In This Issue:

• 2026 Voter Guide: Your resource for the primaries—how to vote and for whom
• FY27 Budget Analysis: Navigating headwinds
• DC 2050 Comprehensive Plan: Still an opportunity to go further on tackling housing costs
• A New Look: Opportunity DC launches new website and visual identity

Your June Voter Guide is Available!

With the June 16 primary and special elections approaching, Opportunity DC is committed to ensuring every registered DC voter is prepared to cast an informed ballot. Our 2026 Voter Guide is now available .

This year is historic as we navigate the District’s first use of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) , so it’s especially important that voters familiarize themselves with the full field for each race.

Opportunity DC is not making an endorsement in every June race. Instead, our voter guide showcases the candidates who align most closely with our Prosper DC policy agenda . These candidates are the leaders focused on making the District safer, more affordable, and more prosperous. Check out their responses to our candidate questionnaire, and give them your support.

Key Voting Dates to Remember:

• June 8 – 14: Early Voting
• Tuesday, June 16: Election Day (Primaries and At-Large Council Special Election)

2026 Elections: Our Endorsements

• Mayor: Eight candidates will appear on primary ballots. Democratic candidate and former at-large councilmember Kenyan McDuffie stands out to us as the pragmatic choice to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser as DC’s chief executive. Opportunity DC’s endorsement of McDuffie is rooted in his Council track record of supporting entrepreneurs and increasing funding for affordable housing.
  
• DC Council: Contested races for the at-large and ward seats are intensifying as candidates focus on DC’s high cost of living.
  
  • A special election will determine who serves the remainder of the vacant citywide seat set aside for independent candidates. The interim holder of that seat, Councilmember Doni Crawford, has our endorsement.
  • For the at-large Democratic seat, we encourage voters to rank both Greg Jackson and Lisa Raymond as the top two candidates on their ballots.
  • For Council Chair, Phil Mendelson is running unopposed for re-election and deserves another term for his level-headed leadership.
  • Opportunity DC’s primary endorsements in this year’s Council ward races are Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.
    
• Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives: A field of seven variously qualified hopefuls, including two current DC councilmembers, is competing to succeed the retiring Eleanor Holmes Norton. We endorse Councilmember Brooke Pinto to be the District’s lead advocate in Congress.
  
• Democratic State Committee: Opportunity DC encourages Democratic primary voters to support the Democrats United to Free DC party slate . These candidates understand the challenges the District faces—from a struggling local economy to a White House and Congress that disregard home rule.

Budget Watch: Analyzing Mayor Bowser’s FY27 Proposal

In this sobering budget season, Opportunity DC is closely examining Mayor Bowser’s FY27 proposal through the lens of our Prosper DC policy agenda . Bowser faces unprecedented challenges in her final budget as mayor, including a shrunken tax base and significant federal funding cuts. Her $21.2 billion proposal to the DC Council makes necessary investments in core areas and leaves open opportunities for the Council to pursue long overdue structural reforms.

What We Like: Investing in the District’s Future

Opportunity DC applauds the Mayor’s commitment to several key pillars of a prosperous city:

• Education Stability: We support the Mayor’s proposal to increase funding for DC Public Schools and the public charter sector by 2.55%, maintaining a floor of $15,455 per student next school year. We want to see the Council move to address the gap between DCPS and charter funding, and that goes for school facilities funding, too.
• Workforce Training: Expanding career and technical education will support home-grown workforce development.
• RFK Redevelopment: We are pleased to see continued support for the RFK campus redevelopment. This project is a vital economic anchor that will bring housing, jobs, and professional football back to the District.

Opportunities for the Council to Lead

We urge the Council to look for efficiencies and reject any proposals for new taxes, fees, or so-called “surcharges” that might drive employers, jobs, and residents out of the city. Here are some ideas to spend DC’s limited dollars more efficiently and unleash economic innovation to fund a robust social safety net:

• Fund What Works: We have long called for evidence-based program evaluations to eliminate waste and more efficiently spend the tax dollars of DC residents and businesses.
• Right-size the Payroll Tax: This tax on employers disproportionately impacts labor-intensive sectors in DC, like health care and education. The Council should repeal the FY25 payroll tax increase through a gradual decline, with an eventual sunset by FY29.
• Finish the Job of Election Reform: Two-and-a-half years ago, 73% of District voters voted for Initiative 83, resulting in this election’s ranked-choice ballots. However, the DC Council has yet to fund the initiative’s second provision: opening up primaries beyond party registrants so that more DC residents get a vote in local elections.
  

The Bottom Line: DC residents and businesses are struggling under high costs and layers of regulation . We need a budget that prioritizes government reform and economic innovation over squeezing a shrinking tax base. And we need our elected officials to act on voters’ will for more inclusive elections.

Opportunity DC is engaging with the Council throughout the public hearing process to push for a final budget that reflects these priorities. We encourage our supporters to testify and make your voices heard.

Opportunity for Input: DC 2050 Comprehensive Plan

DC’s Office of Planning has been engaged in a multi-year update to the District’s Comprehensive Plan, a.k.a. DC 2050 . They’re seeking public comment on what is essentially a citywide land use map.

Here’s our feedback: Be bolder. While we support Mayor Bowser’s vision for reducing housing costs, the map under consideration fails to allow for the types and quantity of new housing units necessary to address the District’s staggering housing shortage.

Preserving the status quo and maintaining self-imposed scarcity won’t make a dent in the problem over the next two decades. We need a vision that prioritizes building more places to live – and making it easier and less costly to do so. Our friends at DC Policy Center offered smart recommendations in a housing paper they published earlier this month.

Make your voice heard! The Office of Planning is hosting a virtual workshop for public input. Submit your comments before the period ends on June 7.

A New Look and Online Home for Opportunity DC

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new website and visual identity! Our refreshed look and better-organized site reflects Opportunity DC’s ongoing commitment to being the leading voice for a regionally competitive and prosperous District.