Rashida Brown

DC should expand rent stabilization to cover more housing, including buildings constructed after 1975.

Will expand rent stabilization coverage to buildings built before 1985 (current law only covers pre-1975), close the voluntary agreement loophole that lets landlords circumvent protections, and eliminate the substantial rehabilitation exemption abused to remove units from rent control. Notes 75,000 families depend on rent control as DC's largest affordable housing tool.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

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.

Opposes any weakening of tenant purchase rights and will fight every attempt to roll them back. Will reinstate TOPA for 2–4 unit buildings, reverse single-family home exemptions, and eliminate downtown exemptions. Supported the Kenyon Street Co-op as a demonstration of TOPA's power when tenants have resources and support.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should significantly increase the Housing Production Trust Fund.

Will protect the HPTF from being raided for budget gaps, with mandatory set-asides for deeply affordable units (0–30% AMI). Also supports Councilmember Nadeau's 2026 legislation to replace and reform the HPTF with a more modern, robust financing mechanism.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should build more protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes.

Championed the Georgia Avenue and Columbia Heights Crosstown bus priority projects as ANC Commissioner; extended protected bike lanes along Kenyon, Warder, and Park Place streets; would champion a dedicated transit mall through central Columbia Heights and a center-running transitway on Georgia Avenue. Wants 5–8 minute headways on Ward 1's busiest routes and fare-free buses. At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC transportation forum she stressed she has 'turned plans into pavement' — citing the Crosstown multimodal plan and the protected bike lanes she got fully built on Irving, Kenyon, and Warder Streets, plus the inaugural Georgia Avenue Open Streets — and pledged as her top transportation commitment to extend the Kenyon Street protected bike lane through 16th Street.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]

MPD should not assist ICE or other federal agencies in immigration enforcement operations within DC.

Will support emergency legislation explicitly prohibiting any DC government employee — especially MPD — from cooperating with ICE. Will push for penalties including termination for officers who violate sanctuary protections, eliminate any MPD budget used for federal cooperation, and hold emergency oversight hearings to document every ICE interaction.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

Every DC public school should have a dedicated behavioral health clinician on staff.

Will expand school-based mental health services, peer support programs, and healing-centered approaches; supports expanding mental health crisis response teams to respond to psychiatric emergencies instead of armed police; calls for evaluating progress on school-based mental health since its passage. At the WTU Ward 1 education forum she reinforced funding school-level roles — naming social workers, art teachers, librarians, and music teachers as the positions she would fund by redirecting money from the central office.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Education (WTU)]

DC should end mayoral control of DC Public Schools and return authority to an elected State Board of Education.

At the WTU Ward 1 education forum she called for 'an elected school board with budget authorities and key powers… that selects our chancellor,' plus ward-based education councils with binding (not advisory) input and moving education oversight off the Committee of the Whole onto a dedicated education committee. Endorsed Councilmember Zachary Parker's legislation granting the State Board more authority as a first 'incremental step.' Directly supports shifting authority away from mayoral control toward the elected State Board of Education.

Sources: [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Education (WTU)]

DC should treat violence as a public health problem, investing heavily in violence interruption programs and community-based solutions.

Will dramatically expand funding for ONSE violence interruption programs (citing 30–60% gun violence reduction when properly implemented at scale); fund non-police mental health crisis responders; and expand human services outreach on business corridors for people struggling with substance use disorder — all rooted in her decade co-leading Georgia Avenue Thrive's community-activation public safety model.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

The 2024 Secure DC omnibus legislation — which increased penalties and expanded pre-trial detention — was the right approach to addressing DC's crime surge.

Will oppose expansion of pretrial detention and vote 'no' on creating new crimes with harsher sentences. Calls the 2024 congressional override of the Revised Criminal Code 'strictly political theater, not about public safety,' and will vote to pass the RCCA again when Democrats retake Congress.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should enforce a curfew for minors as a tool to reduce youth crime.

Explicitly opposes youth curfews: 'Criminalizing young people for existing in public spaces doesn't create safety — it creates criminal records that destroy futures.' As a social worker she counseled youth navigating downstream systems and saw how criminalizing normal teenage behavior pushes young people deeper into systems. Notes curfews disproportionately harm over-policed Black and brown youth.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

Any youth curfew must be paired with substantial investment in alternative programming — jobs, recreation centers, mental health services — for young people.

