Candace Tiana Nelson
At-Large Council — Regular Election — Democratic Primary, June 16, 2026
Participating in DC Fair Elections Program ✓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.
Endorsements (3)
Labor unions
- AFGE Local 2725 – AFL-CIO
Advocacy & community organizations
- Jews United for Justice
- Bike, Walk & Bus PAC
Positions on the issues
All positions are sourced directly from the candidate's campaign materials, official questionnaire responses, or verified news coverage. Stances are rated on a scale from Strongly opposes (−2) to Strongly supports (+2). A stance of Unknown means no public position has been found.
DC should restore and strengthen TOPA (the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) to give tenants the right to purchase their building before it's sold to an outside buyer.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
DC should expand rent stabilization to cover more housing, including buildings constructed after 1975.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
DC should significantly increase the Housing Production Trust Fund.
Explicitly names 'fully funding the Housing Production Trust Fund' as part of her homeownership-pathway agenda, alongside the First Right to Purchase Program.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
DC should build more protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
MPD should not assist ICE or other federal agencies in immigration enforcement operations within DC.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
DC should expand the 'community schools' model, where schools serve as neighborhood hubs providing mental health, family support, and other services beyond education.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website]
DC should respond to Trump administration interference in city governance with an assertive, public stance — filing lawsuits, passing protective legislation, and refusing to comply with unlawful federal directives — rather than quiet diplomacy or pragmatic deal-making.
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.
Sources: [Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website], [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
DC should treat violence as a public health problem, investing heavily in violence interruption programs and community-based solutions.
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.
Sources: [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
DC should keep police officers out of public schools and instead invest in counselors, social workers, and mental-health staff.
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.
Sources: [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
DC should increase its funding for Metro (WMATA), even if it means cutting other city services.
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.
Sources: [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
DC should impose a commuter tax on people who work in the District but live in Maryland or Virginia (if federal law allowed it).
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.
Sources: [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
When the two conflict, DC should prioritize building more housing quickly — including market-rate — over maximizing deep-affordability requirements on each project.
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.
Sources: [DC Fair Elections Program At-Large primary debate (April 28, 2026)]
DC should strengthen worker protections — expanding paid family and medical leave and raising the minimum wage — even if it raises costs for employers.
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.
Sources: [Fair Wages and Stable Jobs — Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council]
DC should expand permanent supportive housing and 'Housing First' services to address homelessness, rather than relying on clearing encampments.
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.
General sources
- Candace Tiana Nelson for DC Council — Campaign Website — candacefordc.com. Accessed 2026-05-29.
- Meet the candidates for an At-Large seat on the DC Council — The 51st — The 51st. Accessed 2026-05-27.