ON THE ISSUES
Rashida is ready to deliver on Day One.
On the DC Council, Rashida will keep fighting—and delivering—for Ward 1 residents.
She’ll fight to expand access to affordable housing, to protect immigrant neighbors and against federal overreach, to invest in interventions proven to reduce crime and build safer communities, and to address resident concerns through responsive constituent services and connecting residents with the government services they need.
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Ward 1 – and all of D.C. – is facing a shortage of affordable housing for young people, long-time residents, workers, newcomers, and seniors. Rashida is passionate about the need for building more housing.
Rashida doesn’t just talk about housing - she was a driving force in building the new Park Morton building, which opened last year, and along with the Bruce Monroe development will bring more than 450 units, 60 percent of them affordable.
She will fight to restore Emergency Rental Assistance Program funding, and advance housing first policies with wraparound services to promote better pathways for our unhoused neighbors and remove systemic barriers that displace Black and brown residents from our community and make it harder for seniors to age in place.
She is committed to equitably distributing affordable housing throughout the District. And she will advocate for a comprehensive plan and Future Land Use Map that will drastically increase the amount of housing we can build.
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Rashida is an education policy expert and leader who has spent her career fighting for children and families. She helped develop key initiatives like My Child Care DC and Thrive by Five, expanding access to affordable, high-quality early childhood services and promoting child development.
Rashida will champion policies that support teachers and center their voices, support student wellness, strengthen school-community partnerships, and ensure every Ward 1 family has access to high-quality, equitable educational opportunities—from early childhood through college and career. She is committed to retaining teachers with more support, classroom aides, and fair compensation, including full funding of the Pay Equity Fund for early childhood educators. And she will push for a better school funding mechanism to support students and schools.
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Rashida has turned plans into action, with safer streets for cyclists, pedestrians, and cars. She envisions streets, public transit, and transportation policy that improve positive health and economic outcomes, wellness and well-being for everyone. Transportation policy should do more than make people safe - it should create streets that are true public spaces, that bring dignity and joy.
As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 10 years, Rashida has successfully worked for better crosswalks, improved sidewalks, more bike lanes, traffic calming measures and priority bus lanes.
As Councilmember, she will work for more of all of that, fund free buses and push for an expanded bus network with more frequent service, support road pricing and other policies that make it easier and more efficient to use public transit.
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Real safety comes from investing in people and neighborhoods, not expanding systems that have historically criminalized Black and brown communities. Rashida co-founded Georgia Avenue Thrive—transforming a corridor struggling with crime through community activation and advocating for a community policing model, crime prevention investments, community-based social and mental health services and economic opportunities. She’s proven that prevention works better than punishment.
Rashida will champion public safety policies that build on D.C.'s progress in reducing crime while targeting persistent violence in Ward 1's most vulnerable neighborhoods. Drawing on evidence-based strategies and community partnerships, Rashida will work to strengthen proven violence prevention efforts, strengthen community policing partnerships, support survivors of violence, and provide young people with alternatives. She’ll fight for equitable resource allocation that ensures every Ward 1 neighborhood receives the attention and investment it needs to thrive. -
Rashida knows that our small and local businesses are the heart and soul of D.C. As Councilmember, Rashida will champion small business policies that preserve Ward 1's cultural diversity, protect longtime entrepreneurs from displacement, and create pathways for new businesses to thrive.
Longtime Black and Brown business owners built this ward's rich cultural identity, and Rashida is committed to protecting them from displacement as development accelerates. She believes that Ward 1's economic future must include the entrepreneurs who have sustained our neighborhoods for generations.
Rashida helped form and lead Georgia Avenue Thrive, replacing graffiti with murals and bringing in new businesses to formerly vacant spaces on Lower Georgia Ave., like Midlands and Qui Qui.
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The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s continued cooperation with ICE is a betrayal of our sanctuary city values and our immigrant neighbors. Council hearings revealed stories of attacks on residents and cooperation by the Metropolitan Police Department. Rashida will not allow MPD to actively facilitate deportations and family separations. As our Councilmember, Rashida will support legislation to end MPD’s collaboration with ICE, vote to strengthen the Sanctuary Values Act, fund our legal clinics protecting the rights of our immigrant neighbors and push to re-establish trust between MPD and residents.
Rashida will fight against presidential and congressional overreach – exerting their power over D.C. strictly for political reasons. She will fight to Free DC!
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Rashida “has an extensive record of leadership [on LGBTQIA+ issues], demonstrating great depth of experience and knowledge…” Don’t just take her word for it - those are the words of GLAA DC, which advocates for equality and liberation for LGBTQ and affiliated communities in our city. GLAA DC gave Rashida a 10/10 rating - one of only four candidates in all District primary races to receive a perfect score.
Ward 1’s greatest strength is its people and its diverse, vibrant and progressive communities, a vibrant tapestry of long-time residents, immigrants, and activists. Rashida values Ward 1’s diversity and knows the LGBTQIA+ community is essential to our civic fabric.
As a social worker, she has spent her career fighting for children and families, including helping LGBTQIA+ parents navigate adoption hurdles and redefining what a family looks like. She is prepared to apply her passion to the urgent issues facing LGBTQIA+ neighbors, including youth homelessness, underemployment, housing insecurity, and healthcare access. description