business

As a leader I know that we are stronger together and the absence of participation from so many DC citizens in the voting and election processes warrant that a leader such as myself, works to bridge the divides, and help to unify DC families and communities around the ideals of democracy, social stability, “village-minded” protections and oversight for DC youth.

DC is filled with passionate entrepreneurs who are deeply committed to their communities even in challenging times. As DC’s next mayor, I will leverage the resilience and vitality of the DC small business community to help stabilize my investments in public safety, youth engagement, and economic growth.

As a small business veteran and owner I will foster viable and sustainable relationships with my fellow DC small businesses to assure that the DC economy is strong during and beyond my leadership of the city.

I will engage stakeholders in budget discussions to help foster transparency and accountability to ensure a more inclusive approach that reflects the voices of DC citizens. Long term economic sustainability with social equity commitments will lead to a healthier and more prosperous DC.

Addressing DC’s wealth gap disparity can healthily be achieved with the collaboration of governmental, private sector, and corporate commitments to creating sustainable solutions that will provide equitable access to education, skilled trades, job opportunities with livable wages, home ownership, and small business support. Small business owners in DC have employed approximately 48% of DC’s workforce, and thus their impact on DC’s local economy will be preserved and supported in my administration.

I am committed to prioritizing the positive development of DC’s youth population. As the next generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers they must have access to quality education, mentorship, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Job training and opportunity for all DC residents willing, and able to seek and hold gainful employment.

An alliance and partnership with the private sector of our economy seeking an end to poverty among our people but not the expense of displacement of its residents.

Efficiency and prudence in governmental spending leading to a helpful and stable economy free from the need for ever continuing taxation.

Washingtonians deserve affordable housing, safe housing, and stable housing. They deserve commercial corridors where local businesses thrive, where storefronts are filled, and where opportunity is rooted in community, not pushed out by speculation.

Under my administration, we will build housing that is truly affordable, reform permitting and construction timelines, and protect legacy residents and small businesses from displacement.A city where people live and work must be a city where people can stay.

If a child in Ward 8 does not have the same path as a child in Ward 3, then the city is failing its own future.

Washington, D.C. has been governed by leaders who place private gain above the public good, leaders who answer more readily to corporate interests than to the communities that make this city home.

I do not oppose business. Industry and enterprise are part of the lifeblood of Washington, D.C., and a healthy local economy strengthens our neighborhoods. But business should never dictate the destiny of our city or the priorities of its government.

I seek to lead not from the boardroom, but from the ground we share.

WASHINGTON, DC – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announced today that the Committee of the Whole will hold a vote on the “Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025.”

“Today we’re scheduling a vote for Friday August 1, 2025 to consider the RFK campus legislation,” Mendelson said. “We’ve been working with the Washington Commanders for several weeks and we feel we have a much-improved agreement that would bring the team back to their historical home, as well as develop the land around the RFK campus.”

“It’s clear that the Commanders showed through their negotiations their commitment to the District. And their willingness to consider what’s in the best interest of our citizens. The process working with the Commanders has been extremely productive and they’ve been a cooperative partner.

“Due diligence requires additional information from both the Commanders and the Mayor – underlying economic analyses, traffic studies, development plans, etc. The Commanders have been completely responsive.

“The Council will move forward quickly to analyze the Mayor’s terms, improve the deal where possible for taxpayers, and approve a new football stadium. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false.”

“Within a week after the Council received the Mayor’s legislation, the Council retained the Robert Bobb Group as a consultant to analyze the proposed deal including the term sheet and the proposed legislation.

“Due diligence requires additional information from both the Commanders and the Mayor – underlying economic analyses, traffic studies, development plans, etc. The Commanders have been completely responsive.

“The Council will move forward quickly to analyze the Mayor’s terms, improve the deal where possible for taxpayers, and approve a new football stadium. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false.”

“I have heard over and over from citizens and fellow councilmembers that the Council should do due diligence of this multi-billion-dollar deal before voting to approve it.

