Candidate Profile: Erin Palmer For DC City Council Chairman

WASHINGTON, DC — Erin Palmer is a 40-year-old attorney who lives in the Takoma neighborhood in Washington, D.C. with her husband Eric and their three children.

Palmer is on the ballot for the June 21 Democratic Party Primary. She's running against incumbent Phil Mendelson to be the next chairman of the D.C. City Council. The winner will square off against Republican Nate Derenge 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
Erin Palmer

Campaign website

Erin for DC

DC Neighborhood

Takoma (Ward 4)

Office sought

DC Council Chair

Party affiliation

Democrat

Education

American University Washington College of Law, Juris Doctor, cum laude; American University School of International Service, Masters, International Peace & Conflict Resolution; University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts & Sciences, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Majors: Politics, Philosophy & Economics; Spanish (with distinction)

Occupation

Lawyer (14 years)

Family

After completing law school and earning my graduate degree in conflict resolution, I worked as a judicial clerk at the DC Court of Appeals, where I met my husband, Eric, who was also clerking at the court. We fell in love while learning about local DC laws and exploring the city together. We married, settled in Takoma, and had our three kids: Adrián (11), Mateo (9), and Javier (7). They are constant and lively reminders of the values we honor most as a family: kindness, empathy, and service to our community.

Each birth brought surprises and challenges, but Javi’s was particularly notable. He arrived en route to the hospital, making his entrance in the backseat of my sister’s car at the corner of 13th Street and Gallatin Street, NW. He has been a part of our neighborhood from his first breath.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

None.

Age

40

Previous public office, appointive or elective

Yes, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 4B02. I ran in the November 2018 and November 2020 elections. In 2018, I beat an established incumbent with about 74% of the vote.

Why are you seeking this office?

I am a mom, an ethics lawyer, and a dedicated public servant. I’m running to bring new energy, vision, and compassion to the DC Council.

The recent release of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade is an important reminder that we cannot take our rights for granted. We must be dedicated at the local level to working intentionally to support our communities with the most need. I am passionate about empowering our legislature to meet the demands of the job, rather than letting its authority slip and languish, as we’ve seen for years. I am the only candidate who is offering a pathway to best serve our most vulnerable communities and ensure a brighter future for all DC residents.

I bring deep experience in good government and institutional accountability. Leadership that is committed to improved performance and accountability is important for all operations, from the budget to legislation to day-to-day oversight. I am the only candidate in this race with a plan for a more modern, more ethical, and more accountable DC Council. My DC Council Accountability Plan will empower the Council to legislate and conduct oversight well and efficiently, so our government works to the benefit of all DC residents, particularly those who have been the most underserved.

I am also the first and only candidate for DC Council Chair to participate in and qualify for DC’s Fair Elections program. By forgoing corporate and political action committee donations, I am dedicated to being engaged with and accountable to DC residents, not corporations and their lobbyists. Most importantly, I believe that DC residents should have trust and confidence in their legislature, and my plans for accountability, education, community safety, housing, and transportation are the first steps along the path toward a more robust and effective DC Council.

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

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is failure to meet basic needs. Secure and stable communities are safe communities. Yet, every map of DC is the same. Whether we are talking about housing stability, access to healthy food, high-quality education, patient-centered healthcare, or community safety, we are seeing the results of decades of chronic disinvestment. Consistent, values-based leadership can correct for this chronic disinvestment and make us safer.
All DC residents deserve to have their basic needs met in three key areas, and I have detailed plans on each:

1. safety – including safe streets and communities;
2. housing; and
3. education.

My Plan for Safe, Stable, and Secure Communities includes three critical strategies: meeting residents’ basic needs as rights, meaningfully investing in violence intervention, and demanding accountable public safety agencies that serve DC residents. More specifically, my Plan calls for a focus on investing in evidence-based and meaningful crime prevention, targeted and coordinated efforts using data-based insights, smart and effective emergency response systems, accountable policing, and better DC Council oversight. My Safe Streets Infrastructure and Public Transportation Plan outlines proposals to make our streets safer by design, improve and expand public transportation, and strengthen our neighborhoods with services and amenities so people don’t need to drive as often.

I believe that DC residents deserve safe housing and a government that proactively protects tenants through a public health and racial equity lens. The proposals in my Safe Housing Action Plan will strengthen our regulation of safe housing by detecting, fixing, and preventing housing code violations, as well as preventing the degradation of buildings that results in demolition or sale and displacement of neighbors.

