Right now, DC Councilmembers are working hard to re-work the budget to better serve DC residents. The first vote on the Council's budget will be on Wednesday, May 29. We need all hands on deck RIGHT NOW to make sure that the DC Council does as much as possible to restore funding, and integrity, to the District's equity-centered climate programs.
STEP ONE: Look up what Ward you're in.
Click HERE to find your ward, or type in https://planning.dc.gov/whatsmyward
STEP TWO: Dial the phone.
We recommend that you first call Chairman Phil Mendelson, who is guiding the remainder of the budget process:
Chairman Mendelson: (202) 724-8032
Then, call your Councilmember, and 1-2 other ‘at-large’ Councilmembers:
- Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau: (202) 724-8181
- Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto: (202) 724-8058
- Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin: (202) 724-8062
- Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George: (202) 724-8052
- Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker: (202) 724-8028
- Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen: (202)724-8072
- Ward 7 Councilmember Vince Gray: (202) 724-8068
- Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White Sr.: (202)724-8045
- At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson: (202) 724-8105
- At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds: (202) 724-8064
- At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie: (202) 724-7772
- At-Large Councilmember Robert White Jr: (202)-724-8174
STEP 3: Follow the talking points or sample script below:
Key talking points:
- Please support restoring additional funding for the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, which will help support affordable and healthy housing especially for low- and moderate-income households.
- This critical funding will help low-income families lower their utility bills and it will help create local jobs
- This money will also benefit public health and reduce climate pollution
- The Mayor slashed millions of dollars from DC climate programs that were putting equity at the forefront. Her funding cuts will negatively impact affordable housing, healthy air, black homeownership, clean energy, children’s health and utility bill relief for many families who need it.
- Please also end the Mayor's shameful budget gimmick that exempts the District from its clean energy commitments and could crash the local solar market. This gimmick will especially harm solar owners - households, churches, etc - who were promised great savings from producing clean energy.
Sample call flow:
“Hello. My name is ____ and I am a DC resident in Ward __. I am calling today to ask Councilmember/Chairman _______ to please restore additional funding to the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, and to please put an end to the Mayor's shameful budget gimmick that exempts the District from its own clean energy commitments with potentially devastating impacts for people and nonprofits that rely on solar savings. Please do not let funding that was dedicated to support low-income families be used instead to pay the government’s own energy bills. Restoring funding for the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund will help low-income families lower their utility bills and have cleaner air to breathe. It is also a key step towards reducing DC’s climate pollution. The Mayor's budget has horrible implications for so many important environmental and climate programs in the District. Please do all you can to reverse her budget subtitles and to limit the amount of money she can steal from DC residents going forward. So many DC families and households are counting on it. Thank you.”
STEP 4: Submit the form letting us know how it went!