Editorial: Thank You, Council Member Brooke Pinto
By • March 13, 2024 0 264
Sometimes, it takes a woman.
It is rare that a single person can be pointed to as the catalyst for great progress on an issue as perplexing and emotional as crime in a city as diverse and politically savvy as Washington, D.C.
A year ago, it was hard to imagine that one person — especially young and relatively new to politics — could take on the seemingly impossible task of negotiating a new, tough and comprehensive “omnibus” crime bill for the city. But in the past few months, 30-something Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto has become such a person.
As the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee Chairperson, Pinto has become a ubiquitous presence at hundreds of community meetings to argue for tightening up criminal enforcement, detention and sentencing procedures in the District. She has constantly made news with her courageous proposals for tackling D.C.’s crime problems head on.
A 2017 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Pinto worked as an attorney in the D.C. Attorney General’s Office of Karl Racine, then won a special election in 2020 to become the youngest member of the D.C. Council in the city’s history.
Working closely with Mayor Muriel Bowser, she has focused on common-sense solutions and brought such thinking to the forefront of the Council. Pinto has also inspired a new group of community advocates who insist on calm, neighborhood-based discussions about local problems — and not some jumbled, ideological “Defund the Police” banter.
There is more to do, such as increasing the number of Metropolitan Police Department officers.
For her tireless and respectful actions on the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024, we at The Georgetowner say, “Thank you, Brooke.”
