Why we’re not endorsing in the 2024 DC Ward 2 Democratic primary

Greater Greater Washington is declining to endorse in the 2024 Ward 2 Democratic primary election for DC Council.

While we’re appreciative that incumbent councilmember Brooke Pinto responded to our questionnaire, she faces no challengers. GGWash works hard to endorse in contested races, even if our selections are controversial ones; telling voters to not exercise their power borders on suppression. But uncontested races are different, and undervoting is the only way in which those who might prefer a different set of choices can send that message—especially to an incumbent whose reelection will, otherwise, be relatively frictionless. Since Pinto has no opponent, her margins matter.

Pinto’s most prominent legislative achievements, Secure DC and the BEST Act, are too far outside of GGWash’s purview to put a shine to her questionnaire responses. We take seriously Pinto’s stated commitment to “continue to explore innovative and effective strategies to further increase housing production,” including “examining additional incentives and requirements for developers, revising zoning laws to allow greater density, and utilizing city-owned land for the development of mixed-income housing,” and we like that she’s willing to redistribute zoning for industrial uses across the District. However, in practice, the Recovery Act, also introduced by Pinto, is not particularly imaginative; mixes of tax abatements and incentives are common strategies for revitalizing declining neighborhoods, but they are not a sure bet.

On transportation, though she thinks there are too many cars in the District, Pinto is reticent to accept, or even show curiosity about, the policies—such as road pricing and increasing the cost of parking—that would actually reduce trips by car. She’d also prefer to fund the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority with a sales tax, which we view as too volatile and regressive to be a sustainable long-term funding strategy.

Maybe the only way to be the Ward 2 councilmember, an elected official who will always have among their constituents some of the District’s most vocal business and property owners, is to be Pinto-esque: middle-of-the-road, nonthreatening, mayorally aligned, and, per her responses to our questionnaire, more likely swayed by personal statements than public opinion. If that’s true, it’s unfortunate: As we wrote in our 2020 endorsement of Patrick Kennedy, “The Ward 2 councilmember needs to serve their constituents, but by geographic happenstance, also has a pivotal role in whether DC overall becomes a better place to walk, bike, take transit, and becomes a more affordable place to live.”

In the past four years, that context has been overtaken by downtown’s post-pandemic troubles. There is, actually, a unified conversation about the future of the District’s built environment going on right now. But it’s happening because of a singular focus on realigning what’s in our central business district—office buildings that people don’t really want to be in—with what, downtown boosters insist, might generate enough commercial property-tax revenues going forward. This is artificially limiting, and is seemingly only really serving those business and property owners.

GGWash would prefer that Ward 2 voters, many of whom we count among our supporters, had the opportunity to determine whether or not what Pinto represents is what they’d like to represent them. We encourage them to cast no vote in the Ward 2 council election.

For more information about how we’re making endorsements in the District in 2024, see our 2024 endorsements process post. On our 2024 Elections Hub, you’ll find information about GGWash’s political work this year, including resources about voting and candidates, candidates’ responses to our questionnaires, our endorsements, and how you can help our endorsed candidates win their elections. Access the hub anytime from the “2024 Elections” link in the upper right corner of our homepage.

Distinctly political work, like our endorsements process, is not funded by grants. We are only able to make endorsements with support from individual donors. If you value our endorsements resources, consider a contribution, of any amount, to support us in 2024 and beyond. You can do so here.