew and encouraging them to go home.
“I’m not gonna be able to support this today for that very reason because…I got all these organizations telling me they don’t have the resources,” Henderson said, “and we continue to do this now with additional federal agents and troops and all of these different things, I feel like we’re creating a conflict here where we don’t have the infrastructure to ensure that the young people remain safe and not in harm’s way.”
The Fight Against Federal Infringement Continues
The latter part of council recess has been anything but relaxing, with members of the D.C. Council responding to President Donald J. Trump federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and congressional Republicans’ advancement of legislation that dismantles locally approved laws.
Long before their return to the dais, a handful of council members— including D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large)— have been appealing to House Democratic leadership for help while standing alongside D.C. residents incensed by the federal interference.
White’s collaboration with the grassroots continued during a virtual town hall that took place the day before the House’s passage of two consequential bills, and three days before Mayor Bowser, Chairman Mendelson, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s appearance before a congressional committee.
In his opening remarks before an audience of community members, White questioned Republicans’ sincerity about curbing crime in the District.
“If the federal government wanted to be a partner in public safety, they could do that here,” White said about the hearing. “We would welcome that. But what I’m seeing is not a desire for partnership. This is political. This is about power, and it makes me really concerned about what I see happening here in D.C. and the impact it will have on us for a long time.”
The Monday night virtual town hall featured: Free DC co-founder Alex Dodds; Harriet’s Wildest Dreams executive director Nee Nee Taylor; MPD Executive Chief Assistant Andre Wright and Seventh District Commander James M. Boteler Jr.; Dr. Hasanna Tyus and Dr. Chio Sheppard of University of District of Columbia; and White House correspondent Ebony McMorris.
Each speaker conducted a presentation about the federal surge from their perspective and answered community members’ questions. At times, accounts of what transpired between Aug. 11 and Sept. 10 differed, with Taylor challenging Wright’s assertion that MPD received positive feedback during the federalization period.
Long before that dialogue unfolded, White reflected on what was coming down the pike in Congress. His remarks came more than a week after he and other council members shared a platform with Free DC outside of the U.S. Capitol. They also come amid concerns about the damage that congressional Republicans can inflict on the District if left up to their own devices.
“If one [of these bills] passes, we’re going to continue to see more of them go through,” White said on Monday. “It is really important that Democrats — and frankly, I think Republicans should be with us — do not support those bills, which is one of the reasons I’ve spent so much time on Capitol Hill this summer talking to offices. Most of those offices say they’ve not heard from D.C officials, so it is important that we be there.”
A day after White’s virtual town hall, the House approved the D.C. CRIMES Act, which limits the District’s control over its sentencing laws, and H.R. 5140, which allows for the sentencing of 14-year-olds as adults for violent crimes. The former bill passed by a 240-179 vote, with 31 Democrats voting in approval. On the second bill, eight Democrats joined 217 Republicans in its advancement.
The mayhem continued on Wednesday as 29 Democrats joined 216 Republicans in the House’s approval of the District of Columbia Policing Protection Act, which allows for the vehicular pursuit of suspects. No Democrats supported the House Republican-approved District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act, which allows the president to unilaterally appoint District judges.
On Tuesday, Ankit Jain, a U.S. shadow senator representing the District, took to the platform formerly known as Twitter in criticism of House Democrats— and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in particular— for not standing in opposition to Republicans, despite pleas from local lawmakers. For Jain, Democrats must stand united on protecting D.C. home rule, or risk the danger of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans inflicting similar damage across the country.
“I don’t want them to be looking back maybe three months from now and being like, ‘Oh, no, what have we done? We’ve emboldened these Republicans to come out to blue cities across the country,’” Jain said about House Democrats. “They will realize that this…pretending to go after crime to impose [Republican] values on these blue cities, it unites them and divides Democrats. And if [Republicans] see that, then they’re going to keep on pushing.”
Jain sees some hope in the Senate.
