草莓传媒

I am an attorney at the law firm of Bailey & Glasser where the bulk of my practice involves litigating consumer class actions and whistleblower claims, including consumer privacy, health care antitrust and environmental claims. I鈥檝e pursued cases against the NFL, the NBA, NBC, Nissan, the Harlem Globetrotters and the major oil companies.

Prior to practicing law, I worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters where I worked in the Research Department and supported the bargaining committees for the Master Freight and UPS contracts. During law school, where I was an evening student, I worked for the Corporation Counsel (now the DC Attorney General).

Recently, I took a partial sabbatical from my firm to help a non-profit for Martin Luther King III, who has been a pro bono client for the past several years. I have also been pro bono counsel for Two Rivers PCS in the matter against the Planned Parenthood protesters in 2015 who were targeting the students, a case still pending.

I have an array of real world experience that sets me up to hit the ground running.

My top three priorities are (1) truancy is a symptom and cause of many of our public safety issues and replacing the unworkable system the Council recently passed is critical; (2) public safety and continuing the work I did independently in 2025 on MPD鈥檚 manipulation of our violent crime stats; and (3) conducting meaningful oversight to determine what is and what is not working, which is especially important now as we enter a difficult budget environment. I believe in government and the important role it serves, but also believe it needs to be accountable and what we fund must achieve measurable results.

While crime has certainly trended down in D.C., the numbers belie the Council鈥檚 self-congratulatory proclamations about how well their policies have worked. For example, in 2025, we had 127 murders but if we had NYC鈥檚 per capita murder rate we鈥檇 have had 26. In 2025, dozens of cities experienced the fewest number of murders they鈥檝e seen in 50 years yet DC ended up 50% higher than 2012 (88).

We need somebody willing to build MPD staffing levels yet not just deferentially rely on MPD鈥檚 statements and instead conduct meaningful oversight. I was the first to publicly challenge MPD for systematically manipulating violent crime states yet the Council鈥檚 only action on this front was to send a single letter in December 2025.

When adopting public policy, there are rarely right or wrong answers — only trade-offs. Thus, it鈥檚 necessary to take chances for meaningful change. Yet, with that comes the responsibility to conduct oversight and acknowledge that certain things are not working as intended or are making things worse. I鈥檓 ready and willing to put my investigative skills to work and am not bound by 20 years of promises to special interests that will inhibit me from doing so.

While it is true you can never arrest your way out of a problem, it is equally true that you won鈥檛 be able to address issues you don鈥檛 adequately acknowledge. Criminal punishment needs to be swift, certain, and fair. I recently saw two middle school students test my back door after school and I was at the school within 30 minutes and believed it was unnecessary to involve the police. Had they actually broken in or had a gun I would have thought otherwise.

I support extending the youth curfew on a non-permanent basis and believe that most criminal penalties should be subjected to a time limitation so political leaders are forced to revisit these laws periodically in order to align with current research and community standards. This is how we get stuck with draconian laws because there is no incentive to revisit laws that are clearly outdated (e.g., Rockefeller drug laws). While we all need to do better to make sure kids have constructive things to occupy and better themselves, we also can鈥檛 wave off gun violence in our city.

Subject to additional information and debate, at this time I support removing OSSE from the Mayor鈥檚 control and placing it under the purview of SBOE. Much like the need to conduct meaningful oversight of MPD鈥檚 numbers, we need additional transparency and oversight related to the investments we鈥檙e making in our students to ensure the best outcomes we can achieve.

Revisit the Height Act, push for density bonuses near transit corridors, and reduce and enforce strict time lines on rezoning and permit review. In order to attract the right kind of housing, we need to ensure the government is working. We can鈥檛 simply accept years鈥� long approval processes if we expect to attract the investment we need to to build up our housing stock.

As I did independently in 2025 on MPD鈥檚 manipulation of our violent crime stats, I鈥檓 focused on conducting meaningful oversight on our agencies. This is particularly important as we enter a particularly difficult economic environment. Building trust is a function of communicating with the public accurately and timely, which means acknowledging problems.

Just as we can鈥檛 arrest and imprison our way out of issues, we can鈥檛 simply tax our way out of them either. Given the serious strain we鈥檙e currently under, we need to focus on the programs that serve the people most in need by funding programs that are achieving measurable results.

