Candidate Profile: Beau Finley For DC City Council In Ward 3​

WASHINGTON, DC — Beau Finley, a 42-year-old attorney and resident of the Cleveland Park neighborhood, says crime is the number one concern among constituents in Ward 3.

Finley is on the ballot for the June 21 Democratic Party Primary. He's running against eight other candidates to fill the vacant Ward 3 seat on the D.C. City Council: Tricia Duncan, Henry Z Cohen, Matthew Frumin, Eric Goulet, Ben Bergmann, Deirdre Brown, Monte Monash and Phil Thomas. The winner will square off against Republican David Krucoff in the Nov. 8 general election.

Patch has asked each of the candidates running in select races to fill out a questionnaire, sharing facts about themselves and why voters should choose them to represent their party in November.

Name
Beau Finley

Campaign website

Beau Finley For Ward 3

DC Neighborhood

Cleveland Park

Office sought

DC Council, Ward 3

Party affiliation

Democrat

Education

University of Maryland, B.A., Economics, 2002; Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2007

Occupation

Attorney (14.5)

Family

My wife, Laura (37), is an architect. I’m very lucky to have my parents (Mike and Julia) and younger sister and her husband (JC and Patrick) nearby, too.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No.

Age
42

Previous public office, appointive or elective

• Yes. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 3C04. Elected 2016, 2018, and 2020.
• Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner - ANC 3C04, elected 2016, 2018, and 2020. Chair of ANC 3C, elected 2021 - present - two terms.
• Vice Chair of ANC 3C, elected 2017-2019 - two terms.
• Vice President for HQ - NTEU 209, elected 2018 - 2022 - one term, left to run for DC Council.
• Ward 3 Committeeman to the DC Democratic State Committee, elected - 2018 - present.
• Precinct Delegate to the Ward 3 Democrats, elected - 2016-2018, ex officio 2018 - present.

Why are you seeking this office?

I believe strongly in the dignity of the person - that is the impetus for why I am running to represent Ward 3 and the font from which my proposals flow. Our government should not just be responsive to our current needs but also plan for our future needs. It must provide opportunities for all so that we, our children, and our grandchildren can thrive. We need to elect leaders with experience, vision, and integrity, who will fight for all of us.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Public safety is the most common answer I hear from constituents.

We all deserve to be safe. The recent increase in crime, especially along Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness and Forest Hills, has rightfully led to stress and anxiety among those of us who frequent the corridor. Ward 3 deserves a response that will get results and not just make headlines. And, over the long term, we need to address the root causes of crime so that we can prevent violence on our streets and in our neighborhoods.

We have the sixth largest police force in the country, but we’re only the twentieth largest city. This means that we need to focus our approach to policing, rather than focusing on the size of the police force. I’ve long argued that the best way to increase public safety is through community policing. MPD currently has special liaison units that are examples of community policing. In addition, we used to do community policing about a decade ago under Chief Cathy Lanier to great effect. Community policing means getting our police back on patrol in our neighborhoods, in their vehicles and on foot. Our police spend ~22% of their time on patrol, which is much less than the national average. More frequent patrols through community policing means that our police will be better deterrents and have better response times because the police will be in our neighborhoods where crime occurs, not at the precinct on Idaho Avenue.

In addition, we need to invest in support services that put behavioral specialists on the front lines of helping people in need rather than relying on our police to handle everything - our police should be policing, not handling mental health crises where no one is in physical danger. Requiring our police to handle mental health crises and traffic enforcement keeps our police from the positive community engagement necessary to solve crimes.

What is your position on DC statehood?

I am in support of DC Statehood and have worked hard to lay the groundwork for us to have full representation.

We cannot achieve statehood on our own, so many of us have been working to build national support for our representation. We can achieve statehood only through a constitutional amendment or through congressional support. Either way, we need the help of those outside the District.

I looked at this issue and determined the best way for me to work toward statehood was to work toward flipping GOP-held state legislatures for Democrats. This meant identifying Democrats who support statehood who run against Republican incumbents at the state legislative level. In 2017, I founded the Blue Wave Task Force in my local Democratic club — the Ward 3 Democrats. I identified seven candidates in Virginia for us to support. Six of those seven won. In 2018, I decided to bring this successful model to the DC Democratic State Committee. Once elected to the DC Democratic Party, I founded the DC Democrats’ Blue Wave Task Force. In 2018, we identified candidates in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin who support statehood. We were successful in electing many of them. In 2019, we went back to Virginia and elected Dan Helmer and Joshua Cole. (The Honorable Joshua Cole recently endorsed me.) In 2020, we focused on North Carolina and Pennsylvania, recognizing that our down-ballot efforts would have positive effects for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. Every single candidate we supported is now an advocate for DC statehood. Thanks to this work by myself and others, support for DC statehood is now a litmus test for many Democrats.

In addition to my work electing Democrats who support statehood, I kicked off the discussion among presidential primary candidates regarding statehood. In a CNN Town Hall in early 2020, which I was invited to as an elected member to the DC Democratic Party, I asked Senator Sanders if he supports DC statehood. He emphatically said yes. Over the following few days, every Democratic candidate released statements saying they also support DC statehood.

How would you address the problem of gun violence in the District?

Gun violence is a difficult topic given that we live next to a state, Virginia, with notoriously lax gun laws. Guns used in crimes in the District are more likely to come from Virginia than anywhere else in the country. Absent robust national gun control, we have to treat gun violence through a public-health lens, which will lead to evidence-based methods of reducing crime and creating better outcomes for our at-risk youth. The District has begun adopting new measures to identify likely participants in gun violence. In addition, we know that over 80% of violent crime in the District takes place across 450 blocks. This targeting, combined with expanding our violence interruption programs and our after-school programs, should have a salutary effect on gun violence in our city, stopping some of it before it can occur.

