DC suffers from a housing shortage. We don't have enough homes, and we haven't for decades. The leaders we elect this cycle will shape whether that finally changes.
The next mayor and Council will steer DC's Comprehensive Plan, the once-in-a-generation document that determines where homes can be built across the District through 2050. The draft Future Land Use Map (FLUM) recently released by the DC Office of Planning falls dramatically short of what the moment requires. Whether we lock in another generation of scarcity or finally legalize the homes our neighbors need depends on who is at the table when that plan is proposed to the Council.
DC YIMBYs is proud to announce our endorsements for the 2026 election cycle. Mail-in ballots go out Monday, May 11, and Election Day is Tuesday, June 16.
The single most useful thing you can do today is volunteer for or donate to our top-ranked endorsees. Links are below each race. And if you want to hear about upcoming canvassing days and other ways to plug in, sign up for our mailing list.
We endorse the following slate of candidates for mayor in this order:
Janeese Lewis George has made the most serious commitment to a Comprehensive Plan that meets the moment, agreeing to all nine of our Comp Plan priorities and repeatedly affirming support for legalizing sixplexes and ending parking requirements citywide. She has publicly described her own evolution from supply skeptic to someone who recognizes the housing shortage is driving displacement, and she has concrete plans to streamline permitting through pre-approved templates, shot clocks, and consolidated applications.
Kenyan McDuffie acknowledges the housing shortage and supports several of our priorities, but he hedges those commitments in ways that would meaningfully blunt their impact — endorsing the elimination of parking mandates only "not necessary," and setting a 12,000-home target by 2030 that falls well short of what DC needs.
Gary Goodweather is the only candidate in the race who has actually built housing in DC, and his platform reflects it: simultaneous agency reviews, guaranteed 20-business-day approval for by-right projects, a public permitting dashboard, and full alignment with all nine of our Comp Plan priorities.
Rini Sampath writes with passion and fluency about how supply-side restrictions have choked off housing production, supports all nine of our priorities, and drew cheers at our Rally for Housing by committing to legalize single-stair buildings up to eight floors. We hope she stays involved in DC politics regardless of the outcome.
Read our full Mayoral election voter guide.
We endorse Brooke Pinto — Volunteer · Donate
Brooke Pinto pledges to introduce and champion a stand-alone bill to repeal the Federal Height of Buildings Act, which prevents DC from making its own laws about land use. She recognizes the housing crisis as fundamentally a supply problem, supports legalizing rowhouses, ADUs, alley dwellings, and transit-oriented development by-right, and brings an overdue renter-focused lens to federal housing policy.
Read our full Delegate voter guide.
At-Large Councilmember — Democratic
We endorse Lisa Raymond — Volunteer · Donate
Lisa Raymond was the only candidate in this race who answered our questionnaire with full-throated YIMBY enthusiasm. She supports all nine of our Comp Plan priorities, volunteered repeatedly that duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings should be legal in every Ward, and pledged to push back on bad-faith legal challenges that slow housing approvals.
Read our full At-Large Democratic voter guide.
At-Large Councilmember — Independent
We endorse the following slate of candidates in this order:
Elissa Silverman brings deep policy experience from her previous Council terms and backs all nine of our Comp Plan priorities, including citywide legalization of sixplexes. Her longstanding focus on reforming the DC Housing Authority and strengthening the Department of Human Services would expand the city's capacity to deliver affordable housing at scale.
Doni Crawford clearly understands that increasing housing supply is essential to mitigating displacement and racial inequity, and she supports several of our priorities including transit-oriented development and legalizing in-law suites. We have some concerns about her emphasis on community engagement processes that often delay housing, but appreciate her clear statement that neighborhood character is not a sufficient reason to oppose new homes.
Read our full At-Large Independent voter guide.
Ward 1 Councilmember
We endorse the following slate of candidates for Ward 1 CM in this order:
Miguel Trindade Deramo stands out for the depth of his policy thinking and his track record as an ANC Commissioner. He led the advancement of a gentle density resolution through ANC 1B, supported maximizing housing at 1617 U Street, and pairs strong support for by-right development and parking reform with a thoughtful approach to tenant protections, including a rolling timeline for rent stabilization that balances renter stability with continued housing production.
Rashida Brown has backed major projects including Bruce Monroe, Park Morton, and McMillan during her time as an ANC Commissioner. She engages substantively with the mechanics of housing production, from building code reform to land use changes. Her platform supports all of our Comp Plan priorities, including legalizing sixplexes citywide.
Aparna Raj aligns with all of our Comp Plan priorities. We have some reservations about her lack of prior governing experience and her focus on broad rent stabilization expansions as a leading policy priority, but her overall direction is clearly pro-housing.
Read the full Ward 1 voter guide.
Ward 3 Councilmember
DC YIMBYs declines to endorse in the Ward 3 race.
Ward 3 carries the largest responsibility in the District to produce more housing, both because of its wealth and because of a century-long legacy of exclusionary zoning. Councilmember Matt Frumin acknowledges that history but commits to only one of our nine Comprehensive Plan priorities, takes no position on the draft FLUM, and has a record of delaying density along Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues. He recently intervened to reopen comment periods on Zoning Commission cases that had demonstrated overwhelming public support over years of input opportunities. Ward 3 deserves a Councilmember who will champion housing of all kinds with the urgency the moment demands.
Read the full Ward 3 voter guide.
Ward 5 Councilmember
We endorse Zachary Parker for Ward 5 Councilmember — Volunteer · Donate
Zachary Parker backs all nine of our Comp Plan priorities and supports repealing the Height of Buildings Act. He has rightly described the draft FLUM as a missed opportunity to redevelop Ward 5's industrially zoned land, which makes up roughly half of the District's industrial zoning, into healthy high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods.
Read the full Ward 5 voter guide.
Ward 6 Councilmember
We endorse Charles Allen for Ward 5 Councilmember — Volunteer · Donate
Charles Allen has been a steadfast pro-housing ally on the Council since 2015, supporting most of our Comp Plan priorities and embracing density increases beyond transit hubs in his FLUM response. He has consistently championed housing at all income levels, endorsed a Housing First approach to homelessness, and called out chronic mismanagement at DHCD that has cost DC tens of millions in federal affordable housing funding.
Read the full Ward 6 voter guide.