Candace Tiana Nelson
At-Large ምክር ቤት — መደበኛ ምርጫ — የዴሞክራቲክ ፓርቲ የመጀመሪያ ዙር ምርጫ, ጁን 16፣ 2026
በዲሲ ፍትሃዊ ምርጫ ፕሮግራም (Fair Elections Program) ይሳተፋል ✓Candace Tiana Nelson (age 50) was born and raised in Winchester, Virginia, often the only Black student in her class or grade. She credits her parents — her father on 12-hour shifts at Rubbermaid, her mother working 12-hour hospital shifts while earning a Master's in Nursing and testifying before Congress with her union — for her sense of dignity, perseverance, and commitment to organized labor. She calls herself "a Legacy of Labor" and is a former member of AFGE Local 1000. She lives in the Brightwood neighborhood. Her two decades across DC government span the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Roles include: Special Projects Officer at the Department of Healthcare Finance, managing a $110 million contract that created District Direct, which transformed resident access to Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF during COVID-19; policy analyst authoring a key recommendation that led to the creation of DC's Office of African American Affairs; and work at the Office of Women's Policy and Initiatives, where she established DC's partnership with Work Smart, a wage-negotiation program for women, especially returning citizens. She served on two Mayoral Transition Teams, and as an ANC Commissioner in Ward 4, before becoming transition director and then chief of staff for Attorney General Brian Schwalb following his 2022 election. Most recently she was chief of staff to Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. She currently serves as President of the DC Black Democratic Caucus. Nelson's platform priorities are home rule (she opposes any preemptive compliance with Trump administration overreach), education (she wants a reinstated standalone DC Council Education Committee), housing affordability (expanding rent stabilization, strengthening TOPA, fully funding the Housing Production Trust Fund), workers' rights (creating a DC Department of Labor and Workers' Rights, a Workers' Bill of Rights), and transit equity (BRT for Wards 7 and 8, protected bike lanes). She is endorsed by Jews United for Justice, Bike Walk & Bus PAC, and AFGE Local 2725.
ድጋፎች (Endorsements) (3)
የሠራተኛ ማህበራት
- AFGE Local 2725 – AFL-CIO
የተሟጋችነት እና የማህበረሰብ ድርጅቶች
- Jews United for Justice
- Bike, Walk & Bus PAC
በጉዳዮች ላይ ያሉ አቋሞች
ሁሉም አቋሞች በቀጥታ ከዕጩው የምርጫ ቅስቀሳ ቁሳቁሶች፣ ከይፋዊ የመጠይቅ ምላሾች ወይም ከተረጋገጠ የዜና ዘገባ የተገኙ ናቸው። አቋሞች ከበጽኑ ይቃወማል (−2) እስከ በጽኑ ይደግፋል (+2) ባለው ሚዛን ይመዘናሉ። ያልታወቀ አቋም ማለት ምንም ይፋዊ አቋም አልተገኘም ማለት ነው።
ዲሲ TOPA ን (የተከራዮች የመግዛት ዕድል አዋጅ) መልሳ ማቋቋምና ማጠናከር አለባት፣ ይህም ተከራዮች ህንፃቸው ለውጭ ገዢ ከመሸጡ በፊት የመግዛት መብት እንዲኖራቸው ለማድረግ ነው።
Explicitly pledges to 'Strengthen Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and give tenants a fair chance to stay in their homes,' framing it as a core housing-justice commitment.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
ዲሲ የኪራይ ማረጋጊያን (rent stabilization) ከ1975 በኋላ የተገነቡ ህንፃዎችን ጨምሮ ተጨማሪ ቤቶችን እንዲሸፍን ማስፋት አለባት።
Explicitly pledges to 'Expand rent stabilization to support affordable and stable rents for working families as more buildings are constructed.' Frames stable, affordable housing as a human right.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
ዲሲ የቤት ምርት መተማመኛ ፈንድን (Housing Production Trust Fund) በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ማሳደግ አለባት።
Explicitly names 'fully funding the Housing Production Trust Fund' as part of her homeownership-pathway agenda, alongside the First Right to Purchase Program.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
ዲሲ ተጨማሪ የተጠበቁ የብስክሌት መንገዶችን እና ለአውቶቡስ የተወሰኑ መንገዶችን (bus lanes) መገንባት አለባት።
Explicitly proposes to 'Improve protected bike lanes and pedestrianized corridors particularly in high-traffic neighborhoods' and 'Advocate for a more robust Bus Rapid Transit network, especially in underserved communities in Wards 7 and 8.' Endorsed by Bike, Walk & Bus PAC.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
MPD በዲሲ ውስጥ በሚካሄዱ የኢሚግሬሽን ማስከበር ሥራዎች ላይ ICE ን ወይም ሌሎች የፌደራል ኤጀንሲዎችን መርዳት የለበትም።
Pledges to 'Defend our local Sanctuary City protections from attacks by Congress and from fellow elected leaders who are quick to compromise our values,' ensuring DC remains a safe place for immigrant communities. Will refuse to preemptively comply with Trump administration overreach.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
ዲሲ ትምህርት ቤቶች ከትምህርት ባሻገር የአእምሮ ጤና፣ የቤተሰብ ድጋፍ እና ሌሎች አገልግሎቶችን የሚሰጡ የሰፈር ማዕከላት የሚሆኑበትን 'የማህበረሰብ ትምህርት ቤቶች' (community schools) ሞዴል ማስፋት አለባት።
Supports coordination and expanded funding to meet needs of children in poverty, with disabilities, or in foster care, and proposes a standalone DC Council Education Committee. Does not specifically endorse the community schools model by name, but her 'cradle to retirement' education framework aligns with its wraparound-services philosophy.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
ዲሲ በከተማ አስተዳደር ላይ ለሚደረግ የትራምፕ አስተዳደር ጣልቃ ገብነት ጸጥ ካለ ዲፕሎማሲ ወይም ተግባራዊ ድርድር ይልቅ በቆራጥ፣ ይፋዊ አቋም — ክስ በመመስረት፣ የጥበቃ ሕጎችን በማጽደቅ እና ሕገ-ወጥ የፌደራል ትዕዛዞችን ለመፈጸም በመቃወም — ምላሽ መስጠት አለባት።
Home rule is her first platform priority — explicitly opposes any preemptive compliance with Trump administration overreach and pledges to 'Defend our local Sanctuary City protections from attacks by Congress and from fellow elected leaders who are quick to compromise our values.' At the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate she said DC's wins against federal interference 'have been in the judiciary branch' and pledged to 'support ensuring the office of the attorney general has what they need to sue,' fight 'collectively,' and create an office of federal affairs in the Council, drawing on having seen the Mayor, Council, and AG fail to coordinate when she was a Ward 4 chief of staff.
