Aparna Raj
የWard 1 የምክር ቤት አባል — የዴሞክራቲክ ፓርቲ የመጀመሪያ ዙር ምርጫ, ጁን 16፣ 2026
በዲሲ ፍትሃዊ ምርጫ ፕሮግራም (Fair Elections Program) ይሳተፋል ✓Aparna Raj (age 32) is a tenant organizer, union member, and queer woman of color who has lived in Columbia Heights for a decade with her husband Stuart and their dog Frank. She describes her motivation in personal terms: her mother came to the US as an immigrant and worked minimum-wage retail without the ability to take sick time; her father lost his job in 2009 and the family scrambled to make ends meet; and as her parents age, the prospect of a medical emergency bankrupting them looms. Those experiences led her to volunteer with Metro DC DSA, through which she organized for tenants' rights (including alongside the tenants of Marbury Plaza), worked to defend and expand tenant protections against the real estate lobby, and organized against Trump. She previously worked at a nonprofit addressing food insecurity in DC and now works for Local Progress, a progressive policy nonprofit. She served on ANC 1A's Housing Justice and Zoning Committee and fought for housing that meets people's needs rather than developer profits. As a union member she served on her unit's bargaining committee and picketed alongside restaurant workers, bus drivers, and mechanics. She has raised more money than any other Ward 1 candidate, hitting the Fair Elections Program funding ceiling. Her housing platform is the most detailed in the race: she would expand rent stabilization to all buildings built after 1975 (with a goal of universal coverage at the 2030 reauthorization), restore TOPA for all DC residents, allocate $125 million annually to the Housing Production Trust Fund, and pilot social housing modeled on Montgomery County and Seattle. On childcare, she would guarantee free publicly funded care from age 3 months to 3 years — no means testing, paid for by taxes on large corporations — by fully funding the existing Birth to Three infrastructure. Her energy platform calls for PSC reform (reducing Pepco's guaranteed return to ~6%), fully funding Solar for All and home electrification programs, and ultimately transitioning to public ownership of DC's utilities. She has a detailed rat-control platform including smart rodent-proof bins, a DC Rat Czar to coordinate DPW and DC Health, and a composting expansion. On workers' rights she would extend the right to strike to public sector workers, introduce fair scheduling legislation, and introduce a DC Right to Organize Act. On transit she would build dedicated bus lanes (citing 15% commuting time savings), increase bus frequency to 12-minute minimums, and close bicycle network connectivity gaps. On public safety she emphasizes violence interruption ("Cure the Streets"), non-police crisis response, and youth programming. She supports ending MPD cooperation with ICE, strengthening the Sanctuary Values Act, and funding free public immigration legal services. Ward 1 is majority-Spanish-speaking in many blocks; Raj is actively learning Spanish and has committed to fully translated constituent communications.
ድጋፎች (Endorsements) (32)
የሠራተኛ ማህበራት
- Washington Teachers' Union
- Local 25 – UNITE HERE (hotel, restaurant, casino workers)
- Unite Here! Local 23
- Amalgamated Transit Union – ATU Local 689
- Metropolitan Washington Council – AFL-CIO
- 32BJ SEIU
- SEIU Local 500
- Committee of Interns and Residents – SEIU Healthcare
- AFSCME – District Council 20
- AFGE Local 2978
- AFGE Local 2725
- AFGE – District 14
- UFCW Local 400
- CWA – Maryland-DC State Council
- Teamsters Local 639
- Nonprofit Professional Employees Union
- International Association of Fire Fighters – Local 36
የተሟጋችነት እና የማህበረሰብ ድርጅቶች
- Working Families Party
- Greater Greater Washington (Rank #1)
- Metro DC DSA
- Sierra Club
- Jews United for Justice
- Bike, Walk & Bus PAC
- DC Women in Politics
- DC for Democracy
- DC Voters for Animals (#2 Ranking)
- Our Revolution DC
- Run for Something
- Lead Locally
- Rachel's Action Network
- The Woodner Tenants' Union
- Tivoli Gardens Tenants Association – Asociación de Inquilinos
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 የኪራይ ማረጋጊያን (rent stabilization) ከ1975 በኋላ የተገነቡ ህንፃዎችን ጨምሮ ተጨማሪ ቤቶችን እንዲሸፍን ማስፋት አለባት።
Would expand rent stabilization to properties built after 1975 and push for universal coverage of all multifamily buildings at the 2030 reauthorization. Wants to reverse harmful provisions of the RENTAL Act and fund tenant attorneys through the Access to Justice program.