Finally, our leadership can treat education as a right – not a business or expense. Driven by the values-based proposition that every DC resident deserves high-quality, equitable public education, my Plan for Public Education as a Right will improve outcomes for students, families, and school staff by fully and equitably funding our public schools; engaging in real education oversight; and ensuring safe and healthy school buildings.

What is your position on DC statehood?

DC should be a state, and I am a consistent and clear advocate for statehood. Ethical and responsible leadership with a clear, consistent vision for local control is critical to pursuing statehood. Unlike the current Council Chair, I believe in DC having local control for every aspect of governance - whether it is the height of buildings, local criminal justice matters, or the future of RFK stadium. In 1982, our constitutional convention built on broad community input to provide the foundation for statehood, whereas recent attempts were more centrally-controlled and less participatory and community-centered. We deserve self-determination as a fundamental human right, and I am prepared to be a relentless advocate for statehood.

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

Consistent with national priorities and best practices, I am dedicated to investing in violence prevention and building strong communities to reduce violence and lessen its impacts. We should be data-focused in how we address community safety. That’s why I have consistently supported the DC Auditor’s 2017 request for a staffing study for the Metropolitan Police Department to understand the use of and needs related to the Department.

I also believe that our criminal justice system must be well-functioning and dedicated to the truth. That is why I am deeply disappointed that we continue to struggle to have a modern and effective crime lab. The current Council Chair lists creation of the District’s Department of Forensic Science as one of his legislative successes. You wouldn’t know from his statement, however, that the District’s crime lab has been plagued with failures from the start and recently lost its accreditation to perform forensic testing. This continual dysfunction means slower progress on cases, more innocent people behind bars, and delays in ensuring we have both truth and justice in our criminal justice system, not to mention costing additional taxpayer dollars. I am dedicated to delivering a crime lab that works for DC residents.

I am also troubled that ongoing neglect is preventing our emergency call center, the Office of Unified Communications, from timely connecting 911 callers with the care and resources they need. Revolving door appointments and a lack of oversight have resulted in an agency where calls can take up to 20% longer in certain neighborhoods and delays for emergency response can be longer than a half-hour and even result in deaths. My Advisory Neighborhood Commission was a leader in demanding an audit of the Office of Unified Communications, and I am committed to making sure that when someone calls 911 they get the help they need.

I strongly support and have consistently advocated for increased resources for and coordination of violence interruption efforts, which receive a small fraction of the funding provided to police. I’m committed through DC Council oversight to streamlining and coordinating separate efforts, as well as using data to inform our violence interruption efforts and double down on the programs that work. This is especially important since violence interruption programs reside within several agencies and violence interruption work is often performed by contracted and subcontracted entities.

DC should invest in and strengthen our social safety net to meet people’s basic needs as a measure of violence prevention. We know that stable and secure communities are safe communities. We must ensure that all DC residents have safe, stable, and secure housing; a high-quality public education; access to healthy food and healthcare services; and economic security and opportunities for upward economic mobility.

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

I bring a deep dedication to good government and institutional accountability. That is rooted in my professional background as an ethics lawyer and reflected in my DC Council Accountability Plan – the first-ever comprehensive, evidence-based plan to build a more effective, modern, and ethical Council of the District of Columbia. Over-concentration of power and authority in the Chair has increased the risks of favoritism, back-door deals, and actions that advance my opponent's personal political agenda, all to the detriment of the collective ability of the Council to make laws and conduct oversight of government agencies. Instituting more collaborative procedures for Council governance and continually assessing how best to support Councilmembers in making laws and conducting oversight will empower the Council as a whole to legislate and conduct oversight well.

I strongly believe in expanding democracy and bringing more voices to the table. It's why I am participating in DC's Fair Elections program. By forgoing corporate and political action committee donations, I am dedicated to being accountable to and engaged with neighbors, not lobbyists. Matching funds made it possible for me to enter this race and be competitive against a longtime incumbent who is the only Council candidate running for reelection to opt out of the program. The opportunity for regular DC residents to have their voices heard is why I supported and advocated for passage of the Fair Elections program. I also support measures to expand voting rights to younger voters and permanent residents, which the current Council Chair does not, and I have detailed proposals in my DC Council Accountability Plan to make Council proceedings more inclusive and accessible to DC residents.

