DC for Democracy (DC4D) members overwhelmingly voted to endorse Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau for re-election in 2022, just over a year ago. We stand firmly by them now, as they face recall efforts led by people who propose no solutions and whose efforts are distracting from solving the very problem they are worried about.  

Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau earned the endorsement of DC for Democracy members for their devoted efforts to build a healthier city where residents are treated with dignity and have resources to thrive. They led the effort in 2021 for legislation that helped thousands of residents move from homelessness to a home, improved the low pay of early childhood education teachers, and created a basic income program – all funded through increasing income taxes on DC’s highest-income residents. Allen and Nadeau have promoted accessible and affordable transportation; expanded voting rights; stronger rent control; healthier homes, and more.  

DC4D also endorsed Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau because of their nuanced and best-practices approach to community safety. We all want to live in communities where we feel safe, and it is troubling that many DC residents are worried about their safety today. But our leaders must avoid simplistic attempts to address crime primarily through increased penalties, detention and incarceration, which have historically led to unacceptably high rates of incarceration, often violate our civil rights, and unfairly target people of color. They must instead take a holistic approach that addresses the realities of communities traumatized by poverty and inadequate systems for mental health, housing, and disability services, as Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau have done. They have worked to improve the functioning of our criminal legal system to make us all safer, while also addressing the intense racial inequities in DC’s historic approach to safety.

The recall mechanism is a valuable mechanism for removing elected officials from office when they violate basic standards of honesty, decency and respect for the law. But it requires an intense investment of time, energy, and money, and detracts from efforts to develop solutions to our city’s many challenges. It should not be used by a small number of people to simply re-do an election when they disagree with the winning candidate’s approach to policy. Those who oppose Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau’s vision for the city – and who failed to defeat them in an election just 15 months ago – should support the candidate of their choice in the next election.

We urge DC residents to oppose the recall efforts by declining to sign a recall petition and by offering your support to the efforts set up to oppose the recall.  In Ward 6, that is Neighbors United for Ward 6. In Ward 1 it is No Ward 1 Recall.