“The good news for us is that for these bills to pass, they have to overcome a filibuster in the Senate,” he told The Informer. “Which means they need 60 votes, which means they need at least seven Democrat senators to vote yes.”
And so the battle continues to counter federal intrusion on local affairs.
On Tuesday, hours before the House vote, Jain joined D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large) at the National Press Club during an “NPC Headliners” event focused on federalization of D.C. and dispatch of National Guard troops. As members of the D.C. Council continue to make their trips to the Hill, Jain counts among those asking for the coordination of efforts in that arena.
He also told The Informer that he wants his Wilson Building colleagues to stand firm on the dais.
“I don’t think that we should be changing our laws to suit the whims of the president or the whims of these far-right out-of-state Republicans,” Jain said. “We should be passing laws that we think are right for our residents. I made that clear to members of the council that we shouldn’t be rewriting the laws because someone else wants to.”
This fall, the council will more than likely divide its time between staving off federal interference and shepherding legislation. For instance, D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, chairperson of the council’s Committee on Public Works, is advancing a bill through the Committee on Transportation and the Environment that aims to reduce littering via a bottle deposit program.
Nadeau expressed eagerness about the work ahead, telling The Informer that being an elected official is a balancing act. “Even though these are challenging times,” Nadeau said, “and we have a lot on our plate trying to defend our democracy here, we’re also going to get excited to get to work and do the things that we meant to do.”
In the aftermath of Bowser’s comments extolling the federal surge, Nadeau stood up among those who criticized the mayor and cautioned her against legitimizing Trump’s actions. Nadeau said her remarks came after untold hours spent with residents fearful of ICE arrests and what’s been described as the blatant disregard for their rights.
“Any assertion that their presence has been positive really is a disconnect from what I am seeing in the community and from what guides me in the way that I talk about these issues,” Nadeau told The Informer. “The public is really clamoring for bold leadership that will fight back right now. That’s what we need, and that’s what they need. Any hint of complying or backing down really makes people feel less safe and our very existence is at risk.”
Shortly after the end of the federalization, Bowser issued a mayoral order outlining the District’s cooperation with the federal government on public safety matters. During the early morning hours on Monday, Trump threatened to evoke Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, once again, upon learning that Bowser excluded ICE in her mayoral order.
As of Wednesday, the Executive Office of the Mayor has yet to release a statement about Trump’s comments.
Early in the federalization period, MPD issued an executive order espousing cooperation with ICE, including the sharing of information about those not in MPD custody. Though apparently content with the federal surge, Bowser acknowledged soured community-police relations and the perils of encounters with masked federal agents.
In recent days, however, Bowser hasn’t been clear on the nature of MPD’s relationship with ICE, even clashing with members of the press corps on occasion about the topic. Though there have been talks about a “transition period” where ICE no longer has a presence on D.C. streets, Mendelson too stopped short of confirming that the vision is materializing.
“I’m not sure that as I stand here that I can really paint a clear picture of that transition,” Mendelson said at his pre-legislative meeting press briefing on Tuesday morning. “but I do know that, and I said this before, the presence of masked men without identification, jumping out of vans and snatching people, grabbing a father who’s walking his little daughter to school is terrorizing the community, and that needs to stop.”
Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember Trayon White Returns without a Committee Assignment
A reemerged Ward 8 Councilmember White voted on legislation at the council’s Sept. 17 legislative meeting, but not before, as promised on the campaign trail and in his August swearing-in ceremony, weighing in the current state of affairs.
As explained earlier in this report, White would have ample opportunity to do just as much on the dais. Shortly before the council conducted its first Committee of the Whole meeting of the fall season, White hinted at his thoughts while speaking to The Informer about the Robert F. Kennedy Redevelopment Act.
“I think that we are doing a lot for the business community and for development,” White said, “but I’m trying to figure out how we can do more for everyday working-class people in the District. I think that there has to be a healthy balance to that, and so we have to figure that out.”
