The 2026 D.C. Democratic primary election is around the corner. Technically, Election Day is Tuesday, June 16th but ballots have already been mailed out, with drop-boxes open for deposit on Friday, May 22nd. This will be the first ever election in DC using Ranked Choice Voting. More details here.

You should review The 51st’s Voter Guide before voting.

Three candidates are on the ballot for all registered voters for the Independent At-Large Councilmember looking to replace Kenyan McDuffie until January, and all three candidates responded to Barred in DC’s questionnaire. Their responses follow (in same order as ballot):

What laws would you support/introduce to help DC bars, restaurants, and other nightlife (including their workers) thrive?

Elissa Silverman: Two things come to mind:

I will support more Culinary programs, like the one at D.C.Central Kitchen. I also think we should create a restaurant management certificate at UDC-CC and partner with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington on it. I was previously the chair of the Council’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, where I worked to set up pipelines to get our residents into high-demand jobs in the region. Our bars and restaurants have always struggled to find high-quality staff, but it’s gotten much worse in the past year under Trump as he’s targeted our immigrant community. We need to protect our residents and workers from those attacks. But we also need to help our restaurants find more great workers. We have some great partners in this area, like DC Central Kitchen, but I would introduce legislation to strengthen and expand programs like theirs to train more residents for jobs in our restaurant sector.

I support creating an ombudsman in DSLBD specifically to help restaurants open and operate. They will help coordinate between agencies and independent agencies and utilities, like DC Water, DC Department of Licensing, Office of Tax and Revenue, and Pepco/Washington Gas.

Jacque D. Patterson: To support DC’s bars, restaurants, and nightlife—and balance the needs of business owners and tipped workers—I would support and introduce policies focused on regulatory relief, wage and tip stability, and public safety.

Doni Crawford: Opening a bar or restaurant in DC is harder than it should be. Owners have to navigate DLCP, the Department of Buildings, and the Office of Tax and Revenue simultaneously, often with no clear picture of where their application stands or who to call when something stalls. Our business licensing and compliance systems need a comprehensive study and rewrite to reduce duplication and unnecessary layers of complexity. As a first step, I will push to create a centralized platform that assigns new owners a dedicated representative and gives them a real-time view of where they are in each agency’s process. I also support the Personal Property Tax Form Simplification Act, which would eliminate the filing requirement for small businesses below the $325,000 property threshold. Most of these businesses owe nothing under that tax, yet they still spend hours on paperwork. That’s a straightforward burden we can remove.
On cost, I want to pursue reducing or eliminating DC’s additional 4% Meals Tax. Right now, dining out in DC is more expensive than in neighboring jurisdictions, and that difference matters when residents are deciding where to spend their money. Bringing that cost more in line with Maryland and Virginia would make it less expensive for people to support our local restaurants and bars.
Foot traffic is the other piece. Even the best-run establishment struggles when people aren’t showing up to the corridor. I will work to encourage appropriate return-to-office, facilitate more office building conversions that bring residents downtown, and support programming and activations that give people a reason to be in those spaces.
On the streatery program, I’ve been clear that I would have supported the emergency legislation that addressed business owners’ concerns about DDOT’s rollout of the permanent program. Outdoor dining has been a real asset for many restaurants, and implementation should work with owners, not against them.
For workers, the back-and-forth on Initiative 82 has been destabilizing for everyone. I do not support making additional changes at this moment. What the industry needs is stability, and what workers deserve is a wage they can count on. I support workers’ right to organize and would not cross a picket line to patronize an establishment in a labor dispute.

What other areas in the DC Council’s purview (oversight, budget) would you focus to help DC bars, restaurants, and other nightlife (including their workers) thrive?

Elissa Silverman: In my previous terms as council member, one of my top priorities was oversight, and I’ll continue that as the next at-large council member. We need to get serious about cutting red tape for small businesses like restaurants. For instance: how many days, on average, does it take a new restaurant to get its permits to open in DC? We don’t know, because we’re not tracking it! We’ve been hearing for years from restaurants and bars about how long it takes to open, and the hurdles they have to jump through. But we have no idea where the bottlenecks are, or what to change. As the next at-large council member, I will fix that, and get clear, transparent metrics we can use to hold our agencies accountable for reducing barriers for getting new businesses open in our city.

Jacque D. Patterson: To help DC’s nightlife, bars, and restaurants thrive, as a DC Councilmember, I’d focus on the budget and oversight authority on reducing regulatory friction, expanding outdoor dining, improving safety, and supporting the workforce.