ዲሲ TOPA ን (የተከራዮች የመግዛት ዕድል አዋጅ) መልሳ ማቋቋምና ማጠናከር አለባት፣ ይህም ተከራዮች ህንፃቸው ለውጭ ገዢ ከመሸጡ በፊት የመግዛት መብት እንዲኖራቸው ለማድረግ ነው።
Explicitly calls for restoring TOPA to all District residents — including single-family homes, 2–4 unit buildings, and new downtown construction stripped in recent rollbacks — and strengthening the First Right Purchase Program for limited equity cooperatives.
ዲሲ የቤት ምርት መተማመኛ ፈንድን (Housing Production Trust Fund) በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ማሳደግ አለባት።
Explicitly calls for $125 million allocated to the HPTF annually, with five-year production targets and rigorous oversight of DHCD. Would require HPTF to prioritize TOPA projects and reform the opaque Qualified Allocation Plan.
ዲሲ የማህበራዊ ቤት ሞዴል — በመንግሥት ባለቤትነት የተያዘ፣ የተለያየ ገቢ ያላቸው የሚኖሩበት ቤት — መከተል አለባት።
Would pilot District-owned, tenant-controlled social housing modeled on Montgomery County's HOC and Seattle, built with union labor and to high environmental standards, open to residents from all income levels.
ዲሲ ተጨማሪ የተጠበቁ የብስክሌት መንገዶችን እና ለአውቶቡስ የተወሰኑ መንገዶችን (bus lanes) መገንባት አለባት።
Would build dedicated bus lanes (citing 15% commuting time savings), increase bus frequency to 12-minute minimums, extend existing lane hours, and close remaining bicycle network connectivity gaps to make it possible to ride safely east-to-west across Ward 1. At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC transportation forum she named east-west connectivity a top priority, argued 'paint is not protection' in pushing to make the 14th Street bike lanes physically protected, and called for more bus shelters (noting they cluster in whiter, wealthier wards).
ምንጮች፦ [Platform — Aparna Raj for DC Council], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]
የዲሲ አውቶቡሶች ለሁሉም ተጓዦች ከክፍያ ነፃ (fare-free) መሆን አለባቸው።
At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC forum she said 'buses should be a free public good in the same way that we consider libraries and parks a public good' — the position of the transit union (ATU Local 689) that endorsed her — because fare enforcement endangers drivers and fares are an unreliable funding source. Would fund free buses through a land value tax (which she says could raise up to $1 billion), commit to confirming only WMATA board members who back free buses, and fight for a free-bus pilot to build momentum for a permanent program.
ምንጮች፦ [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]
ዲሲ የመጨናነቅ ዋጋ አወጣጥ (congestion pricing) ተግባራዊ ማድረግ አለባት — አሽከርካሪዎች በከተማ መሃል በጣም በተጨናነቁ ክፍሎች ለመግባት ክፍያ እንዲከፍሉ ማድረግ።
At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC forum, asked how the Council should discourage driving, she said she 'would fight to get DOT to release the congestion pricing study that they've been holding on to' and 'would potentially support' congestion pricing — pairing it with cheaper, more frequent transit, better bus shelters, and programs to teach kids to bike. Supportive but tentative ('potentially').
ምንጮች፦ [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]
MPD በዲሲ ውስጥ በሚካሄዱ የኢሚግሬሽን ማስከበር ሥራዎች ላይ ICE ን ወይም ሌሎች የፌደራል ኤጀንሲዎችን መርዳት የለበትም።
Would end MPD collaboration with ICE including joint patrols, surveillance, and intelligence sharing; strengthen the Sanctuary Values Act with enforceable consequences for officials who break it; ban law enforcement from wearing masks; fund free public immigration legal services.
እያንዳንዱ የዲሲ የመንግሥት ትምህርት ቤት የተወሰነ የባህሪ ጤና ባለሙያ (behavioral health clinician) በሠራተኝነት ሊኖረው ይገባል።
Would increase funding for school-based behavioral health services, opposing the FY26 budget's $2.3 million cut to school behavioral health. Supports expanding school counselors, social workers, and nurses; funds mobile health crisis units; and expands the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic program. At the WTU Ward 1 education forum she underscored that 'not every school has a counselor… not every school has a school nurse,' calling these vital supports for students' wellness, health, and safety.
ምንጮች፦ [Platform — Aparna Raj for DC Council], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Education (WTU)]
ዲሲ የDC የመንግሥት ትምህርት ቤቶች ላይ ያለውን የከንቲባ ቁጥጥር ማቆም እና ሥልጣኑን ለተመረጠ የስቴት የትምህርት ቦርድ (State Board of Education) መመለስ አለባት።
At the WTU Ward 1 education forum she pledged to 'democratize our school system' and bring OSSE under the control of the elected State Board of Education — 'which is how it works in the majority of states' — so State Board members (often current or former teachers) gain more decision-making authority. Would also hold public charter schools to the same accountability and transparency standards as DCPS. Directly supports ending mayoral control in favor of the elected board.