ምንጮች፦ [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website], [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ዲሲ ጥቃትን እንደ የሕዝብ ጤና ችግር ልትመለከተውና በጥቃት ማቋረጥ ፕሮግራሞች እና በማህበረሰብ-ተኮር መፍትሄዎች ላይ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ኢንቨስት ማድረግ አለባት።
At the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate Nelson said repeat youth offenders should be met with 'pathways [rather] than punishment' — violence interruption, mental health supports, and conflict resolution, plus career pathways through programs like the DC Infrastructure Academy and a youth council working 'lock in step' with the Council. A clear prevention-over-punishment, community-based public-safety stance.
ምንጮች፦ [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ዲሲ የፖሊስ መኮንኖችን ከመንግሥት ትምህርት ቤቶች ውጭ ማድረግ እና በምትኩ በአማካሪዎች፣ በማህበራዊ ሠራተኞች እና በአእምሮ-ጤና ሠራተኞች ላይ ኢንቨስት ማድረግ አለባት።
Reverse-coded question: keeping armed police out of schools aligns with the statement. In the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate lightning round, Nelson gave an emphatic 'no' to returning armed police to all DC public high schools, urging investment in mental health services so schools 'remain a healthy place to be' rather than criminalizing young people.
ምንጮች፦ [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ዲሲ ለMetro (WMATA) የሚሰጠውን የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ማሳደግ አለባት፣ ሌሎች የከተማ አገልግሎቶችን መቀነስ ቢያስከትልም እንኳ።
At the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate Nelson said she 'would not increase the funding,' because Virginia and Maryland 'are not paying enough' and DC has been paying more than its share.
ምንጮች፦ [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ዲሲ በዲስትሪክቱ ውስጥ የሚሰሩ ግን በMaryland ወይም Virginia የሚኖሩ ሰዎች ላይ የተጓዥ ግብር (commuter tax) መጣል አለባት (የፌደራል ሕግ ቢፈቅድ)።
At the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate Nelson answered 'yes' to a regional commuter tax, while acknowledging that congressional oversight would likely block such a bill.
ምንጮች፦ [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ሁለቱ ሲጋጩ፣ ዲሲ በእያንዳንዱ ፕሮጀክት ላይ የጥልቅ-ተመጣጣኝነት መስፈርቶችን ከማብዛት ይልቅ ተጨማሪ ቤት በፍጥነት መገንባትን — ገበያ-ዋጋን ጨምሮ — ቅድሚያ መስጠት አለባት።
At the April 28, 2026 Fair Elections Program At-Large debate Nelson said housing 'production... we know we need it'; while she also wants balanced and deeply affordable housing, she stressed that 'the production of that is highly important.' Production-leaning.
ምንጮች፦ [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
ዲሲ የሠራተኞችን ጥበቃ ማጠናከር አለባት — የሚከፈልበት የቤተሰብ እና የህክምና ዕረፍትን በማስፋት እና ዝቅተኛ ደመወዝን በማሳደግ — ለአሠሪዎች ወጪ ቢያስከትል እንኳ።
Nelson, who calls herself 'a legacy of labor' and a former union member, makes worker power a centerpiece — fighting for a living wage for all, a Workers' Bill of Rights, a DC Department of Labor & Workers Rights, and expanded union jobs and protections. Strongly supports.
ምንጮች፦ [Fair Wages and Stable Jobs — Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council]
ዲሲ ካምፖችን በማፍረስ ላይ ከመተማመን ይልቅ ቤት አልባነትን ለመፍታት ቋሚ የድጋፍ መኖሪያ ቤትን እና 'Housing First' አገልግሎቶችን ማስፋት አለባት።
Nelson would protect unhoused neighbors from 'inhumane encampment evictions,' expand wraparound services, and back permanent supportive housing and Housing First models. Strongly supports a Housing First approach over encampment clearing.
አጠቃላይ ምንጮች
- Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website — candacefordc.com. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-29.
- Meet the candidates for an At-Large seat on the DC Council — The 51st — The 51st. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-27.