Doni Crawford: Two agencies stand out as immediate oversight priorities.
The Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture exists to support this industry, but it has not been operating at the level this industry deserves. I want to reinvigorate that office and make it a genuine one-stop shop for bars, restaurants, and nightlife venues navigating city government. That means ensuring it is adequately staffed, that it has real relationships with the relevant licensing and permitting agencies, and that business owners actually know it exists and can use it. Paired with that, I support establishing a hospitality-specific liaison within DSLBD who serves as a single point of contact for aspiring and current operators navigating DC government.
The Department of Employment Services is the other priority. Both workers and business owners have raised longstanding concerns about how DOES operates, particularly around wage enforcement. Workers in the restaurant and nightlife industry are among those most vulnerable to wage violations, and they need an agency that takes complaints seriously and resolves them in a reasonable timeframe. At the same time, businesses need clarity and consistency. Those complaints have persisted for years without sufficient Council attention. I will make that a priority through oversight hearings and, where necessary, through the budget process.
On budget, the Council has a tool it underuses: tying agency funding to performance. If DOES is not resolving wage complaints within a reasonable window, or if the Office of Nightlife and Culture cannot demonstrate it is actually serving businesses, those are budget conversations, not just oversight conversations. I intend to approach them that way.

Do you believe the current $15/square foot rent for DC streateries is appropriate? If not, what should be the appropriate rent?

Elissa Silverman: No, it isn’t appropriate. I would either cut it to match the sidewalk cafe rent levels, or go back to charging no rent. With our economy under attack from Trump, I don’t think we should be charging so much money that restaurants are choosing to forgo otherwise profitable activities. If there are concerns about how streateries look or that they’re in the way of traffic, let’s address those issues through rules, not high rents.

Jacque D. Patterson: The District Department of Transportation’s current $15/square foot annual rent for streateries achieves two goals: (1) generating public revenue from public parking spaces and (2) supporting restaurants operating on razor-thin margins.I’m aware that many small business owners and advocacy groups argue that $15/sq. ft. is too high and advocate what what they feel is a more appropriate rate of $5/sq. ft., that matches the city’s long-standing fee for sidewalk cafes. I would entertain a compromise of $10/square foot annual rent based on the inflation that the country is experiencing.

Doni Crawford: No. The current $15 per square foot fee is too high, and the way the District has handled the streatery program overall has made an already difficult situation worse. I recently read about restaurants having to crowdfund just to cover the fees, architecture costs, and other expenses required to replace their streateries. That should not be happening. When the regulatory and cost burden the District imposes on small businesses leads to crowdfunding campaigns, something has gone seriously wrong.

The streatery fee structure should be brought more in line with what the District already charges for sidewalk cafes, which are a comparable use of public space. Currently, sidewalk cafe fees are $5 per square foot for unenclosed cafes and $10 per square foot for enclosed cafes. I would look to adopt a similar structure for streateries, or a blended rate of $7.50 per square foot that applies across the board without differentiating between enclosed and unenclosed configurations. Either approach would be a meaningful reduction from the current $15 rate and would better reflect what these businesses can actually sustain.

I want to work directly with the restaurant and nightlife industry to land on the right number. The fee should cover the District’s legitimate costs for administering and maintaining the program, but it should not function as a barrier to participation or push operators into financial distress. A program that was designed to support restaurants during a crisis should not now be adding to the burden they are carrying.

In general, do you believe the current DC streatery rules are just about right, should be looser (to potentially result in more) or stricter (to potentially result in fewer)

Elissa Silverman: Streateries contribute to our vibrant neighborhoods, and we have too many rules around them, so I would look at loosening them. Same with sidewalk cafes. Look at everything a restaurant needs to have just to open a sidewalk cafe (https://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddot/publication/attachments/sidewalk_cafe.pdf), including approval from potentially three different agencies. Even then, the process can take three months or more, for a simple sidewalk cafe. That’s nuts! We need to make the simple things like this easier for our small businesses.

Jacque D. Patterson: The current D.C. streatery rules are a strict compromise, and whether they are “just right” depends on your perspective regarding vibrant street life versus parking and traffic management. The rules should arguably be looser to maintain the number of outdoor setups, as strict new space fees and design mandates have caused a sharp drop in streateries

Doni Crawford: Looser. The current rules have created unnecessary barriers, and the crowdfunding situation I mentioned is the clearest evidence of that. When operators have to raise money publicly just to meet the District’s requirements to participate in a program designed to help them, the rules are not calibrated correctly.

The streatery program emerged from a moment of real need, and many restaurants built their business model around it. That means revisiting the fee structure, reducing unnecessary design and compliance burdens, and making the renewal and permitting process more straightforward.

