Image courtesy of candidate's campaign.

Greater Greater Washington is endorsing Ward 5 State Board of Education Representative Zachary Parker for the Ward 5 seat on the DC Council.

For the first time in a decade, there is no incumbent Ward 5 councilmember running for reelection. The open race to be the next Democratic nominee in Ward 5 – and in all likelihood the next councilmember – is one of the most important elections in the District’s Home Rule era.

The race has the potential to be historic: Parker, an openly gay Black man in a city that has never elected an openly gay Black man to its legislature, and Faith Gibson Hubbard, a Black woman in the only ward to never be represented by a woman, would be firsts.

Over the last decade, Ward 5, which includes neighborhoods like Union Market and NoMa and more established communities like Woodridge and North Michigan Park, has changed. The degree varies, but the change itself is real. The responses of the three candidates who engaged with our endorsement process (Parker, Gibson Hubbard, and Fletcher; view their responses side-by-side here) reflect this reality. Ward 5 will need a legislator who can bridge what was, what has become, and what will be.

In this wide-open race, GGWash is endorsing Zachary Parker because, among the candidates who responded to our questionnaire, he demonstrates the closest alignment with our priorities on land use, housing, and transportation.

Housing

GGWash believes there is a dire need for denser, affordable housing across the District. Parker shares that view: “It is incredibly important that the District develop more affordable housing, in pace with development of market-rate housing, and that the affordable housing is spread throughout the District.”

He is willing to propose a new housing target himself, around 100,000 units, and among a list of policy options in our questionnaire, ranked relatively highly a preference for pursuing the legalization of two- and four-unit buildings District-wide. This pairs well with his sharp answer to our question regarding how, not whether, Council candidates would enable more limited-equity cooperatives and community land trusts: “For Community Land Trusts, I would make it a standard part of the DC budget, just as HPTF is now. CLTs will grow to scale only with public funding, and I would write legislation to prioritize permanently affordable units like CLTs when we make deals with developers. I also would amend DC law to allow homeowners to split their property into two pieces for the purpose of donating one piece to a CLT. This may not yield a large number of CLT units, but it would support creation of some CLT units throughout the city, especially in high- opportunity communities.”

Transportation

GGWash believes Council action is urgently needed to address a transportation status quo that leaves too many who do not, cannot, or choose not to drive with fewer opportunities to obtain an education, maintain healthy lives, and simply enjoy all of the District. Parker’s stated support for redistributing road capacity to non-single occupancy vehicle uses and his support for road pricing suggest that he shares our belief as well. We look forward to his leadership on policies that improve the frequency and reliability of public transit, improve the District’s air quality, and expand access to the District and the region for, in particular, bus riders, who are disproportionately low-income and people of color.

There are some places where Parker falls short of what we’d like to see from candidates. In a hypothetical posed in our questionnaire, Parker prioritized investing in fare-free transit over achieving 10-minute bus headways. We believe that while fares can be a burden, more urgent – to transit planners and riders – are investments that increase the frequency and reliability of buses. Most riders, regardless of race, also rank frequent transportation as a higher priority than free transportation.

We would be pleased to work with any of the three candidates who participated in our process, particularly Dr. Gibson Hubbard. Her responses to our questionnaire, and her statements in public forums, reflect a thoughtfulness honed by years of government service and a doctorate in public administration, even though our conclusions about some necessary policy reforms differ. Gordon-Andrew Fletcher’s responses to our questionnaire, such as his support for securing 10-minute bus headways, signaled areas in which we could gladly collaborate. But a number of his responses left us uncertain as to his grasp of the specific levers of power members of Council can pull.

We also wish to offer a few words of caution. Come June, the threat of retreat from ethical, clean-hands governing is very real. Vincent Orange, a former Ward 5 and at-large councilmember, fresh off his unsuccessful (if close) 2020 bid to reclaim his place on the dais, is running to be the Ward 5 councilmember again. The 2020 election demonstrated that Orange has a not-insignificant base of support in Ward 5. Orange’s trajectory indicates limited interest in upholding ethical standards, a key component of serving constituents and crafting good policy. We believe his election would be a massive setback.

DC is not dissimilar from other places when it comes to corruption, but voters here tend to believe in a redemption arc. In this case, though, let’s not entertain the prospect of a reboot.

It isn’t always plausible to find candidates who reflect ironclad fidelity to our policy preferences (though it helps!). We’re guided in this race by one candidate’s greater ability to articulate where DC needs to go, which will shape his leadership as a needed bridge to the future. (Think of a new Long Bridge, not a new American Legion.) That candidate is Parker.

Visit our 2022 elections hub, where you’ll find candidates’ responses to our questionnaire, information about who we are endorsing, how we arrived at our decision, recordings of our candidate forums (including a Ward 5 candidate forum!), and ways you can get involved.

DISCLOSURE: Per our 2022 endorsement process, Nick Sementelli, a member of our 2022 elections committee, was recused from Ward 5 endorsement decision-making.