I write today to ask for your support as I seek the privilege of representing Ward 3 on the DC Council for another four years. I am proud to be running as a Fair Elections candidate, which means the maximum contribution is $50 and contributions from DC residents are matched 5 to 1. To qualify for matching, a candidate must secure 150 DC contributions. Please give today to help me reach that threshold by the upcoming October 10 filing deadline.
Representing Ward 3 and having a seat at the table as our city navigates this difficult period has been the most challenging and rewarding chapter in my more than 30-year professional career. I feel fortunate to be able to bring my life experience and energy to bear to make a positive difference for Ward 3 and our city. That is all the more the case, as we face challenges from a federal government that is actively hostile to our interests and rights.
My goal has been to listen, learn, and elevate pragmatism over ideology. Even as they declined to give me their highest rating, I was delighted that the DC Chamber of Commerce described my work in part as bringing a “balanced consideration of competing interests and stakeholder perspectives, combined with accessibility to diverse constituencies.” In this era of polarization, demonization, and incivility, while I will always be a tenacious advocate for the District, I seek to be part of the antidote.
The first years on the Council are challenging, with much to learn and little power given one does not get a committee chairmanship until year three, even more so in the current budget and political environment. I could not, however, be prouder of the job my team has done in delivering for Ward 3 and our city.
In addition to delivering consistent aggressive oversight, in my first term I have:
Made responsiveness to residents a top priority
- Responded to thousands of constituent services requests
- Maximized accessibility through consistent engagement at community meetings and events, monthly Workdays in the Ward, and quarterly meetings with Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, Main Street organizations and Senior Villages
Supported our schools
- Delivered full funding for our schools and improved school maintenance through annual school readiness tours and close partnership with school communities
- Kept school construction and modernization projects on track, including Stoddert Elementary School, MacArthur High School and Deal Middle School
- Preserved funding for PKEEP, providing free PK3 and PK4 to hundreds of Ward 3 families, and protected the Early Childhood Pay Equity Fund, ensuring fair compensation for early childhood educators
- Introduced legislation and pressed in the budget to expand Out-of-School-Time programming, a proven tool to improve student achievement and prevent juvenile crime
- Supported our hardworking teachers, including in their successful effort to secure a new five-year contract
Invested in our small, local businesses
- Increased annual funding for Main Street organizations that serve small businesses in our commercial corridors, including Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, Glover Park, the Palisades, Tenleytown, Van Ness, and Woodley Park
- Passed legislation to establish the innovative new cross-jurisdictional (DC and MD) Friendship Heights Business Improvement District
Strengthened vital community institutions
- Increased support for Senior Villages, including Cleveland & Woodley Park, Glover Park, Northwest Neighbors, and Palisades, and preserved funding for Iona Senior Services and the Sibley Memory Club
- Protected our libraries by increasing funding for librarians and physical and digital collections, and averting drastic proposed cuts to library hours
Bolstered public safety efforts
- Helped pass SECURE DC to meet public safety needs raised by MPD and rank-and-file officers, while maintaining critical community accountability measures
- Increased pay and recruitment incentives for first responders
- Partnered with the MPD to increase presence in our business districts
Protected our social safety net
- As Chair of the Committee on Human Services averted proposed benefit cuts that threatened our most vulnerable residents, increased low income families’ ability to retain child support while finding efficiencies in our benefits systems and launching a process to identify further potential efficiencies
- Supported increased access to affordable housing and addressed critical challenges facing our housing providers due to rent delinquency including through the recent passage of the RENTAL Act.
- Stood up for tenants working with colleagues, the Attorney General, the Office of the Tenant Advocate and tenant associations to address maintenance issues in a number of our apartment buildings, helping create a path for landlords to address issues when a tenant creates a safety issue and protecting TOPA rights.
A full list of accomplishments would be far longer. But the reason I seek your support today is that the “to do” list going forward is also long. In addition to delivering aggressive oversight and first-class constituent service, in my next term I will work to:
- Protect Home Rule and the District’s autonomy
- Further improve public safety, we have made progress but must do better still
- Strengthen our schools and early childhood providers
- Make our parks, recreation facilities, and libraries increasingly vibrant showcases for our communities
- Support our businesses and grow our local economy
- Address critical safety and maintenance issues in apartment buildings
- Expand access to housing, including affordable housing
- Support our seniors
- Protect and improve our social safety net
- Connect residents to meaningful employment
- Combat the increasing scourge of food insecurity
- Keep the District a global leader on environmental issues, a signature accomplishment of my predecessor
- Strengthen and improve our transportation system
There is much to be done. I ask for your support so I can spend the next four years leaving it all on the field to build a stronger, safer, more dynamic, and just District that celebrates its diversity and is the envy of cities around the nation and world.
All the best,
Matt Frumin
