Thank you!
Neighbor,
Tomorrow is Election Day — the last day to vote for Erin for DC Council Chairwoman. I wanted to send one final message to thank you for your support, encouragement, and engagement. Running for DC Council Chairwoman has been the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime. And I quite literally could not have done it without you — our family, friends, and neighbors.
We’ve accomplished so much together.
This race is unprecedented. I am the first Fair Elections candidate running for Council Chair, and the only Fair Elections candidate in this race. I’m funded by DC neighbors like you, instead of the corporations that often influence our local politics to the detriment of DC residents.
Fair Elections is why I have 268 more individual DC contributors than my opponent and why 94% of my donations are from DC residents (compared to my opponent’s 48%). It’s also why I haven’t received any money from private prisons, individuals who have tried to build child migrant detention centers in DC, or out-of-state billionaire dark money.
We’ve shown how policy can improve people’s lives. Whether it’s my Plan for Safe, Stable, and Secure Communities, my Safe Streets Infrastructure and Public Transportation Plan, my Plan for Public Education as a Right, my Safe Housing Action Plan, or my DC Council Accountability Plan, we’ve shown what smart policymaking can mean for DC residents and how the Council Chair can lead our legislature in holding agencies accountable.
We’ve pushed to reinstate the Council’s standalone education committee to ensure dedicated education oversight (and end our status as the only “state” without such a dedicated committee); we’ve called for a data-based approach to staffing our police department and fixing DC’s crime lab, which lost its accreditation due to the current Council Chair’s poor legislative drafting; and we’ve pushed for a Council that is collaborative and empowered to conduct stronger oversight in service of DC residents.
This campaign is built neighborhood by neighborhood. All politics is local, and we’ve dedicated this campaign to working in every neighborhood to ensure DC government can better serve DC residents.
We’ve held more than 30 neighborhood walks across all 8 Wards; dozens of meet and greets, including meet and greets focused on every Ward; and listening sessions on housing, transportation, education, and environmental justice. We’ve knocked on thousands of doors, written postcards, called, and texted to talk to neighbors about the issues that matter to them. And we’ve included kids and future voters along the way.
People are engaged and motivated for change. Competitive races are good for democracy, and I’m proud to be in this race giving an entrenched incumbent a strong challenge. Whether it’s educating neighbors about the role of the Council Chair, talking about issues that often get ignored, engaging with communities that have lost faith in government and feel like their voices aren’t heard, we are bringing more people to the table.
I am deeply thankful, honored, and humbled for the support of DC Working Families Party, DC for Democracy, the Washington Teachers’ Union, Greater Greater Washington, Capital Stonewall Democrats, Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund, Our Revolution DC, Run for Something, DC Women in Politics, the Georgetown Voice, DC National Organization for Women, Green New Deal for DC Action, National Association of Social Workers (Metro DC Chapter), DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition, and American Youth Climate Action, as well as to have received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction and the highest highest GLAA rating of the Council Chair candidates, including on substance and public record in support of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also proud to have the support of over 80 current and former elected officials and candidates across all 8 Wards.
But, most importantly, I’m thankful for you. This campaign launched ten months ago, but it’s the result of years of community building and collaboration with neighbors across DC. And it’s just the beginning.
With gratitude,