As a consumer protection and whistleblower attorney, I鈥檝e worked on behalf of Democratic and Republican Governors and Attorneys General. Building bi-partisan relationships is not indicative of surrendering. The role as 鈥渃ongressional lobbyist鈥� is a vitally important role that this Council does not seem to take seriously enough. If there鈥檚 only a single issue in common with somebody, it鈥檚 necessary to explore a relationship with somebody as that creates a foundation to persuade on other issues.

A recent study by the Washington Post found a 24% higher likelihood of crashes near D.C. schools compared to elsewhere in the city. As a bike commuter from Capitol Hill to Georgetown, I appreciate these findings. We need to ensure sufficient oversight over DDOT to make sure the changes they make (some of which neighbors complain seem unilateral, uncommunicated and unsupportable).

We need to make sure that whatever changes are proposed are communicated sufficiently and take into account all interests and not simply the loudest ones. We need to balance the need for manual traffic enforcement (and the increased danger to officers and citizens) with speed cameras (pulling down 鈥済otcha鈥� cameras). We need to balance the need for bike and bus lanes with the reality that it鈥檚 necessary for some to drive into the city given limited metro hours. While I鈥檓 highly skeptical of congestion pricing, I鈥檇 be open to entertaining it provided any revenues went to institute policies that increase metro and bus ridership so drivers also obtain some tangible benefit in the form of a shorter commute.

The 鈥渟tadium hearing鈥� is a prime example of how this Council falls down on soliciting the community鈥檚 views on a timely and equitable basis. While many good ideas came out of the public鈥檚 testimony, having a single 12+ hour hearing necessarily precluded many people from participating in person and soliciting as much input as possible. Brooke Pinto did the same thing with her 鈥減ublic safety鈥� hearing in December 2025. There鈥檚 a difference between 鈥渓istening鈥� to people and 鈥渉earing鈥� them. We need more of the latter.

As a plaintiff-side lawyer, it is critical to work collaboratively and I would carry that ethos to the Council. As a foundational matter, I believe that there are rarely right or wrong answers and there are only trade-offs. All people need to not only be listened to, but also heard. There can be–and certainly will be–people with diametrically opposed positions who carry their beliefs in good faith. It鈥檚 vital to hear people out, understand what can be gleaned from their positions and incorporate what can be incorporated into what moves forward. It is critical to be able to tell your friends 鈥渘o鈥� and your detractors 鈥測es鈥� when the situation calls for it.

I recently heard the AG say that 95% of the Revised Criminal Code Act was supported by both sides and that would enhance public safety. Yet Councilman Allen doomed the bill by ramming through the reduction of penalties for certain violent crimes and permitting jury trials for misdemeanors. Instead of getting 95%, we got 100% of nothing.

In light of the IG鈥檚 recent report, these concerns are well-founded. Conducting oversight is critical, but I don鈥檛 view the need for it as primarily theatrical or punitive. Good faith oversight seeks to determine whether performance issues are a function of human error, poorly-considered legislation or some combination thereof. Trust can be built by acknowledging issues and being free to discuss problems as we are to tout our successes. The Council鈥檚 job only starts when a piece of legislation passes as it鈥檚 necessary to guard against unintended consequences, ensure things are working as intended and acknowledge things that are not.

By ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct.

We need to revisit the Height Act; push for density; reduce and enforce strict time lines on rezoning and permit review; consider changes in the tax code to ensure long-time residents are not run out in their retirements years; and make sure our agencies are responsive to small businesses, which includes ensuring DDOT and the utilities are adequately coordinating to ensure there is no undue delay that adds cost and not value. We need to consider all voices, not simply the loudest ones.

I had the good fortune to live below Senator Hatfield in our first apartment on Capitol Hill and he was kind enough to help me plan a tour of the Speaker鈥檚 Balcony to get engaged, so I never tire of setting eyes on the Capitol.

I鈥檝e been to roughly 1,000 concerts and regularly host house shows with nationally-touring musicians at our home on Capitol Hill. A few local highlights are The White Stripes and Sturgill Simpson at The Black Cat, Lake Street Dive and St. Paul & The Broken Bones at IOTA, Jason Isbell at the O Street Museum, Grateful Dead at RFK, and Prince at Capitol One.