ዲሲ ጥቃትን እንደ የሕዝብ ጤና ችግር ልትመለከተውና በጥቃት ማቋረጥ ፕሮግራሞች እና በማህበረሰብ-ተኮር መፍትሄዎች ላይ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ኢንቨስት ማድረግ አለባት።
Would expand 'Cure the Streets' violence interruption and community violence intervention programs; consolidate DC's patchwork of non-police crisis responders into a single coordinated program for mental health, substance use, and homelessness calls; and invest in 911 paramedic call takers to route mental health emergencies to appropriate responders.
ማንኛውም የወጣቶች የሰዓት እላፊ ለወጣቶች በአማራጭ ፕሮግራም ላይ — ሥራዎች፣ የመዝናኛ ማዕከላት፣ የአእምሮ ጤና አገልግሎቶች — ከፍተኛ ኢንቨስትመንት ጋር መታጀብ አለበት።
Would fully fund after-school and weekend programs, revitalize the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, and expand rec center hours with programming that kids want. Frames youth programming investment as crime prevention: 'early childhood education is proven to reduce adolescent crime.'
ዲሲ ለፓርኮች እና መዝናኛ ዲፓርትመንት የሚሰጠውን የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ማሳደግ አለባት፣ የተራዘመ የመዝናኛ ማዕከል ሰዓቶችን እና የተስፋፋ የወጣቶችና የአረጋውያን ፕሮግራምን ጨምሮ።
Would resist cuts to rec centers and public spaces and fight to invest in longer hours and improved physical infrastructure. Specifically proposes expanding rec center hours with programming for youth, and advocates for bringing Ward 1's federally maintained parks under DPR control.
ዲሲ የተደጎመ የህፃናት እንክብካቤን ወደ ሁሉን አቀፍ ፕሮግራም ማስፋት አለባት — ለሁሉም የዲሲ ነዋሪዎች ምንም ይሁን ገቢያቸው የሚገኝ — በPre-K ማሻሻያ እና ማስፋፊያ ፕሮግራም (PKEEP) ላይ በመገንባት።
Would guarantee free, publicly funded childcare for every DC child from age 3 months to 3 years — no means testing, no fees, no benefits cliff — by fully funding the existing Birth to Three program infrastructure. Would pay for it with taxes on large corporations and the ultrawealthy, and protect and expand the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund.
ዲሲ የዲስትሪክቱን ሥር የሰደደ የአይጥ ወረርሽኝ ለመፍታት ሁሉን አቀፍ የመላ-ከተማ የአይጥ ቁጥጥር ፕሮግራም ተግባራዊ ማድረግ አለባት — መደበኛ የቆሻሻ መያዣዎችን አይጥ በማይገባባቸው ማጠራቀሚያዎች መተካትን ጨምሮ።
Has a detailed, multi-pronged rat platform: replace open-top public litter cans with smart rodent-proof bins with compaction sensors; pest-proof household trash bins with locked tops; appoint a DC Rat Czar to coordinate DPW and DC Health; expand composting to restaurants; explore rat birth control pilots; and strengthen landlord accountability for chronic infestations. Notes Ward 1 reports the most rats in the District year after year.
ዲሲ Pepco ን ለመተካት በመንግሥት ባለቤትነት የተያዘ የኤሌክትሪክ አገልግሎት መፍጠር አለባት።
Explicitly: 'Aparna believes that DC should transition to public ownership of its utilities.' Argues that regulation through the PSC has failed to check investor-owned monopolies, and points to the 2,000+ municipal utilities nationwide (including the whole state of Nebraska) whose customers pay about 13% less. Sees public power as the way to lower bills, meet climate goals, and create union jobs.
ዲሲ ነጠላ-ቤተሰብ-ብቻ የዞን ገደቦችን በማስወገድ አፓርትመንቶችን እና 'የጎደለ-መሃል' ቤትን (ድብል፣ ትሪፕል እና ትናንሽ ባለ-ብዙ ቤተሰብ ህንፃዎች) በመላ ከተማው ሕጋዊ ማድረግ አለባት።
Will 'make it legal to build apartments everywhere in DC,' citing Portland and Cambridge, and specifically upzone transit corridors such as Georgia Ave and 14th St. Would amend the Future Land Use Map to end exclusionary zoning, allow 'light-touch density' (duplexes, triplexes, sixplexes) by reducing minimum lot sizes and setbacks, ease alley-home rules, and reduce or eliminate parking minimums near transit. At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC forum she called transit-oriented development 'a no-brainer,' voicing strong support for upzoning near Metro stations and along transit corridors so people can live near transit.
