January 2, 2025

Full Text of Councilmember White’s Remarks:

Good morning, D.C.!

I give thanks to Almighty God, from whom all my blessings flow.

To my wife, Christy— You are patient, wise, and beautiful. You are magic. To my daughters, Madison and Monroe— thank you for keeping me humble and loved.

To my family and my team—your unwavering belief in our mission makes this work possible.

And to the people of D.C., thank you for trusting me with a third term as your At-Large Councilmember. Winning in every ward is a profound honor and a responsibility. I do not take it lightly.

This city—our beloved city—is at a crossroads. For some, D.C. is a place of promise and opportunity. But for too many, it’s a city of rising costs and fading hope. Families are stretched thin, young people face dead ends, and even those doing well know we should do better—with the resources we have, we must do better.

The problem isn’t just broken systems; it’s broken promises. Promises like, ‘If you work hard and wait, the rising tide will lift your boat.’ But when the tide rose, some were swept away, while others were left to sink.

I call that false hope. My grandmother would call it bull[crap]. (I’m censoring here.)

I know what it’s like to come from a family for whom promises and good intentions fall short.

Families like mine are done waiting—they need leaders who don’t just speak to their pain but act to ease it.

Let’s be clear: no one person, no single plan, no lone ideology can do this alone. The city we envision will take more than ordinary efforts. It requires uncommon cooperation.

Uncommon cooperation means advocates and businesses coming together to create solutions that lift everyone. It means government leaders rowing in the same direction—not for glory, but to honor the trust of the people.

When we embrace this spirit, we stop going in circles and start building:

• Affordable housing, vocational education and job training for today’s economy- the stepping stones to a safe and stable city.

These goals are worth doing – and they are within our reach.

This is not just talk—we’ve delivered real results by choosing action over rhetoric. We restored voting rights for incarcerated residents, making D.C. a national leader. We partnered with Ward 8 businesses to prevent displacement, leading to the opening of the D.C. Go-Go Museum. We expanded early childhood education, launched a free Master’s in Social Work program to tackle the mental health crisis, and reformed public housing—facing resistance and lawsuits to get it done. These are foundations of transformative change—driven not by the limitations of the past, but the possibilities of the future, done through uncommon cooperation.

So, I say, we cannot be leaders who turn a deaf ear to the cries of the people. It’s time to move beyond labels like ‘pro-business’ or ‘progressive’ and just be about the business of progress- bold enough to measure progress by results, not intentions; humble enough to show how many people we bring to a cause, not how many we cast as ‘villains’; compassionate enough to understand that trickledown economics never feels like it trickles down far enough for the people at the bottom.

Remember this, people will build a vision that they see themselves in, and they will tear apart a vision that doesn’t include them. I call that practical wisdom. My grandmother would call it common sense. Whatever we call it; to build a better future, we must build it together- or be pushed aside for leaders who will.

This moment calls for faith. Faith in what we can build together. But as the Bible says, ‘Faith without works is dead’! And the work ahead demands uncommon cooperation.

I have faith in this city, in our people, and in what we can accomplish together.

Thank you. God bless you. Let’s work.