“Within a week after the Council received the Mayor’s legislation, the Council retained the Robert Bobb Group as a consultant to analyze the proposed deal including the term sheet and the proposed legislation.

“Due diligence requires additional information from both the Commanders and the Mayor – underlying economic analyses, traffic studies, development plans, etc. The Commanders have been completely responsive.

“Third, I have met several times with the Commanders and I have made clear that the July 15th deadline – a date not set by the Council and which we knew nothing about – was “off the table.” It’s not even close to characterize their reaction as “furious.”

“I have heard over and over from citizens and fellow councilmembers that the Council should do due diligence of this multi-billion-dollar deal before voting to approve it.

“Within a week after the Council received the Mayor’s legislation, the Council retained the Robert Bobb Group as a consultant to analyze the proposed deal including the term sheet and the proposed legislation.

“Inaccurate statements continue to be made regarding Council action on the Mayor’s proposed deal with the Washington Commanders,” Mendelson said. “First, there is no plan to take the monies out of the budget; there is no plan to delay the RFK resources in this year’s budget. I have said repeatedly that the RFK-related budget items will be protected and fully available: the $500 million capital contribution and the $202 million infrastructure project.

“Second, the Commanders have said the earliest they would need the District’s money and go to the bond markets to finance construction is next summer. We will work within the Commanders’ 2030 timetable.

“Third, I have met several times with the Commanders and I have made clear that the July 15th deadline – a date not set by the Council and which we knew nothing about – was “off the table.” It’s not even close to characterize their reaction as “furious.”

DC residents do not trust the system because too many major decisions are made behind closed doors and too many failures have no consequences. The District has passed strong progressive and equity focused laws, including the Racial Equity Achieves Results Act (REACH Act), but too often those laws are treated as symbolic rather than binding. Racial equity analysis is frequently done after budgets, contracts, and development deals are already shaped, limiting its impact and insulating decision makers from accountability.

DC also has a troubling track record of oversight failures and questionable contracting. From sole source contracts to opaque development subsidies, Opportunity Zones, Tax Increment Financing, and no bid agreements have too often benefited developers and insiders without clear evidence that low income and working class residents are seeing real gains. Repeated ethics and corruption scandals involving senior officials and Council leadership have reinforced the perception that government protects insiders first.

The COVID response exposed the human cost of this dysfunction. Slow, fragmented action and poor coordination led to deadly failures at city run facilities and delayed responses in the hardest hit Black communities. When government is not built around serving people in normal times, it collapses in moments of crisis.

…and technical assistance that small businesses can actually use for payroll, inventory, and operating costs. He will strengthen community lenders and access to fair credit so entrepreneurs are not pushed into predatory debt. Oye will also push for protections against abusive commercial leases, support affordable commercial space and shared retail models, and ensure District development deals prioritize local businesses in contracting and retail leasing. He will invest in the creative economy so artists, cultural spaces, and local makers can stay in the neighborhoods they helped build.

Small businesses are struggling while subsidies, tax incentives, and public financing flow to large developers and corporations. Business owners are forced to deal with fragmented agencies, outdated systems, and slow or unclear guidance. Commercial rents keep rising, triple net leases shift risk onto tenants, and public investments often increase property values without protecting the businesses expected to stay. Construction projects disrupt corridors with little notice, and vacant storefronts sit empty while speculation is rewarded. Immigrant and Black owned businesses face language barriers, confusing applications, and unequal access to capital. Too many small businesses have closed not because they failed their communities, but because the District made it easier to support billion dollar developments than neighborhood businesses.

DC’s budget is under real strain, not because residents are asking for too much, but because revenue is not keeping pace with the economy or with the responsibilities DC is required to carry. The District relies primarily on local property, income, and sales taxes, along with federal funds that make up about a quarter of total revenue. Unlike states, DC must fund both city and state level services, including Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and human services, while lacking full control over its own budget.

