At-Large Race Candidates Split on Safety, Housing and DC’s Future

By Elizabeth O'Gorek

May 8, 2026

All at-large Democratic candidates agree that the District faces rising costs, persistent public safety issues, budget pressure and a more hostile federal environment. They differ in how to respond. As presented at an April 9 forum and across campaign websites, the differences are not subtle.

Nine candidates are running in the June 16 primary. Kevin B. Chavous is former DC Council Committee and Policy Director and a current Democratic National Committeeman (www.chavousfordc.com). Dwight Davis is a longtime DC Public Schools educator and former Browne Education Campus principal (dwight4dccouncil.com). Dyana N.M. Forester is a former DC Housing Authority commissioner and ANC commissioner (www.dyanafordc.com). Business owner Fred Hill is a former chair of the Board of Zoning Adjustment (www.fredhill4dc.com). Greg Jackson is a former gun-violence-prevention advisor to the White House (gregjacksonfordc.com). Entrepreneur Leniqua Dominique Jenkins is a former DC Council staffer (www.votejenkinsfordc.com). Candace Tiana Nelson is a former council chief of staff (www.candacefordc.com). Oye Owolewa is the shadow US Representative (www.vote4oye.com) and a pharmacist. And Lisa Raymond is a former State Board of Education member (lisaraymondfordc.com).

Public safety reveals real fault lines between candidates, who see safety as a problem of strategy, systems, opportunity or trust.

Public Safety and Curfews

At the forums, Jackson drew on his experience with federally funded violence reduction programs to argue for targeted enforcement paired with large-scale intervention. He emphasized data and measurable outcomes. His website presents a focus on gun-violence intervention and the scaling of proven programs, though it offers fewer specifics on police staffing or detention policy.

Owolewa rejects enforcement-heavy approaches and prefers youth opportunity, mentorship and engagement as the primary tools of prevention. His website reinforces that framing by focusing on economic opportunity and cost-of-living issues rather than policing or curfew policy, and treats safety as a function of income and stability.

Raymond and Davis sit between those poles. Raymond emphasized schools, families and workforce systems as stabilizing forces, with her website adding support for a “well-trained, adequately staffed police force” alongside prevention. Davis framed safety as relational. “Our city moves at the speed of trust,” he said, pointing to sustained engagement between families, schools and agencies.

Curfews sharpened differences. Owolewa and Jenkins opposed them outright, calling for youth spaces and structured programming. Raymond and Davis declined to endorse curfews, emphasizing schools, families and trust. Jackson also declined to back a citywide curfew, favoring targeted, neighborhood-based interventions.

Chavous did not foreground curfews but rather emphasized governance capacity and implementation. Nelson, Jenkins and Forester similarly framed safety through stability, pointing to housing, health and economic supports as preventative tools, while Hill’s broader focus on regulatory and economic structure positioned safety as linked to development and opportunity.

The issues relating to the provision of affordable housing drew shaper divergence.

Housing

Candidates differ widely on whether affordability is driven by market supply, regulation or income.

Hill argued at the forum that easing regulatory barriers and facilitating development is key. Drawing on his zoning experience, he said the city should facilitate projects by balancing competing interests and allowing mixed-income development to move forward, even if that means accepting a lower proportion of affordable set-asides to make projects financially viable.

Raymond supports building more, “with safeguards.” At the forum she emphasized removing barriers while preventing displacement, while her website sets specific goals, including 72,000 new units at 30% affordability, and calls for increased density as key to making homes accessible.

In contrast, Forester takes an affordability-first approach. Drawing on her experience with the DC Housing Authority, she argued development must maximize affordability and protect residents. Skeptical of deals that prioritize market-rate units or trade reductions in affordability for scale, she emphasizes the enforcement of affordability requirements.

Jenkins and Nelson emphasize process and access. Nelson supports rent stabilization, expansion of funding for the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, along with transparency and community input. Calling housing a human right, Jenkins supports equitable distribution, down-payment assistance and community-based lending.