My platform is built around values-based leadership dedicated to meeting DC residents' basic needs and correcting for longstanding disparities. I often say that every map of DC looks the same and that is a result of continued disinvestment in Black communities, particularly those east of the Anacostia River. Correcting for those disparities and ensuring equitable outcomes will require an “all of government” approach and investments at every stage of life. Unlike the current Council Chair, I have consistently supported making sure all public schools having librarians, pay raises for early childhood educators, and championing paid family leave to ensure private and public sector workers can take the leave they need.

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

DC's Crime Lab: The current Council Chair lists creation of the District’s Department of Forensic Science as one of his legislative successes. You wouldn’t know from his statement, however, that the District’s crime lab has been plagued with failures from the start and recently lost its accreditation to perform forensic testing. This continual dysfunction means slower progress on cases, more innocent people behind bars, and delays in ensuring we have both truth and justice in our criminal justice system. A DC Council better equipped to analyze and implement best practices could have created a truly independent, objective, and expert-led crime lab. Such a crime lab would have been an unequivocally good thing for fairness and ensuring that DC’s criminal legal system relies on objective scientific analysis. Stronger leadership and oversight are now necessary to correct for a decade of failures.

Sports Betting: DC’s sports betting contract has been rotten from the start. From a no-bid procurement process to undue influence by a corrupt then-Councilmember to false promises of revenue for important social services programs to machinations by the current Council Chair to shove the contract across the finish line, the red flags were immediately apparent and persisted throughout. And DC has paid the price — literally — with a contract that is costing DC millions and has diminished trust in government.

Dissolving the Education Committee & Failed Education Oversight: DC Council oversight of education is deeply flawed. DC is the only jurisdiction where education governance is almost completely controlled by the Mayor, including our state education agency (the Office of the State Superintendent of Education). This structure means that Council oversight and independent data collection are essential to ensure any level of accountability. Yet, we have a Council that is under capacity by design as the current Council Chair dissolved the standalone Committee on Education as part of a petty fight with another Councilmember. Even prior to dissolving the Committee on Education, we saw the results of weakened education oversight, including the loss of millions of federal dollars for programs like Head Start and Americorps. Education monitoring and oversight must be consistent, proactive, and well-staffed so the Council is no longer stuck in a cycle of too little, too late.

Failed Ethics / Jack Evans: The public continues to witness DC Council indiscretion and ineffectiveness, most recently in the scandals surrounding ex-Councilmember Jack Evans and the current Council Chair’s inability to expeditiously address clear and present corruption. It was only due to extreme pressure from community members, advocates, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (including myself), and the press that the current Council Chair took action to investigate known misconduct. The Council must hold itself to the highest ethical standards. Institutional integrity requires constant attention. The Council should be proactive – and not just reactive – in implementing safeguards to shield against ethical misconduct and to root out such misconduct when it occurs. Council offices should not operate as isolated work environments, which can increase the risk of workplace misconduct and weaken accountability.

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

A More Trustworthy and Effective DC Council: I strongly believe in good government and institutional accountability. My DC Council Accountability Plan is the first-ever comprehensive, evidence-based plan to build a more modern, ethical, and accountable DC Council. The Plan is rooted in my professional expertise as an ethics and accountability lawyer. It proposes a number of measures to empower the DC Council’s legislative and oversight function, strengthen the Council’s ethics and accountability, ensure inclusive and accessible Council proceedings, and support Council workers and workplace accountability. A high-functioning, ethical DC Council best serves DC residents.

High-Quality, Equitable Government Services: Every map of DC looks the same – and that’s because of a pattern of continued disinvestment in Black communities and systemic racism in every part of our government. DC residents want the same things – access to reliable government services, healthy and affordable food, high-quality and well-maintained parks and playgrounds, and safety in our communities. Building a more equitable city means not only ending patterns of discrimination but actively providing more resources to right historic wrongs. That requires more investments in greening the community, better access to food and parks, and dedicated efforts to end poverty in those neighborhoods.

We know that the impacts of environmental pollutants are disparately felt across the District, heavily impacting communities in Wards 8, 7, and 5 and public housing residents. The concentration of industrial pollutants is rooted in racist land use and zoning policies, worsened by decades of chronic disinvestment in government services – things like waste collection, litter prevention, and green space (including the maintenance of that green space!) – that might otherwise help mitigate the impacts. The siting of industrial land and the impacts of pollution must be a part of the Council’s consideration of legislation and oversight of agency action, and the Council must fund and demand high-quality, equitable government services.