We also need to vigorously prosecute those who commit violent crimes and get them off our streets and into the rehabilitation they need. Over the long term, however, we need to address both the structural causes of crime and embrace successful enforcement strategies such as community policing. As your Councilmember, I will push MPD to comprehensively adopt a community policing model to get police officers out of cars and into positive interactions with the communities they serve.

We need to extend our restorative justice programs which result in better, more just outcomes for victims. We need data-driven techniques to minimize recidivism, especially among at-risk youth. And finally, we need to address the primary cause of violent crime in the District: poverty.

We need to win the war on poverty, be it through housing assistance, cash transfers, or other innovative methods. I believe that we can make our communities more just, more equitable, and most importantly, safer.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The difference between me and the other candidates seeking this position is that they are the reason I chose to run to represent Ward 3. I saw who was running, what they were proposing (or failing to propose), spoke to several of them at length, and decided that Ward 3 and the District would be better served by my experience and vision, so I resigned my position as a senior attorney at the Federal Communications Commission and jumped into the race.

Now that we’re two and a half months in, it’s clear that, on a lot of issues, I appear to be the only one who has given serious consideration to the problems Ward 3 families face, from affordable housing to rising daycare costs to transportation. It’s been a welcome experience hearing my policy proposals presented at one forum echoed back to me at the next as my opponents adopt my ideas. If you compare my overall platform to any candidate’s, you’ll see that 1) I have thoughtful, specific proposals covering a wide range of issues facing Ward 3 and the District and 2) my values are reflected in these proposals.

I remain the only candidate with a platform on protecting LGBTQ+ rights, on furthering racial equity, and on enhancing labor rights. For a long time, I was the only candidate with a dedicated environmental platform. Today, I am still one of only two candidates with a platform dedicated to seniors’ issues.

My experience as a federal auditor in an Inspector General’s office, leading a team in analyzing a $2 billion capital program, gives me the background necessary to make sure our budgets make sense and to hold District agencies accountable. Over my fourteen years at the FCC, I gained significant experience crafting policy, ensuring compliance from multibillion dollar companies, and working through creative solutions to complex problems. I’m ready to tackle the challenges facing Ward 3 and the District.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

N/A

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Building more housing including affordable housing, public safety, overcrowding in our schools, the achievement gap, environmental sustainability, downtown redevelopment, small businesses, Senior issues, enhancing racial equity, protecting LGBTQ+ rights...

If you go to my website - www.beaufinley.com - you can see that I’m addressing everything from affordable housing to improving transportation to strengthening our schools and alleviating overcrowding. In addition, given recent national news, I have a substantial plan to ensure women still have the right to choose and be safe in a post-Roe world.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

In 2016, I ran for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in my district (3C04). One of the main pieces of my platform was to ensure that the Ward 3 Short-term Family Housing facility, a shelter for families, would open as soon as possible. There was a vocal group opposed to the shelter who argued that it would hurt property values and be an eyesore. Today, property values have continued to skyrocket and the facility is one of the most successful shelters in our system.

I drafted the changes to the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land-Use Map so that we can build more housing, including affordable housing, on Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park. I ushered these proposals through the Office of Planning, ANC 3C, and Councilmember Cheh’s office, building support and getting them adopted at each step.

While all of the Democrats in this race have publicly stated repeatedly that they strongly support the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes, I am the only candidate who made them happen. I began this work in 2017, and, like the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, drafted the proposal, organized the community, and persuaded many, including small businesses in Cleveland Park, to support the proposal.

I helped found Cleveland Park Main Street, a neighborhood group that helps our small businesses navigate District bureaucracy, coordinate promotions, and ensure that our business community is actively engaged in our broader community. I knew the Future Land-Use Map amendment process would take years to bear fruit, so our neighborhood would need to come up with a short-term solution to help our small businesses. After settling upon a Main Street format, I chaired one of the four committees necessary to standing up a Main Street. In 2020, Cleveland Park Main Street launched, which will help our businesses through the upcoming DDOT Cleveland Park Streetscape Project (also something I am proud to have worked toward!) and into the future as more housing comes online along the corridor.

In my answer regarding DC statehood, I touched upon my work organizing Ward 3 and DC Democrats to elect Democrats outside of DC in Republican-held districts. I am very proud of this work because it has resulted in Medicaid expansion in Virginia, protecting thousands more people from being uninsured or underinsured and prevented the expansion of gun rights in Virginia and North Carolina.

All of the above accomplishments are outside of my many work accomplishments, including expanding telephone and internet access to low-income households, assisting Tribal governments with economic development projects, and making sure our nation’s 911 networks are robust and ready for the challenges of the future.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Always remember "there but for the grace of God go I."

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I hope my values are well represented above.

I look forward to serving Ward 3 and providing strong constituent services.

If you have an idea for how we can improve Ward 3 and the District, please let me know. If you see something in my proposals that you think would be bad for Ward 3, let me know, tell me what the problem is. My cellphone number is 202-743-0454.

Related:

Candidate Profile: Ben Bergmann For Ward 3 DC City Council Seat

Candidate Profile: Deirdre Brown For Ward 3 DC City Council Seat

Candidate Profile: Tricia Duncan For DC City Council In Ward 3

Candidate Profile: Matthew Frumin For DC City Council In Ward 3

Candidate Profile: Monte Monash For City Council In Ward 3

Candidate Profile: Phil Thomas For Ward 3 DC City Council Seat