On the Issues

D.C. residents, workers, and civic institutions are under threat from the Trump administration. District government needs to protect our neighbors and our city from President Trump and his administration, not collaborate in their terror and lawlessness. Elissa is strategic, and she has experience standing up to hate and political intimidation. She will stop collaboration with ICE and ensure the Council proactively defends our right to self-determination.

With Trump costing tens of thousands of our residents their jobs and dragging down our economy, we need to use our resources efficiently and effectively. Elissa has a strong track record of ensuring the District’s $22 billion budget delivers programs that work, makes residents’ lives better, and strengthens our local businesses. D.C. taxpayers should get their money’s worth: 911 calls need to be answered swiftly, D.C. kids deserve high-functioning public schools that meet their needs, streets must be safe and maintained properly, and our job training programs should lead to living-wage careers.

Elissa co-authored the District’s paid family leave law, which provides working people in D.C. with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to welcome a new child, care for a loved one, or recover from illness. The program launched successfully in 2020, and, owing to Elissa’s persistent oversight of the initiative, benefits increased and the tax rate was cut for employers. That is a win-win for D.C. She also appropriated money to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, critical revenue to keep them going in that tough time. Her know-how and proven experience will help make D.C.’s economy stronger.

Elissa has been an innovator in making homes affordable for people of all income levels. She worked to increase affordable-housing units citywide through the use of inclusionary zoning. She has been recognized in the press as a champion for families in public housing. Elissa also created a program that allows seniors to continue living in their longtime homes and voted to increase downpayment assistance for city-sponsored home purchase programs. She focuses on inclusive economic development that primarily benefits working families, not real estate developers and private equity firms.

Elissa is a graduate of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Citizens Academy. She has championed innovative jobs programs for adults and youth that lead to permanent, living-wage careers. She supports an MPD that is properly trained and staffed and that protects residents and respects their rights. She also worked to fund the Cure the Streets violence interruption program, and she supports evidence-based programs to reduce gun violence.

Elissa worked to create and fund the D.C. Healthcare Sector Partnership to get D.C.’s largest employers, our hospitals and healthcare providers, to train D.C. residents in sought-after careers like nursing. She also introduced legislation to expand the Summer Youth Employment Program and expose more of our youth to permanent, living-wage careers.