Climate Justice and Environmental Sustainability: Climate justice and environmental sustainability impact every aspect of our lives. But, we often see government limited in its ability to act beyond specific subject matter areas and agencies that point fingers on broader issues. The Council – specifically, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie – recognized the importance of viewing all government action through a racial equity lens. Similarly, I believe every government action needs to be viewed through an environmental justice and sustainability lens, and I plan to institute Council and Executive Offices on Environmental Justice and Sustainability that review all DC government action for its impacts on environmental sustainability and justice – everything from zoning (and the siting and concentration of industrial land) to development standards to traffic safety and public transportation.

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

I will hit the ground running as DC Council Chairwoman. My professional background as an ethics and accountability lawyer for the federal Judiciary has given me invaluable and unique insights.
Before leaving my job to run for DC Council Chairwoman, I served as Staff Counsel to the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability – the final review body of judicial misconduct complaints against federal judges. When the federal Judiciary faced severe allegations of a federal judge’s sexual misconduct and harassment of his law clerks, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed a Workplace Conduct Working Group to assess and revise the Judiciary’s workplace conduct procedures. I also staffed that Group and shepherded through important workplace accountability reforms that improved bystander intervention and accountability for judges – that they have to take action upon known misconduct by a colleague – and streamlined and made easier the ability to file judicial misconduct complaints.

I am extremely proud of my work to improve institutional accountability within the federal Judiciary. We instituted important, meaningful reform within an institution that is deeply status quo oriented, in many ways resistant to change, and often an old boys’ club. I am uniquely equipped to build relationships and engage in collaborative decisionmaking to move important governance and legislative reforms forward. This work gave me the knowledge, expertise, and grounding to put forward a comprehensive DC Council Accountability Plan.

My DC Council Accountability Plan proposes governance changes that will improve collaborative and collegial action by the Council as a whole and empower the Council as an institution to better make laws and conduct oversight. My interest in collaborative Council action is rooted in a deeply held belief that our democratic institutions are valuable beyond the

individual elected official. It means that not only will I come in ready to legislate, conduct oversight, and act as a co-equal branch of government to hold the Executive accountable, but that every Councilmember will be better equipped to do so, as well.

It’s also important to note the advantages I bring to the table as someone who comes from outside the DC Council. I’m committed to instituting reforms to ensure ethical conduct and accountability, and I’m not beholden to political favors traded in backrooms like our current Council Chair. When the current Council Chair first became interim Chair, he was warned about the ethical problems of Councilmember Michael Brown, but he insisted on deference and the appointment of Councilmember Brown as Chair Pro Tem. Councilmember Brown was then arrested and convicted for taking bribes while serving as Chair Pro Tem. In part because of the long relationship with the current Council Chair, Councilmember Jack Evans remained in power on the DC Council for over a year after the Metro Board forced him out due to longstanding ethics violations. Being cozy with his colleagues has dimmed the current Council Chair’s ability to clearly fulfill his Council management and governance duties and ensure the Council remains ethical and free from corruption.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Two pieces of advice have stuck with me. A woman lawyer once told me in the context of taking depositions to never try to model your style after someone else, but rather your personal strengths. I took to heart that I would never intimidate or overwhelm deponents, but rather that my style was built around trust and listening to encourage people to be open and honest.
A judge who mentored me consistently reminded me that pausing and deliberating has immense value. Coming from a big law firm, I was used to rushing through work and decisions, and this judge was an important model on the importance of thinking through decisions and exercising sound and thoughtful judgment.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I am not beholden to any of the corporate interests that have long swayed our elected officials and prevented meaningful change. I am participating in DC’s Fair Elections program, and I am the first and only candidate for DC Council Chair to participate in and qualify for the program. By forgoing corporate and political action committee donations, I am dedicated to being engaged with and accountable to our neighbors, not corporations and their lobbyists. My opponent is the only Council candidate running for reelection to opt out of the program.

You can read my DC Council Accountability Plan; my Plan for Safe, Stable, and Secure Communities; my Safe Streets Infrastructure and Public Transportation Plan; my Plan for Public Education as a Right; and my Safe Housing Action Plan at https://erinfordc.com/issues/. You can read additional policy positions at https://erinfordc.medium.com/.