Will expand summer youth employment to year-round opportunities with living wages and career pathways; fund rec centers, libraries, and community spaces with extended hours; and invest in credible-messenger violence interrupters as youth mentors. Through Georgia Avenue Thrive, activated spaces with movie nights, block parties, and youth-led events.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should increase funding for the Department of Parks and Recreation, including extended rec center hours and expanded youth and senior programming.

Will fund recreation centers, libraries, and community spaces with extended hours for structured activities and mentorship. Personally activated community spaces through Georgia Avenue Thrive with youth programming, and sees investment in 'safe spaces open late' as a core public safety strategy.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should expand subsidized childcare into a universal program — available to all DC residents regardless of income — building on the Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Program (PKEEP).

Will implement Birth-to-Three's 10% income cap on childcare costs with dedicated revenue streams — not vulnerable annual appropriations — and eliminate the childcare subsidy waitlist. Has 25 years in early childhood policy including building My Child Care DC, Thrive by Five, and helping bring the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund model to Colorado.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should guarantee free, high-quality child care from birth through age three — with no waitlists — for District families.

Will implement Birth-to-Three's '10% promise' so no family pays more than 10% of income for child care — establishing dedicated revenue streams, expanding subsidy eligibility, ensuring reimbursement rates reflect actual costs, creating facility grants for infant-toddler slots in underserved neighborhoods, and eliminating the child care subsidy waitlist.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC buses should be fare-free for all riders.

Explicitly pledges to 'Fund fare-free buses,' noting the Council funded fare-free buses once before but WMATA refused to implement them in the District. Would work to change the dynamic on the WMATA board to give DC more authority to pursue bold transit policy. At the Bike, Walk & Bus PAC forum she reaffirmed she's 'a fan of it,' favoring a dedicated funding stream outside the regular budget and a universal approach, while noting kids-ride-free implementation problems she'd fix.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC], [Ward 1 Council Candidate Forum on Transportation (Bike, Walk & Bus PAC)]

DC should implement congestion pricing — charging drivers to enter the busiest parts of downtown.

Explicitly supports road-pricing so car usage is not subsidized by residents who don't drive: would increase the price of Residential Parking Permits, remove minimum parking requirements near transit, implement road diets on arterials, make some streets car-free, and pursue regional reciprocity for automated traffic enforcement.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should legalize apartments and 'missing-middle' housing (duplexes, triplexes, and small multifamily buildings) citywide by removing single-family-only zoning restrictions.

Calls to 'legalize apartments District-wide' and advocates a far stronger Comprehensive Plan / Future Land Use Map than the draft, so every ward — not just a few — accommodates more housing. Promotes zoning and other adjustments that make it easier to build more units to bring down prices.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should keep police officers out of public schools and instead invest in counselors, social workers, and mental-health staff.

Emphasizes non-police supports in and around schools: would expand school-based mental health services, peer support, and healing-centered approaches, and ensure mental health crisis response teams — not armed police — respond to psychiatric emergencies. Frames durable safety as coming from investing in people, not policing.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should cut taxes and fees on small and local businesses — and offer relief such as the small retailer property tax credit — to help them open, survive, and grow.

Would prioritize the Small Retailer Property Tax Credit Expansion Amendment Act to support small retailers and restaurants (many immigrant-owned), support commercial rent stabilization and community ownership models, and 'increase taxes and close loopholes for major corporations… while providing some relief to smaller businesses to succeed and thrive.'

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should raise taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest residents to close the District's budget gap.

Explicitly calls for 'increase taxes and close loopholes for major corporations while providing some relief to smaller businesses to succeed and thrive,' framing progressive corporate taxation as a key revenue source for housing, childcare, and public safety investments.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

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.

Will introduce emergency legislation explicitly prohibiting any DC government employee from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, hold emergency oversight hearings to document every ICE interaction, and eliminate any MPD budget used for federal cooperation — an assertive, proactive legislative response to federal interference.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]

DC should expand permanent supportive housing and 'Housing First' services to address homelessness, rather than relying on clearing encampments.

Brown would advance Housing First policies with wraparound services, fully fund Permanent Supportive Housing and Local Rent Supplement vouchers with a 30-day processing maximum, and restore non-congregate shelter funding — explicitly rejecting 'warehousing people.' Strongly supports a Housing First approach.

Sources: [On the Issues — Rashida Brown for DC]