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Education
BA- Performing Arts/Clinical Counseling Psychology; Masters of Education in Counseling; Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre: Directing; Doctorate in Education (pending ABD)
Qualifications
Masters of Education in Counseling, MFA Theatre, Nonprofit leader/ Community Advocate, Pastor/Clergy Leader, Single Parent (Adoptive and Foster Parent), Doctoral candidate in Transformational Leadership
Website
4thepeople4achange.com
The two most important actions the Council must take: listen actively and govern responsively. We must establish community-focused open office hours, foster community organizing to engage residents directly, and leverage ANCs more effectively as vital links to the community. Listening is only the first step; the Council must respond by acting on residents’ recommendations and needs. Prioritizing the well-being of DC residents is essential, while also balancing the interests of businesses and organizations that contribute to the city’s economy and quality of life. By understanding each sector’s role, the Council can create policies that support economic vitality, civic responsibility, and an improved quality of life. To make this happen, I will champion transparency, ensure regular community dialogues, and accountability measures that translate community input into tangible outcomes.
Yes, unequivocally! DC should be a state. The DC Statehood Green Party continues the legacy of championing statehood. I carry that passion and torch. The 2016 referendum showed strong public support, but progress stalled even with Democratic control of Congress. Statehood requires a new approach. I will use my Council position to reorient the Statehood Commission with two key steps: collaborating proactively with the incoming DC Delegate to build legislative support, and expanding the Commission’s role to pursue judicial relief. With new Congressional members, we have a fresh chance to advance statehood and secure full representation for DC residents. This process must be an inclusive community led process that is not politician focused.
First, I would implement a comprehensive energy audit across all DC government buildings to identify inefficiencies and prioritize upgrades to energy-efficient systems like LED lighting, HVAC improvements, and renewable energy installations, reducing emissions and lowers costs. Second, I would promote a green fleet transition by accelerating the replacement of municipal vehicles with electric/hybrid models and expanding charging infrastructure. This reduces transportation-related emissions and sets a sustainability example for the city. These measures ensure compliance with emission reduction goals while promoting sustainability and fiscal responsibility. Thirdly we can issues tax credits for people engaging in energy efficient lifestyles.
I will defend DC’s home rule by enforcing local laws and using the Attorney General to challenge federal overreach. Passing ordinances that assert our authority is key. I’ll build coalitions with ANCs, community groups, statehood advocates, other State legislators. and civil rights organizations to mobilize pressure against interference. I would also employ a strategy of international pressure on human rights. Transparency and regular community briefings will ensure residents set the agenda, not Congress or the President. I will also reorient the Statehood Commission toward legislative and judicial strategies to secure lasting self-government and full voting rights, balancing legal action, community empowerment, and political advocacy.
Strongly disagree
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DC’s judicial system faces unique challenges due to federal oversight. To improve justice, I will advocate for housing incarcerated DC residents closer to home to maintain family ties, which aids rehabilitation. I will support comprehensive reentry programs offering job training, counseling, and legal aid to help returning citizens reintegrate fully. To maintain public safety and trust, I will promote transparency, accountability, and bias training for judges and law enforcement. I also support alternatives to incarceration and reducing sentencing disparities. Ultimately, stronger local control and statehood are essential for fair, effective justice in DC.
Protecting the safety, rights, and access to city services for immigrant communities is absolutely the responsibility of elected officials. Upholding human rights and ensuring equitable access to essential services reflects responsible leadership and a commitment to the whole community’s well-being. Elected officials must foster inclusive policies that protect vulnerable populations, promote trust, and enhance public safety for all residents. By prioritizing care, transparency, and accountability, officials strengthen community resilience and social cohesion, ensuring that immigrant communities are valued, protected, and empowered within our city.
Education
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) Northeastern University (2008-2014)
Qualifications
Pharmacist, Advisory Neighborhood Commissoner 2018-2020; US Shadow Representative 2020-present
Website
vote4oye.com
The Council must do two things now.
First, end DC cooperation with ICE. As the son of Nigerian immigrants, that fear is personal. I will close every Sanctuary Values Act loophole, prohibit DC agencies from cooperating with ICE, and lead the fight against the DHS campus being forced onto St. Elizabeths in Ward 8.
Second, make housing affordable through preservation and tenant power. As ANC Commissioner I used TOPA to help Congress Heights seniors stay housed when Sanford Capital tried to push them out. I will fully fund ERAP and cap rent increases at CPI.
No community in DC is expendable.
Yes. This is a moral outrage. 700,000 residents pay federal taxes, serve in wars, and follow laws they had no vote in making.
I have spent six years as DC's Shadow Representative fighting for statehood, meeting with state leaders, flying to lobby constituents of GOP members of Congress, and organizing nationally to build the coalition that makes statehood possible. DC re-elected me twice, last time with over 90% of the vote.
On Council I will do two new things. First, organize the Council and work with the Mayor to mount a renewed, unified local effort, because DC's own government must speak with one voice. Second, keep building the national coalition, because Congress acts when its own constituents demand it, not when DC asks nicely.
As a pharmacist I have seen how air pollution drives asthma and heart disease especially in Ward 7 and Ward 8, communities that bear the greatest environmental burden while receiving the least investment. That is not acceptable.
