Vincent Orange

Voters should vote for me to continue receiving results they can count on. These results include a $15 per hour minimum wage, 5 days of sick leave pay for tipped wage workers, $635 million to be spent with D.C. small businesses, and pursuing real affordable housing for our D.C. residents. Currently, I am working to make UDC-Community College a tuition-free institution for obtaining associate degrees, making D.C. a free WiFi and Internet access jurisdiction to reduce the digital divide, and $1 billion dollars of affordable housing.

District residents deserve an elected official who will be responsive to the diversity of needs that exist across the city. As a former two-term elected neighorhood commissioner (2010-2014), I am the only person in this race who has experience representing and advocating for neighborhood-level issues and interests. ( Editor’s note: White and Orange says he was president of a citizens association) I fought with parents to open a school that opened this past fall, made inclusivity and diversity in housing options a priority with new development, worked to bring amenities (parks, diverse transportation options, river recreation, retail and restaurants) to the waterfront. As a member of the council, my focus will be on being responsive and results-oriented, and making sure that this is a city that the diversity of residents that call DC home can live in for the long-term.

I am the only candidate in this race who has a vision that includes all of our residents, and I am the only candidate that can bring the people of the District together to support the work required to make the District more inclusive. Vincent Orange’s record has been one of pay-to-play politics and election year horse-trading, and he has failed us on the job training program and affordable housing. In terms of the other person in the race, he has little professional experience and would do well to be further down a career pathway so that his contribution in the future could be substantive.

The number one priority should be fiscal responsibility. While being fiscally responsible, we can provide real affordable housing for our workforce, enhance school reform and modernization, implement homeless initiatives and provide for better public safety.

I’ve lived in and been an active participant in a diverse set of communities across D.C. What’s become clear to me is that we still have a long way to go to have neighborhoods that are equitably served by amenities, economic opportunity and a great quality of life. There are still many communities being left behind, where commercial corridors are empty and kids don’t see a pathway to a success-filled future. The D.C. Council’s number one priority needs to be bringing opportunity to neighborhoods and residents who are still being left behind.

Our first priority should be to hold oversight hearings on the Job Training Program, and set a milestone-based course for implementing a short-term plan to put the tens of millions of dollars in federal grant funds to work. Our residents need certifications and new skills that enable them to apply for some of the 50,000 job openings in the District – but for which many of our residents currently do not have the requisite education or skills. The Job Training Program has to be the means of moving individuals – and families – out of poverty and hourly wage jobs and into career-track positions.

We must close D.C. General and implement the homeless shelter plan that includes all eight Wards participating. We must train our residents for job opportunities and provide wrap-around services where needed. Also, we must provide mobile shower buses for the homeless and free personal hygiene products for homeless women.

I am supportive of the council’s plan to build housing for women and children experiencing homelessness in all wards of the city. As Council member, I will work to provide additional funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund, target and streamline processes for receiving housing services and subsidies, make sure we are including family-sized units in new affordable housing projects, and preserve existing affordable rental housing.

We have to go into the homeless community and begin the conversation with each person to find the appropriate solution; not everyone who is homeless has become homeless for the same reasons. For families or individuals who are on the streets as a result of job losses or a loss of housing, we need short-term solutions, but we must also address the root causes of a lack of affordable housing, a lack of employment (which may result from a lack of skills), and a lack of education. We have to stabilize more families and position them for success in our city.

Congress is the greatest threat to the District’s future. We must have budget autonomy and be able to enact laws that are beneficial to D.C. We have proven that we can maintain our own finances because we have balanced 22 consecutive budgets, we went from a fiscal year 1999 $518 million deficit to a fiscal year 2017 budget of $13.4 billion. Today we have over $2 billion in our rainy day fund. We are a financially sound city, and Congress should allow us to control our affairs.

The biggest threat to the District’s future is the rising wave of violent crime that’s happening across the city. My five-step plan for reducing crime across the city focuses efforts on: increasing the number of officers and doing a better job of retaining officers in the Metropolitan Police Department, reinstating localized neighborhood crime units, addressing the underlying issues -- systemic poverty and economic opportunity -- that lead to crime, mentorship and incentive-based programs for at-risk young people and increasing transparency across agencies handling prosecution in the District.

The future of the District is bright, but the question is whether we are willing to make that future an inclusive one or an exclusive one. So many people have suffered through D.C.s worst times, waiting for better days, but as a stronger D.C. is emerging, they are being shown the door. We must invest in the future of our middle class and low-income families. That starts with affordable housing, an improved job-training program, and stable households that then embrace and can participate in the education of their children as well as their own education.

D.C. Council’s biggest mistake has been not ensuring the completion of the New Communities Initiative. This initiative provides for 1,645 affordable housing units in Barry Farms, Lincoln Heights, Northwest One and Park Morton. In addition, D.C. Council must provide $1 billion of affordable housing including to seniors on fixed income, homeless families and households making $30,000 to $60,000. Furthermore, the D.C. Council must mandate that our 3rd graders are reading independently and can add, subtract, multiply and divide upon entering the 4th grade; thus providing a pathway to middle school success and a pathway to graduate from high school.

The Council’s biggest mistake in recent years has been the lack of oversight on school modernization projects across the city. There is no reason the District should be spending more per square foot than public charter schools on similar projects, and leaving some school communities in the dust while lining the pockets of those lucky enough to get non-compete construction contracts. My experience in communities and schools across the District, as well as my years working in the real estate and construction fields gives me the perfect level of experience to provide the oversight needed to force the District to be more responsible with D.C. taxpayer dollars, while improving more schools in neighborhoods across D.C.

The Council, and specifically Vincent Orange, has dropped the ball on oversight of the job-training program. This is a cornerstone program and the lack of attention to it has had dire consequences on the lives of people losing ground in a city with rising costs. As chairman of the committee with oversight of the job-training program, Vincent Orange has either been grossly negligent or willfully uninterested in doing the real work required in his position.