Ward 2 Council Member Brooke Pinto Announces 2024 Re-Election Bid
By • June 15, 2023 2 1940
Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto announced June 14 she will be running for re-election in 2024 to serve another four-year term representing Ward 2 on the D.C. Council where she serves as Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.
In June 2020, Pinto, a 2017 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, who had worked as an attorney in the D.C. Attorney General’s Office of Karl Racine, won a special election to succeed Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans, becoming the youngest member of the D.C. Council in the city’s history at age 28 and the first woman ever to represent Ward 2 in the District government.
“I entered office in 2020 with the goal of returning ethical, responsive leadership to the Ward 2 DC Council office,” Pinto said.
“Three years later, I’m proud to say that Ward 2 residents can once again depend on a representative who’s laser-focused on addressing the pressing issues facing them everyday and I’m committed to pragmatic problem solving,” said Pinto upon her re-election announcement on June 14. “I’m running for re-election to continue delivering results for Ward 2 residents – to address the urgent needs of constituents and fight for common sense measures to improve public safety for our whole city.”
Concerning her work on the D.C. Council since she became a Council member, Pinto told The Georgetowner, “I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve accomplished on behalf of Georgetown residents in the past three years. In our most recent budget, I secured funding for a number of key Georgetown projects including a new C&O Canal Educational and Cultural Center, restorations of the C&O Canal Towpath, renovations to Hardy Middle School, funding for Georgetown Main Streets and Clean Team, creation of a new Book Hill Triangle Park and renovations to Book Hill Park, and funding for the Georgetown Senior Village to name a few. I am eager for the opportunity to continue serving and delivering wins for Georgetown.”
According to her campaign, Pinto has “focused on addressing public safety, promoting Downtown recovery, and reducing homelessness.” As Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, she’s “focused on preventing and responding to crime and violence in the District.” In that position, Pinto helped craft revisions to D.C.’s criminal code, though the Republican majority in Congress passed a measure of disapproval for the bill to adopt the new code after Pinto and Mayor Bowser suggested edits to the measure that were not accepted by more liberal members of the D.C. Council.
“Hey, Everyone, It’s Brooke! I’m so excited,” Pinto said in a video posted on Twitter and Facebook yesterday. “I’m at the Board of Elections today and just officially filed my paperwork to run for re-election as your Ward 2 Council member. I’ve spent the last three years in this job really focused on delivering pragmatic, common-sense, and responsive leadership to the residents of Ward 2 and I’m so excited for the opportunity to continue this work to address the most pressing challenges our city is facing right now from public safety to supporting our neighbors experiencing homelessness to continued pandemic and economic recovery in our city. I hope I can count on your support.”
On the D.C. Council, Pinto has adopted a centrist approach to addressing issues of crime and violence – relative to some of her liberal colleagues. She supports funding for more police on the beat, but is also interested in crime prevention models.
On Thursday, Pinto posted to Twitter an article she wrote, entitled “DC’s Budget Will Make Our City Safer,” where she outlined her approach to ensuring public safety and stemming violence in Ward 2 and around the city. “As Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, I used the same framework I use to shape all of my legislative and oversight priorities to make budget investments that will promote public safety and bring down crime and violence. My blueprint consists of five priorities: preventing violence, supporting police and first responders, ending cycles of violence, ensuring accountability and strengthening government coordination and responses,” she wrote.
Pinto has also prioritized downtown renewal for the city since she began serving on the D.C. Council. On May 24, she wrote on Twitter of her support for Mayor Bowser’s “Downtown Action Plan” to revitalize the heart of the city. “Mayor Bowser and I are focused on Downtown recovery and I’m excited that the Downtown Action Plan includes bringing more opportunities for recreation and housing to our city center – two core tenets of my RECOVERY Act. A thriving DC requires a thriving Downtown.”
“I believe deeply in the people of this city; I am galvanized by the opportunity to continue serving Ward 2 residents and empowering people in our community – the ways we can thrive in our ward are just getting started!” Pinto told The Georgetowner.
So far, Pinto has no major challengers in the 2024 Ward 2 Council race, though rumors abound that former Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans might throw his hat back in the ring. In a recent Q& A Cafe, Evans described the lure of the campaign trail. “Politics is cut-throat at times,” he said. “If you don’t like that, don’t get involved. It’s like what the Godfather said: ‘This is the business you have chosen.’ And that’s true for me. I love it. I love politics …”
Brooke, if you and the Mayor are truly interested in Public Safety, Homelessness and Revitalization of Downtown, you need to stop the sale/future use of Aston Hall. The idea of using this building to house not just 200 homeless but mentally ill/medically challenged individuals(without any services provided to them as well) in the GW University campus area as well as the proximity to the downtown and West End neighborhood and businesses is terrifying. What parent would want to send their child to one of the most expensive universities with this close proximity to their campus? Already there are enough mentally ill people walking around in the area, screaming obscenities, harassing innocent people who live and work here. Not to mention the increase in crime that may occur. How do you possibly believe that this is a good way to make the area safe and help the city recover? You need to practice what you preach in your campaign and stop this plan! GW should not be selling this building to the city knowing the purpose and the city needs to find another location and/or solution for these mentally disabled individuals.
M Gold, your bias and prejudice are showing. Do you have this same energy foe the wealthy Anglo students who are drinking and drugging? No because of their ethnicity.
Where did you read that there would be no services in Aston Hall? You are misinformed!