What issues are top of voters mind ahead of DC’s primary

Follow 草莓传媒鈥檚 team coverage of the聽D.C. primary and Election 2026聽online, on air at 103.5 FM or on the聽草莓传媒草莓传媒 app.

The District is approaching a pivotal primary election where a front-runner for council positions and the mayor will be decided.

For the first time in 12 years, a new face will take on the city鈥檚 top job. 草莓传媒 spoke with voters and a policy expert about what issues are front of mind for those in the District.

Crime and homelessness

鈥淎t times I even think about leaving the city, and I鈥檝e been born and raised here. 鈥� It’s gotten that bad. I’ve been robbed twice on the subway, I’ve had to defend myself,鈥� said Latisha Mason, who works in Anacostia.

While crime rates have improved from the sharp spike seen during and after the pandemic, deeper structural issues remain, according to Yeshim Sayan, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center.

鈥淭he No. 1 reason why I see reductions in crime is 鈥� enforcement,鈥� Sayan said, emphasizing that the visibility and presence of officers on the streets plays a more immediate role than long-term sentencing policies.

However, that is complicated by the declining staff numbers in the Metropolitan Police Department.

鈥淭he District’s police force has lost a lot of members, it’s hard to bring in new cadets and it’s hard to retain existing ones,鈥� Sayan said.

One reason for it is the stiff competition from neighboring jurisdictions like Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, as well as federal law enforcement agencies that offer higher salaries and incentives. On top of that, policing in a city also has added challenges compared with policing in a suburb.

鈥淚 really wish they would have some on the ground, real programs for crime, having police sit outside the 7/11 in a mandated stationary position instead of out of their cars, walking the beat, getting to know their community,鈥� Mason told 草莓传媒.

Stacy Mills, who lives in Northwest D.C., said, 鈥淚 think the city has put in every intervention it can, other than making sure there’s a policeman standing next to every person who’s committed a crime in the past.”

She added, “I don’t know what more the city can do with the resources that they have at this time.鈥�

Mills mentioned the use of emergency youth curfew zones: 鈥淚 want these kids to have freedom. 鈥� But we all have to take responsibility for our behavior.鈥�

Beyond staffing issues, the District鈥檚 criminal justice system presents unique complications, according to the D.C. Policy Center. Unlike most jurisdictions, D.C.鈥檚 criminal code is prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office rather than a local district attorney.

Sayan said this creates a 鈥減ing-ponging鈥� effect where D.C. police make arrests, a federal prosecutor could decide whether to file charges and a federal court decides the fate of convicted offenders, who can then be sent to federal prisons all over the country.

The result can be inconsistent prosecution and weakened accountability, according to the D.C. Policy Center. In 2022, prosecutors declined to prosecute nearly two-thirds of those arrested by police that would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court.

“At one point,” Sayan said, 鈥�1 in every 5 homicides got properly prosecuted, 1 in every 20 carjackings got properly prosecuted.鈥�

Several voters mentioned a wish for the city to better address the issue of homelessness.

Gabriel Davis, a Marine Corps veteran who recently returned to D.C., found the city very different from when he left around a decade ago.

鈥淎 lot of people are homeless out here. I think there could be more programs,鈥� Davis told 草莓传媒. 鈥淚 get it, can’t help everybody, but I think it should be more help from the taxpayers.鈥�

Mason said that the city should focus more on mental health resources for people living on the streets and that it might lead to safer outcomes.

鈥淵ou have people being attacked by mentally ill patients because they have nowhere to go,鈥� she said.

Housing and rising prices

Roger Spence, a voter in Northwest D.C., said many colleagues in his office have had to move out of the city when they began having children.

Flavio Irnez agreed: 鈥淓verything, especially the apartments are really expensive 鈥� almost 30% higher than all around the DMV.鈥�

He told 草莓传媒 that he is planning to move to Maryland in the next few weeks because of the rising costs of housing.

Irnez said it’s difficult for “normal people like us to get some decent apartment.鈥�

鈥淲e need caps on rent, and caps on home prices,鈥� Mills said. “At least for a couple of years.”

Housing prices are an area where local government could intervene, Sayan said.

鈥淭he city cannot do a whole lot about oil prices. The city cannot do a whole lot about grocery prices,鈥� Sayan said. 鈥淭he city can do a lot about housing costs.鈥�

Sayan said there are numerous regulations and requirements that are on the shoulders of housing production and operations, which makes housing relatively scarce in the city.

鈥淲e produced a lot of units, but most of them are clustered in a handful of neighborhoods, and the reason they’re clustered there is because there wasn’t any other housing in those places to begin with,鈥� Sayan said.

A recent report from the D.C. Policy Center found that policy decisions by previous councils and mayors have contributed to this housing scarcity.

鈥淚 would call it a death by a thousand cuts,鈥� she said.

Local zoning is much more prohibitive than just the . Sayan said when it comes to mid-sized housing, most neighborhoods are entirely closed to that kind of development. That is why most housing in recent years has been developed in previously industrialized areas, such as The Wharf and NoMa. These, however, are far from many schools and amenities that are needed for families.

鈥淭hen you have to go through all kinds of permits and approvals. That takes a lot of time in D.C., and there’s also inconsistency,鈥� Sayan said, noting that two different reviewers could have very different responses for the same set of development plans.

She added that current regulation energy efficiency upgrades for older residential buildings can be too costly, and even regulations around heritage trees have limited buildings that could house up to 20 families.

It鈥檚 causing an exit of families from the District and rapidly declining birth rates.

鈥淵ou cannot have a city without families. It’s no longer a city,鈥� Sayan said.

Small businesses and jobs

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not only people that have left the District, but also small businesses.

鈥淭hinking about the candidates, I’m interested in someone who is focused on small, mid-sized business retention and growth,鈥� said Jocelyn Walters, a small business owner in Anacostia.

鈥淭his is the neighborhood of my grandmother and I just want to see this neighborhood and all D.C. neighborhoods be able to sustain themselves without again requiring people and businesses to have to move out of D.C. in order to be part of the growth,鈥� she said.

Antonio Elberts, a resident of Southeast D.C., told 草莓传媒, as he heads to the ballot box, the most important issue on his mind is simply employment.

鈥淛obs, jobs, jobs and at my age, I need a job. It鈥檚 hard to get a job right now,鈥� he said.

Davis echoed his sentiment, 鈥淚t’s hard to get a job around here at times. Even at Chipotle or Chick-fil-A, it’s hard to get a job, believe it or not. People think that you just walk in and get a job here. No, you can’t. It’s very competitive right now.鈥�

Sayan said, 鈥淚 think the new mayor and the new council are going to face particularly challenging times.鈥�

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