ምንጮች፦ [Platform — Aparna Raj for DC Council], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]
ዲሲ ለዲስትሪክት ቤተሰቦች ከልደት እስከ ሦስት ዓመት ድረስ ነፃ፣ ጥራት ያለው የህፃናት እንክብካቤ — ምንም የመጠባበቂያ ዝርዝር (waitlist) ሳይኖር — ዋስትና መስጠት አለባት።
Would guarantee free, publicly funded childcare for every DC child from age 3 months to 3 years — no means testing, no fees, no benefits cliff — by fully funding the existing Birth to Three infrastructure, paid for by taxes on large corporations and the ultrawealthy.
ዲሲ የፖሊስ መኮንኖችን ከመንግሥት ትምህርት ቤቶች ውጭ ማድረግ እና በምትኩ በአማካሪዎች፣ በማህበራዊ ሠራተኞች እና በአእምሮ-ጤና ሠራተኞች ላይ ኢንቨስት ማድረግ አለባት።
Would invest in 'good schools for all,' including counselors, social workers, nurses, and other support staff so students have trusted adults — and supports shifting mental-health, substance-use, and wellness-check responses away from police toward trained civilian responders. Emphasizes non-police supports rather than a police presence in schools.
ዲሲ የዲስትሪክቱን የበጀት ክፍተት ለመዝጋት በትላልቅ ኮርፖሬሽኖች እና በሀብታም ነዋሪዎች ላይ ግብር ማሳደግ አለባት።
Explicitly funds her universal childcare and affordable housing platforms with 'taxes on large corporations and the ultrawealthy,' framing progressive corporate taxation as the alternative to service cuts or income-tested subsidies.
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።
Would strengthen the Sanctuary Values Act with enforceable consequences for officials who break it, ban law enforcement from wearing masks, and fund free public immigration legal services — an assertive legislative posture against federal overreach targeting DC's immigrant communities.
ዲሲ የነዋሪዎችን የኤሌክትሪክ ሂሳብ ለመቀነስ በጽኑ መንቀሳቀስ አለባት — ለምሳሌ የPepco ዋጋ ጭማሪዎችን በሕዝብ አገልግሎት ኮሚሽን (Public Service Commission) በኩል በመቃወም ወይም መልሶ በመቀልበስ።
Raj's platform centers an 'energy affordability crisis' agenda: demanding stricter PSC oversight of rate increases, cutting Pepco's guaranteed 9.5% return toward 6%, barring utilities from using ratepayer funds to lobby, creating shutoff guardrails, and ultimately moving toward public ownership. Strongly supports aggressive action to lower electricity bills.
ዲሲ የሠራተኞችን ጥበቃ ማጠናከር አለባት — የሚከፈልበት የቤተሰብ እና የህክምና ዕረፍትን በማስፋት እና ዝቅተኛ ደመወዝን በማሳደግ — ለአሠሪዎች ወጪ ቢያስከትል እንኳ።
A union member and former bargaining-committee rep, Raj backs a $25 living-wage minimum, restoring Initiative 82's tipped-wage increase, fully funding the childcare Pay Equity Fund, new worker-rights enforcement (a DC version of California's PAGA), and protections against gig misclassification. Strongly supports expanding worker protections.
ዲሲ ካምፖችን በማፍረስ ላይ ከመተማመን ይልቅ ቤት አልባነትን ለመፍታት ቋሚ የድጋፍ መኖሪያ ቤትን እና 'Housing First' አገልግሎቶችን ማስፋት አለባት።
Raj would end chronic homelessness by funding Permanent Supportive Housing, LRSP, and bridge housing, reforming Rapid Rehousing, and replacing lost federal vouchers with local dollars — while explicitly opposing 'Trump and Mayor Bowser's violent encampment evictions' and criminalization. Strongly supports a Housing First approach.
አጠቃላይ ምንጮች
- Platform — Aparna Raj for DC Council — Aparna Raj Campaign. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-30.
- Aparna Raj for DC Council — Campaign Website — Aparna Raj Campaign. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-30.
- Meet the candidates running to represent Ward 1 — The 51st — The 51st. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-27.
- Ward 1 candidates helped clean Columbia Heights — El Tiempo Latino — El Tiempo Latino. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-05-28.
- Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Education (WTU) — Washington Teachers' Union. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-06-02.
- Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC) — DC Bike, Walk & Bus PAC. የተገኘበት ቀን 2026-06-03.