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The legislation, introduced in 2021 by Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), received a hearing but did not advance to a vote, thanks in part to opposition from D.C.'s Democratic Party and some lawmakers who said it could exacerbate existing problems with under-voting. Henderson, who emerged as one of the two victors in the 2020 at-large race, introduced her ranked-choice voting bill soon after taking office with support from other members — using the large field of candidates in her own race as evidence of why the change would be impactful. “Given the realities of the process, the advocates felt this was a better move,” Henderson said, noting that she’s supportive of the initiative as written. “If nothing else, I hope through this ballot initiative process, more people can be educated about what ranked-choice voting is and how it works.” Henderson recalled that during a hearing on her bill, the elections board indicated that there may be costs associated with the change.

Even At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, who backed the legislation for more food stamp money, but so far has been unable to find funding for it, admitted she was in an “awkward position” as she felt compelled to speak against the proposal. “While it may seem like a big pot of money, relying on it to fund these programs opens the door to big problems in years to come,” Henderson said, echoing a concern from Mendelson and the real estate lobby about how the extra tax could stymie future land deals and end up driving revenues down in the long term.

The initiative as currently written would take effect in time for the next mayoral election, which could well be a crowded field if Mayor Muriel Bowser opts against a try at a fourth term, in addition to a slew of Council races. That includes two at-large seats, which have most frequently been targeted as ripe for ranked-choice voting considering the large number of candidates who typically run for them. The 2020 at-large race, in particular, spurred such calls after Christina Henderson won with 15 percent of the vote, then turned around and introduced ranked-choice legislation to prevent outcomes like that.

The legislation, introduced in 2021 by Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), received a hearing but did not advance to a vote, thanks in part to opposition from D.C.'s Democratic Party and some lawmakers who said it could exacerbate existing problems with under-voting. Henderson, who emerged as one of the two victors in the 2020 at-large race, introduced her ranked-choice voting bill soon after taking office with support from other members — using the large field of candidates in her own race as evidence of why the change would be impactful. “Given the realities of the process, the advocates felt this was a better move,” Henderson said, noting that she’s supportive of the initiative as written. “If nothing else, I hope through this ballot initiative process, more people can be educated about what ranked-choice voting is and how it works.” Henderson recalled that during a hearing on her bill, the elections board indicated that there may be costs associated with the change.

Even At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, who backed the legislation for more food stamp money, but so far has been unable to find funding for it, admitted she was in an “awkward position” as she felt compelled to speak against the proposal. “While it may seem like a big pot of money, relying on it to fund these programs opens the door to big problems in years to come,” Henderson said, echoing a concern from Mendelson and the real estate lobby about how the extra tax could stymie future land deals and end up driving revenues down in the long term.

The initiative as currently written would take effect in time for the next mayoral election, which could well be a crowded field if Mayor Muriel Bowser opts against a try at a fourth term, in addition to a slew of Council races. That includes two at-large seats, which have most frequently been targeted as ripe for ranked-choice voting considering the large number of candidates who typically run for them. The 2020 at-large race, in particular, spurred such calls after Christina Henderson won with 15 percent of the vote, then turned around and introduced ranked-choice legislation to prevent outcomes like that.

Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) said she supports pausing the K Street project to give planners time to revise the design and address community concerns. But she said revisions shouldn’t take another year — on top of three years already spent on design work — and she doesn’t support pulling all funds from the project. Finding the money in the future, she said, “will just be incredibly difficult.”

Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) said she supports pausing the K Street project to give planners time to revise the design and address community concerns. But she said revisions shouldn’t take another year — on top of three years already spent on design work — and she doesn’t support pulling all funds from the project. Finding the money in the future, she said, “will just be incredibly difficult.”

Parker is also particularly interested in seeding new ideas such as his proposal for a D.C.-based child tax credit or At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson‘s legislation to increase SNAP benefits to keep pace with the rising cost of groceries.

D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), chair of the Committee on Health, told The Informer that students who testified at council hearings often spoke about relying on friends for information about on-campus services. In explaining the legislation, Henderson stressed that peer educators wouldn’t replace behavioral health professionals. Instead, they would serve as a bridge between their friends and on-campus service providers, if it ever gets to that point that students need such resources. “The peer-to-peer model is [for students] to provide resources when they are needed [and] educate others about strategies and walk them to professionals,” Henderson said. “The grantees would be organizations that do this work to provide training around what students would talk about. Needs vary among students, like triage and prevention. [The question is]: How do we prevent a major episode?”

D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), chair of the Committee on Health, told The Informer that students who testified at council hearings often spoke about relying on friends for information about on-campus services. In explaining the legislation, Henderson stressed that peer educators wouldn’t replace behavioral health professionals. Instead, they would serve as a bridge between their friends and on-campus service providers, if it ever gets to that point that students need such resources. “The peer-to-peer model is [for students] to provide resources when they are needed [and] educate others about strategies and walk them to professionals,” Henderson said. “The grantees would be organizations that do this work to provide training around what students would talk about. Needs vary among students, like triage and prevention. [The question is]: How do we prevent a major episode?”

Another car flagged by D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson racked up $32,000 in unpaid camera ticket fines, and yet the car owner can still renew their driver's license. "All of that would not be on your record. And in fact, now you cannot pay and still renew, said Henderson. "It's incredibly frustrating." "The District government made some choices before my time that sort of led to Maryland and Virginia basically saying, ‘Oh, OK, so if you're not going to enforce this, then why would we enforce this against drivers registered in our states?'" said Henderson. When asked how this problem could be fixed, Henderson responded, "We’re looking at Arizona. Phoenix actually has a system. Chicago, interestingly enough, has a system as well."