Images from the candidates' websites.

The DC Council’s newest member, Brooke Pinto, won her seat to replace disgraced member Jack Evans in a primary and special election this spring. Now, three other people are trying to contest the seat in the November general election. We asked all of them to answer questions similar to those we asked in the primary (but with a few modifications), including Pinto, who had entered the race very late, after we had done our original primary questionnaire.

Here are the questions we asked:

  1. Do you support building more housing in DC? In particular, do you support the Mayor’s goals to add 36,000 units of housing by 2025? Would you support a more ambitious target than 36,000 new units of housing?
  2. The DC housing market’s growth has been uneven and particularly concentrated in certain neighborhoods. Do you support the mayor’s goal to set production targets in each area of the city to evenly disperse new housing?
  3. Much of DC’s public housing is in disrepair. However, renovating or redeveloping DCHA properties has historically meant disrupting the lives of its residents and, in many cases, outright displacing them. What, if anything, would you change about DC, and DCHA’s, 20-year Transformation Plan?
  4. Do you support increased protections for pedestrians, such as those within the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act, which would reduce speed limits, ban right turns on red, and increase investments in sidewalks? What else would you do to increase pedestrian safety?
  5. Would you support removing on-street parking for dedicated infrastructure, such as bus lanes and bike lanes? If not, why not? If yes, please give an example of where you would remove parking for a bus or bike lane.
  6. As the region undertakes COVID-19 reopening and recovery efforts, automobile traffic and congestion will likely increase. What, if anything, would you do to mitigate this? Do you have a different vision for DC, and for the region’s transportation network?
  7. Councilmember Charles Allen earlier this year proposed that DC provide most residents with up to $100 per month on their SmarTrip cards. Though there’s no longer a budget surplus available, which Allen initially proposed to use to fund this initiative, do you support subsidizing transit fares? If no, why not? If yes, how would you fund it?
  8. Many developers in DC have gone through the Planned Unit Development process in order to add additional density to projects, beyond what is allowed by the zoning code. In exchange, PUDs must provide amenities like affordable housing or improved public space. But PUDs also take a long time and are subject to lawsuits, which ultimately makes the housing that they do deliver more expensive. How would you improve this process?
  9. Before COVID-19, DC’s homeless population had been decreasing, mainly due to decreases in family homelessness following Mayor Bowser’s closure of DC General and opening of smaller family shelters in each ward. However, local and federal reopening and recovery plans aren’t likely to protect renters to the extent necessary to prevent an expected explosion of evictions, which could cause even more people to experience homelessness. What will you do to protect renters and continue to decrease homelessness?
  10. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and nationwide protests against police violence, the DC Council passed temporary emergency legislation that requires the timely release of body-camera footage after police shootings, imposes limits on when officers can use deadly force, and bans the Metropolitan Police Department from buying military-style equipment from the federal government. Do you believe these reforms should be made permanent? Should the Council enact further changes, such as reducing the size of MPD’s budget in favor of community health, education, or other programs?
  11. DC had a budget surplus of more than $300 million last fiscal year, which enabled the mayor to propose a budget for 2020 that grew 9% from 2019. But the 2021 budget is much leaner, since the District used its surplus to fill some of the gaps created by coronavirus. Name three things you’d support funding, and three things you think DC may not be able to afford to fund in the fiscal year 2021 budget.

You can read the candidates’ answers here:

Also, check out our earlier race roundup for more on the candidates.

What do you notice in their responses? Post your thoughts in the comments.