…by ICE in schools, workplaces, and homes, often with local police present or complicit, undermining community trust and spreading fear. Federal agents operate with little accountability while families live with the threat of detention, separation, or violence. Language barriers and misinformation keep residents from essential services, and gaps in enforcement allow District systems to be used for surveillance and harm. Without strong oversight and enforcement, sanctuary protections remain fragile, and immigrant families continue to live in fear of the very institutions meant to serve them.

Small business owners deserve a District where businesses are treated as essential to our culture, our economy, and our neighborhoods, not as an afterthought to large developers. Local shops, restaurants, makers, and creative businesses deserve clear and predictable rules, timely communication from government agencies, and systems that work. Immigrant and Black owned businesses deserve equal access to District programs and capital, not processes that favor insiders or those with wealth and connections. Small businesses employ a large share of DC residents, and every corridor from Minnesota Avenue to Georgia Avenue to Columbia Heights deserves occupied storefronts, strong foot traffic, and a government that sees local businesses as partners in building a thriving and creative city.

Oye will fight for a small business economy rooted in local ownership, fairness, and real partnership with the District. He will fix broken back end systems across agencies so business owners are not forced to navigate confusing, outdated, and disconnected offices just to stay open. He will require advance notice for construction, inspections, and regulatory changes that affect storefronts, and build a true one stop system for permits, licensing, and compliance.

The post it quotes, by @maustermuhle

NEWS: @DCAttorneyGen is suing Sequoia Row Consulting LLC and its CEO Paul Lawrence for allegedly pretending it was a D.C.-based small business (while Lawrence lived in Georgia) in order to gain preferential access to D.C. contracts. It got 32 contracts worth $13 million.

Advanced environmental justice reforms by introducing legislation like the Environmental Justice Amendment Act of 2023 to confront decades of inequities that have treated Ward 5 as a dumping ground and ensure healthier, more equitable land use decisions moving forward

Worked with the Office of Planning to advance a comprehensive vision for Rhode Island Avenue, securing nearly $500,000 in grants to support small businesses, and leading a multi-year revitalization effort with city partners to drive equitable growth along the corridor

As a proud and representative leader, Zach has:

The post it quotes, by @CMZParker5

🚨 The Council is considering giving huge development rights to a contractor our government is actively suing. Residents are tired of business as usual and are demanding change. Join me in urging my colleagues to force Buwa Binitie to the table to remedy concerns at 1400 Florida Ave NE and other properties across the District that he's neglected with impunity for years.

Supported the creation of Station DC, a transformative tech hub in Union Market

Championed grocery store investments in Lamond Riggs, Brookland, and in the Reservoir District

Established two new parks in Lamond-Riggs and Carver-Langston

The post it quotes, by @eat_dc

You could write entire volumes of the ways retail landlords hold back DC.

Support our youth: Strengthen public schools by improving attendance, upgrading facilities and support systems, and expanding career pathways so every young person can succeed.

Drive development that works for everyone: Focus growth along key corridors — Rhode Island Avenue, North Capitol Street, and 12th Street — to bring amenities and opportunity to current residents.

Build Healthy Communities: Reduce pollution in neighborhoods like Ivy City and Brentwood while building safer streets to improve everyday life for all Ward 5 residents.

The post it quotes, by @ZacharyforWard5

This reads as a defensive, smug response from corporate leadership, caught in the crosshairs of their greedy, selfish attempt to put company profits over the rights of 700,000 District residents. What’s a better approach? An apology, a retraction, and a commitment to statehood.

The post it quotes, by @kristoncapps

If FreeDC wants to get DoorDash to pull its support from HR 9720 then it needs to use real leverage: make a concrete demand then ask *restaurants* to cut off DoorDash if it doesn't comply. If FreeDC just wants to say fuck DoorDash then sure yeah the demands don't matter!

The post it quotes, by @paulcwagner

Breaking News - the jury in the Trayon White Bribery case was split 9 -3 in favor of acquittal. That’s according to White’s attorney Gary Kohlman. More to come tonight on @nbcwashington @SegravesNBC4