Last month we learned that At Large Councilmember Robert White would also be running for the seat.
From a press release:
“Today, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto announced her campaign for the District of Columbia’s congressional district. Councilmember Pinto announced her campaign in a video to supporters earlier today.
Brooke Pinto currently serves as the Ward 2 Councilmember and Chairwoman of the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Brooke’s entire career has been focused on serving District residents, building consensus across coalitions and across the city, and delivering solutions and results to DC’s most pressing challenges.
In her years serving on the Council, Brooke has shepherded dozens of bills into law, including the landmark public safety package Secure DC, the largest and most effective public safety bill in DC’s history. As Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Brooke has passed legislation to reduce violent crime in the District by over 50% through interventions that have strengthened gun penalties and equipped law enforcement and our first responders.
Brooke has also been a consistently strong voice on the Council for affordable housing development and addressing homelessness, passing bills that help neighbors experiencing homelessness move into stable, indoor transitional housing and building more housing of every kind in the District.
Brooke has also championed a vibrant economy for DC in an evolving economic landscape encouraging the reenvisioning of our Downtown with office to housing conversions which DC is now leading the nation on, bolstering our historic Chinatown corridor, cutting red tape for our small businesses by restructuring the business licensing regime making it easier for small businesses to open and stay open, and supporting our unions.
Brooke has worked tirelessly for our families and supported our public and public charter schools. She has passed legislation to improve literacy rates and ensure our teachers have the training and resources they need to help our kids learn how to read and prepare them for the future. After the Council passed Brooke’s legislation to ban cell phones from the classroom, schools across the city are removing these distractions to better help our kids focus on learning and thriving.
Councilmember Pinto released the following statement on her announcement:
“In this moment, DC residents across the city are asking ourselves how we can stand up for DC, fight for our future, and fight for our values.
“I’m running for Congress to represent DC on Capitol Hill — to fight for our self governance, for a fair economy, for public safety, and for our families. We need leaders who are fighting for our city every single day and who have a proven track record of delivering tangible results for our residents. That’s what I’ve done on the Council, where I authored the most comprehensive public safety bill in our city’s history, where I championed the building of a first-of-its-kind transitional homelessness shelter, and where I delivered more funding for DC’s public schools to improve literacy.
“Washington D.C. isn’t just our nation’s political capital — our city is a center for commerce, culture, and education. We need a champion in Congress who knows that DC’s future is bright — and who knows that there are a myriad of opportunities we can accomplish for our city by working together with inclusivity, innovation, and execution.”
“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has been an unparalleled champion for DC for decades and I want to build on her incredible legacy for which we are all grateful. I am eager to build a campaign and a movement that empowers our engaged and talented neighbors to be a part of the future of our city that is strong, fair, and safe. Let’s move our city forward, together; let’s fight for DC!”
Prior to serving on the Council, Brooke served as the Assistant Attorney General for Policy and Legislative Affairs under Attorney General Karl Racine. She has worked in the United States Senate, and as a fellow at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless and the Landlord Tenant Court, fighting to protect Washingtonians. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.”