For Owolewa and Jackson, the focus on production misses the point. Owolewa framed housing as part of a broader income problem, arguing that wages drive affordability. Jackson emphasized homeownership, complaining that the city has “overlooked homeowners.” Meanwhile, Chavous and Davis did not emphasize detailed housing policy at the forum. Chavous focused on governance and oversight, while Davis tied housing stability to education and community outcomes.

The District’s tight finances will constrain councilmembers from expanding programs and assistance. Candidates also disagreed on how to respond to those limits.

The Tightening Finances

At the forum, Chavous framed the challenge as fiscal discipline. The city must scrutinize contracts and assert DC Council authority over agencies. His campaign materials stress fiscal management and accountability rather than new spending.

Jackson argued the opposite at the forum, calling for continued investment in public safety, housing and jobs. He argued this is essential to avoid long-term costs. Nelson, Jenkins and Raymond also held that view. They identified education, healthcare and housing as priorities, with Raymond emphasizing strategic planning and execution.

Owolewa and Hill pointed to a need to spur economic growth. Increasing employment and expanding the tax base, they argued, would relieve budget pressure. Their websites reinforce that framing. Owolewa’s highlights job creation and income growth as the foundation of fiscal health, while Hill’s emphasizes business development and expanding the city’s economic base. At the forum, Davis focused on outcomes, arguing that investment in youth and education functions as a long-term fiscal policy. His campaign materials stress education and community stability over immediate budget cuts.

Forester introduced another dimension at the forum with a focus on the impact of federal workforce cuts. The city has not adequately responded, she said, adding that affected residents “feel alone. They feel like nobody knows, nobody cares.”

Dealing With the Orange Elephant

Candidates agree the White House plays a central role in the District’s fiscal outlook but differ on whether the response should prioritize discipline, sustained investment or economic expansion. Jackson called the Trump administration “vindictive,” arguing leaders must confront federal actions directly. Forester focused on local impact, saying DC needs to do more to support laid-off federal workers.

Pointing to their experience as council staffers, Chavous emphasized defending DC’s autonomy within legal constraints, while Raymond pledged to “fight congressional interference in our local laws.”

Owolewa and Hill emphasized economic resilience over confrontation. Nelson and Jenkins stressed equity and responsiveness to vulnerable residents. Davis emphasized local trust and engagement as essential elements of federal impacts to schools and families.

Chavous’ and Raymond’s emphasis on legislative experience raises the broader question of whether voters should choose an insider or an outsider.

Should Voters Pick an Outsider Or an Insider?

“Experience really matters,” Raymond said, arguing governance requires preparation and execution. Chavous similarly stressed readiness “on day one,” noting his experience as a committee director.

Davis emphasized experience through his decades in DC Public Schools, while Forester pointed to her service at the DC Housing Authority and on the ANC as grounding her candidacy in community-level governance.

Despite his current office, Owolewa has hoisted the flag of change. “We have never had a doctor of pharmacy, a healthcare worker or a doctor on the council,” he said. “You deserve something different!”

Meanwhile, Hill casts himself as an outsider. Private-sector experience provides him with a unique perspective on government regulations, he argued. The DC Council, he said, is too internally focused.

Jenkins touts her background as an entrepreneur and doctoral student. Equity and failed government, especially east of the Anacostia River, are her rallying cries.

Embracing change, Nelson adopts a softer version of the same tone. Echoing Marion Barry’s oft-quoted line, she says that residents often feel “left behind, left out and unheard.” She advocates for more governmental responsiveness and community-centered leadership.

Jackson places a foot in each camp. He cites his role in a $17-billion anti-violence federal program while nothing that he is an outsider to District government. He promises to champion new ideas regarding gun violence and unemployment.

The Choice

At-large members shape policy citywide. As the race enters its final stretch, voters face a choice, not between goals but between approaches: enforcement or prevention, growth or regulation, discipline or investment, experience or change.

For more information on the candidates in the Democratic Primary for an At-Large seat on the DC Council, visit www.hillrag.com/2026/04/26/who-is-running-for-nomination-as-dc-delegate-in-the-democratic-primary/; or attend the debate at St. Coleta’s of Greater Washington at 1901 Independence Ave. SE, on May 17 from noon to 2 p.m. or on Visit www.hillrag.com/2026/04/27/hear-the-candidates-attend-the-may-debates for more details.