First, I will fully fund the Greener Government Buildings Act and vote against any delay in the ban on new fossil fuel appliances in DC-owned buildings. Public buildings must lead by example.
Second, I will fund DC government's full transition to a zero-emissions fleet, protect the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund from budget raids, and use Council oversight to hold DOEE publicly accountable for annual emissions progress by agency and by ward.
The best defense against federal interference is a stronger local democracy and a stronger local economy.
First, I will fight to fully implement Initiative 83 and expand democratic participation at every level. DC must never overturn its own voter-approved initiatives. When we defend our local democracy, we make the case for statehood every single day.
Second, I will strengthen DC's local economy so we rely less on federal dollars. That means supporting small businesses through training, payroll support, and commercial rent relief, and raising progressive revenue so DC can fund its own priorities without waiting on Congress.
A DC that governs itself boldly and funds itself independently is harder to control.
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I spoke out against the youth curfew because criminalizing young people is not public safety. It follows them for life and does not work.
After my home in Congress Heights was shot into, I asked the young men outside why they kept coming back. Every one wanted to work but could not because of their records. That led me to launch expungement clinics that have served over 600 DC residents.
A record should not be a life sentence. On Council I will expand expungement access, oppose pretrial detention expansion, fund violence interruption, and remove police from DCPS schools. The safest communities have the most resources, not the most punishment.
Yes. Unequivocally.
As the son of Nigerian immigrants I know what it costs a family to navigate a country that questions your presence. As a child I was placed in slower learning tracks because of my name and accent, not my abilities. DC's job is to make sure that never happens in our schools, clinics, or agencies.
When immigrant families fear deportation they stop reporting crimes, stop seeking healthcare, stop sending children to school. That makes everyone less safe. Protecting immigrant communities is not charity. It is public safety and basic human dignity.
On Council I will enforce the Sanctuary Values Act, fund immigration legal services, expand language access, and defend noncitizen voting rights.
Education
Brown University Bachelor of Arts in Economics; Western Senior High School, Baltimore, MD
Qualifications
At-Large D.C. Councilmember, 2015-2023, 2026; Maryland Department of Labor Chief Strategy Officer 2024; Loose Lips Washington City Paper columnist and Washington Post reporter 2002-2008; DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Website
www.elissafordc.com/
First, the D.C. Council needs to have a strategic approach to the reckless Trump administration and Republican Congress with regard to our city, to protect our residents and to safeguard our economy as much as possible. We need to follow our own law and be clear that the law does not permit MPD collaboration with ICE on immigration matters. We need to get our residents back to work, both by seeing if we can use their talents in our own government, encouraging them to be entrepreneurs and also shifting our economy and getting our residents into our big industries like healthcare.
Second, given the devastating impacts of Trump, we need to use our $22 billion budget much better. That means holding government agencies accountable, so that trash gets picked up on time, 911 picks up the phone efficiently and effectively, and we have high-performing public schools that keep families in DC.
DC should be a state. We need to work with our great statehood allies in Congress, like neighbor Rep. Jamie Raskin and Senators Chris Van Hollen and Tim Kaine, to have a strategy to get the votes in the House and Senate. We also need to get to know Republicans who believe in Statehood. There are a few. And we need to convince our own residents we deserve to be a state. I think Trump's tyranny and threat to Home Rule is helping with that.
1. We need to continue to incentivize renewable energy through our solar and green buildings programs. I am a frugal homeowner and the SREC value convinced me to install solar.
2. We need to fund Metrorail and Metrobus, build pedestrian and bike infrastructure that keeps people safe when they decide to walk, bike, or take public transit instead of traveling by car. Outside of public transportation, we need to continue to fund DOEE programs like the home charger and vehicle conversation tax credit.
Our city has too often been caught by surprise in dealing with the Trump administration. Rather than developing proactive strategies, key leaders have obeyed in advance. For a better path forward, we can look to New York where Mayor Mamdani has played strategic offense to leverage federal dollars for housing while working with city leadership, including NYPD, to prevent federal overreach. We need to coordinate between our Council, the Mayor, and Attorney General to ensure that we are developing strategies to defend DC’s autonomy. My experience and leadership in getting hard things done will be an asset to the Council in this regard. For example, I made sure that Paid Family and Medical Leave, my bill, was delivered on time and under budget.
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We need to make sure that there are swift and certain consequences for lawbreaking, but also that the punishment is appropriate. Sometimes that means diversion programs, and sometimes that means having supports in place so that residents who are returning from incarceration can earn income and provide for their families. We must look to experts and evidence based practices that have been proven to work. For example, we can look to Baltimore and their use of violence interruption. Too often we commission reports on what has worked elsewhere, but then we never implement them or implement them poorly. Details matter. Results matter. Let's do it right and make strategic policy decisions and budget investments to make our city even better.
It most certainly is the responsibility of elected officials to keep our immigrant neighbors safe, to keep our workers safe, and our community safe. It's not just about MPD and being clear about ICE non-cooperation, it's also about making sure that workplaces including schools know what to do when ICE shows up. It's making sure the AG's guidance is distributed and people know their rights. It's about keeping programs in place, like the DC Healthcare Alliance, which primarily helps our immigrant residents get access to health services and insurance. And making sure we don't create a generation afraid to talk to police and government officials. I look forward to working with our future mayor in protecting our most vulnerable communities.
