Connor Kurtz’s assessment in his Feb. 28 letter, “The D.C. Council recall petitions,” which used D.C.’s failure to address homelessness as justification for recalling D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), was a clear illustration that those pushing the recall effort pay very little attention to what actually happens in the Wilson Building.
As a Ward 1 voter who has worked to solve homelessness in D.C. and nationally, I know firsthand that Ms. Nadeau is a champion for ending homelessness in Ward 1 and across D.C. As chair of the Human Services Committee, she funded programs that will end homelessness for thousands of our neighbors. Sadly, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has failed to move with urgency to spend this lifesaving and homelessness-ending money, which, in turn, means more people are sleeping outside.
It seems to me that those behind these recall efforts forget — or are not well-versed enough in the D.C. policy arena to know — that it is Ms. Bowser, not D.C. Council members, who is to blame for D.C.’s failure to meet the needs of its residents, both housed and unhoused. Still, Ms. Nadeau continues to put Ward 1 first, even if she does not have a partner in the mayor’s office.
Jesse Rabinowitz, Washington
As a Ward 1 resident, I’m deeply concerned that the recall effort facing D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) will distract us from implementing policies that will increase safety.
The mayor, the D.C. Council, the city’s public safety agencies and experts have spent years developing plans to grow key safety solutions to address the instability that emerged from the pandemic. We need to implement the plans city leaders have developed and voted for (often unanimously) to address the safety gaps in crisis response, affordable housing, violence interruption and income support for people at risk of violence.
These approaches are desperately needed at a much larger scale.
Just two years after my neighbors and I overwhelmingly reelected Ms. Nadeau, the distraction of a recall election will make us less safe if it means our city won’t be as focused on implementing consensus-driven plans to reduce our safety gaps.
Rather than a recall, people who want to increase safety in Ward 1 should be supporting Ms. Nadeau’s efforts to solve homicide cases and increase support for victims of crime — practical solutions to our safety challenges.
Jason Ziedenberg, Washington