As mentioned in this report, Ward 8 Councilmember White introduced amendments to the Robert F. Kennedy Redevelopment Act and the RENTAL Act in the spirit of equity. As it relates to the business, however, speaking on the dais during Committee of the Whole and legislative meetings would be the most that White could do.
On Tuesday, Mendelson stood firm in his decision to not assign White to any council committees.
“The important work of the council is done at our legislative meetings,” Mendelson told reporters at his pre-legislative meeting press briefing. “That’s what counts. And I would add that there is no member, other than arguably me, who is on every committee. So every member is not on a bunch of committees, no different.”
Earlier this year, in the aftermath of his federal bribery indictment, the D.C. Council unanimously expelled White from the legislative body. White later threw his hat in the Ward 8 D.C. Council special election, besting Salim Adofo, Mike Austin, and Sheila Bunn.
Bunn has since become White’s chief of staff, while Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Robin McKinney and Fria Moore, respectively, are serving as constituent services director and special assistant. Troy Donte Prestwood, president of the Ward 8 Democrats, is serving as communications director
Shortly after winning the special election, White visited council chambers, where he told The Informer about his plans to rebuild his office and secure a committee assignment. With that vision not coming to fruition, White continues to fight for what he described as his right as an elected representative of Ward 8.
“They have a voice [so I can] vet and give Ward 8’s thoughts on issues facing these committees that affect them directly each and every day,” White told The Informer. “One thing about being on a committee, you have the ability to know what’s going on in real time, vote on it. If something’s coming out of committee, that’s a lot of leverage, and part of being in policies is finding leverage to get things done.”
A Go-Go Artist Fights for a Piece of the Pie
On the first reading, the D.C. Council approved the Marvin “Slush” Gross Way Designation Act, a bill that allows for the symbolic naming of Sumner Road in Southeast in honor of the late Marvin “Slush” Gross, a Barry Farm resident and pioneer of “beat your feet” dance moves that grew popular in the go-go world during the early 2000s.
Sitting in council chambers during that vote were members of The United Go-Go Association, a campaign launched amid concerns that public funds earmarked for go-go aren’t reaching the majority of the District’s go-go acts.
Joe Jackson, a member of that movement, told The Informer that up-and-coming go-go bands stand to be left out of an industry that’s growing in global prominence.
“There are 90 verified go-go bands out here, but if the same five bands continue to get 85% of the funding, it creates a monopoly because now this band has free revenue that they can basically put into being in movies, creating movies, making their platforms bigger, traveling from state to state, recording in a studio,” said Jackson, a rapper in the Urban Rhythm Band and founder of Go-Go Ventures, a go-go distribution company.
Last weekend, Jackson took to social media during the District’s Art All Night, taking aim at featured go-go acts he said don’t represent the essence of the homegrown genre. While speaking to The Informer, Jackson declined to specify the bands he was referring to, but noted that it’s incumbent upon the D.C. government to all artists.
“We’re not putting our best product forward. It takes away our credibility [and] our validity by not showing our best product all the time,” Jackson said. “It just totally dismantles the integrity of what we’re supposed to be.”
In 2020, Bowser signed the Go-Go Official Music of the District of Columbia Designation Act into law, which solidified go-go’s status as the official music genre of the District. The Go-Go Support Program would later be launched under the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) as a means of financially supporting artists and organizations in spreading the go-go sound.
OCTFME didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.
Earlier this year, Bowser’s issuance of a mayoral order during the continuing resolution fiasco on the Hill froze Fiscal Year 2025 discretionary spending, which includes the Go-Go Support Program. In an online note, OCTFME Director LaToya Foster expressed her commitment to preserve the culture, despite current circumstances.
“We understand how important these resources are to our creative community, and we share your commitment to preserving and elevating go-go music and culture,” Foster said in the communique. “Please know that this pause is part of citywide efforts to address unprecedented budget constraints imposed by Congress and does not reflect the value we place on your work or the vibrant go-go community as a whole.”
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