- Public Education. A first-class public education for our children will provide them with the tools that will help them get jobs and be economically and socially successful adults.
- Health Care. Health insurance for all and access to health care providers in all areas of the city will improve the health of District residents. Healthy people have a greater capacity to be productive and successful.
- Substance Abuse. We must make effective substance abuse treatment available to all who need it in order to provide hope and improve individuals' chances of success.
- Crime Prevention and Public Safety. Crime creates barriers to economic success for both the victims and the people responsible. We will work to prevent crime and fewer individuals will face crime-related economic obstacles.
- Job Training and Adult Education. We will provide convenient, effective opportunities for adults in the District to learn job skills and improve their literacy so that all residents of the District will have the tools necessary to obtain employment.
Marie Johns: We cannot simply concede that the DC government and the Federal government will not help those in poverty. We have to demand that government helps lift people out of poverty. That is what government is for. There have to be a variety of strategies employed to fight poverty because there are a variety of reasons that people are in poverty. The first answer to poverty is better education and the second is better housing. We need to keep the pressure on to fix the schools both inside and out. It is a scandal that 52,000 are waiting to get into public housing or to acquire a voucher.
Vincent Orange: For many, the “War on Poverty” has not yet been won. Addressing the needs of this target population would be of top priority to an Orange administration. I pledge to foster and enhance public/private partnerships to ensure that District residents do not go hungry. Many of the outlined assurances will, ultimately, require the re-allocation of scarce local resources. So, as mayor, I pledge that all agencies of the District of Columbia will identify and compete for available federal resources for human and health services to help reduce local expenditures.
I will make addressing homelessness an ongoing priority. Families should be able to get housing that costs no more than one-third of their income. And, because “congregate” style facilities are not appropriate shelter for families, I will work to raise the number of apartment-style units for homeless families. I will aggressively push to keep lower-income D.C. residents from falling through the cracks, with affordable low-income and workforce housing, public education that produces high school graduates ready for college and/or the workforce, and job training and job placement efforts that put D.C. residents first in line for D.C. jobs.
I will also mobilize community groups, tenant associations, landlords and other stakeholders to keep at-risk families out of shelters and in their own homes.
As chair of the Committee on Government Operations, I led the effort to establish the District’s first living wage. After extensive debate and negotiations, a living wage of $11.75 per hour was established. I will continue to push for legislation and programs that will truly allow individuals to become independent and self-sufficient.
2. What will you be doing to reach these voters, and what message do you have for them? How can you convince them they have a stake in the election, and that they too should come out and vote?
Brown: When you’re poor, and you don’t feel anyone cares about you, you don’t have faith in the system. When you don’t have faith in the system, why vote? You feel “my vote won’t matter, and nothing’s going to change.” We have to let people know that it will change – that’s the power of the vote. And when you’re participating, you do get heard. The way politics works in America is, if you participate, you get heard. And so we have to engage folks and let them know.
Cropp: I am taking my vision for the future to every corner of the city. I am knocking on doors, standing on street corners and in front of grocery stores, attending community meetings and block parties, and talking with everyone that I meet. I have continuing discussions with Street Sense reporters and members of the homeless community. Voters have a clear choice between a candidate with a proven record supporting programs and services to help people and an untested candidate.
I believe in the promise of our city and its people and I can be trusted to keep our financial house in order so we can fight for safer streets, decent housing and support for the homeless, job training and life skills, and other programs to lift people out of poverty. As people think about the stakes for our city, I think they will take a stand and support me.
Fenty: My campaign is all about reaching and engaging voters who have never been engaged before. Every morning and every afternoon we are meeting voters in every ward on street corners, at Metro stations, and in neighborhoods.
My message for all voters is this: a Fenty administration will bring a brighter future to the District by being engaged, responsive, and accountable.
The District government provides or administers the services that District residents rely on, from case management for homeless individuals to Medicaid, public education, mental health treatment, and basic services like garbage collection and police. The Mayor and members of the D.C. Council are responsible for making sure that these systems work properly. Every District resident can advance his or her interests by voting for the candidates who will protect these systems. My campaign is proving that every voter makes a difference.
Johns: As I've traveled around the city talking to social service providers, I've found that the double whammy of rent burdens and utility costs have hit the poor and those on fixed incomes very hard. The affordable housing crisis means that apartments that were once within the economic reach of the working poor no longer are. People are being forced to chose between paying the rent on time or buying food. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has meant higher gas prices. Social service agencies are straining under the burden of addressing these needs and being forced to turn some folks away. A city enjoying economic prosperity can afford to assist in bearing this burden and we should.
The other candidates who are currently on the DC Council and the mayor have been in power during the past 10 years when the development boom has made the problems of this city worse for our most needy residents. We are the nation's capitol and the nation does not take that fact seriously enough. We send a message to the world by the existence of the Kennedy Center or a boarded up building in Anacostia. The tolerance of abject poverty in DC sends a message to the world about our nation's values and the Mayor of DC has to speak to that reality. When I am mayor we will take better care of those who want to lift themselves out of poverty. Government will give them a hand up.
Orange: I am waging an aggressive grassroots campaign to touch as many voters as possible. My message to the Street Sense constituency is simple: Every vote counts, and votes cast for Vincent Orange are votes cast for a candidate committed to giving the resource-challenged a better chance. As part of my “D.C. Residents First” philosophy, I believe that D.C. residents who have been in D.C. during the bad times deserve to enjoy residency in D.C. during the good times. Therefore, my administration will be committed to providing services to those who struggle on the margins and those who are victimized by the harsh realities of our society.
This concludes our series of questions and answers with the five leading Democratic candidates for mayor. Street Sense wants to thank them all for being so responsive to our requests. We know how busy this campaign season has been. it means a lot to our vendors, staff, volunteers, and readers that Michael Brown, Linda Cropp, Adrian Fenty, Marie Johns, and Vincent Orange have taken time to answer our questions about homelessness and poverty in the District of Columbia. Your help with this series has shown our homeless friends and neighbors that their concerns matter, and so do their votes.
Keep reading Street Sense for ongoing coverage of the mayoral race and other races in our area, and look for our election special, a supplement planned for our October 15 issue.