I would work with the restaurant and nightlife industry to identify which specific rules are causing the most friction and prioritize those for reform. The goal should be a program that is easy to participate in, administratively predictable, and financially sustainable for small operators, not just for larger establishments that can absorb the costs.

Would you support or oppose efforts to eliminate the tipped minimum wage (currently set to be capped at 75% of the standard minimum wage in 2034)?

Elissa Silverman: If the voters approve it by initiative I will implement it, but I support changing the initiative process so that an initiative has to be considered by the legislature before it goes directly to vote

Jacque D. Patterson: I would like to study this a little more, as current system is doing okay. Those who I’ve talked to fear a flat wage could result in lower overall take-home pay and could lead to higher menu prices, fewer hours, or job losses.

Doni Crawford: The back-and-forth on this issue has been genuinely destabilizing for workers and business owners alike, and I do not think adding another round of changes serves either group well right now. DC voters approved Initiative 82 twice, and the Council reached a compromise last year that caps the tipped wage at 75% of the standard minimum wage by 2034. That compromise is not perfect, but it provides some stability at a moment when the industry is already absorbing significant pressure from closures, declining foot traffic, and federal workforce reductions.
The data also matters here. Restaurant closures have climbed for three consecutive years, and the timing aligns closely with the wage increases that took effect under I-82. Before the Council makes any further changes in either direction, we need a clearer picture of how the current trajectory is affecting workers and operators over time. I do not support making additional changes at this moment.

What is your favorite DC restaurant?

Elissa Silverman: I’m a pizza fanatic, and for pizza lovers like myself, life has gotten a lot better in the District. Let me give a shout out to my mom’s favorite D.C. pizza place, Della Barba Pizza in Hill East. The staff are so accommodating to our mobility-challenged family, the Nonna is tasty, and the tiramisu is great.

Jacque D. Patterson: The Point DC (Buzzrd Point in Ward 6)

Doni Crawford: Hitching Post Restuarant

What is your favorite DC bar / music venue / other hang-out?

Elissa Silverman: Black Cat. They used to host the best election debates too (with drinks!), and I hope they bring those back.

Jacque D. Patterson: Dionne’s at Sycamore and Oak (Ward 8)

Doni Crawford: Shanklin Hall

Why should a Barred in DC reader vote for you?

Elissa Silverman: I’m running in the special election for one of the non-Democratic seats on the Council, and I’m proud to have long been an independent voice on the Council. I want DC to be a community where people can afford to raise a family, open successful businesses, start careers, and retire in dignity. I fought for our landmark paid family leave program, which has let tens of thousands of workers be there when they have a child or need to take care of a sick family member. I have a track record of getting hard things done that make life better for our residents and businesses. And no one has fought harder to keep our government responsive and accountable to you. I asked for your 1st choice vote. The At-Large Independent Special Election is at the end of the mail-in Democratic ballot.

Jacque D. Patterson: Barred readers should vote for me because I believe in supporting small businesses. I believe small businesses, like those that Barred in DC advocates for, are the backbone of our neighborhoods and communities. They provide the vitality that makes our communities uniques, more enjoyable and livable. As a councilmember, I want to make sure we are making it easier for bars and restaurants to thrive and not be hindered by red tape. As a resident of Ward 8, I understand what it means NOT to have a rich choice of bars and restaurants to choose from and welcome the opportunity to making it easier for bars and restaurants operate restaurants in marginalized and underserved communities.

Doni Crawford: I came to this work because I believe government, done right, can help people build better lives. And for me, the restaurant and nightlife industry is a big part of what makes DC thrive.

I spent years as Committee Director for the Committee on Business and Economic Development, which means I know how the agencies that affect your business actually operate, where the bottlenecks are, and how to move things when they stall. I helped negotiate the Commanders stadium deal and made sure local hiring and community benefits were written into the agreement. Before that, at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, I led a coalition that secured $41 million in pandemic relief for workers who had been shut out of federal programs, including a lot of people who work in hospitality.

Since being appointed to the Council in January, I have been direct about where I stand on the issues that affect this industry: the streatery fees are too high, the licensing and permitting process needs a top-to-bottom overhaul, and the constant back-and-forth on wage policy has to stop so that workers and owners can plan. I want to reduce the meals tax, reinvigorate the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture, and make DC a place where a first-time operator can actually get open without launching a crowdfunding campaign just to cover government fees.

In me, you have someone who understands this city’s budget and knows how to use the Council’s oversight tools to hold agencies accountable. I want to be a real partner to this industry.