Get to know DC mayoral candidate Gary Goodweather

I am a former U.S. Army Captain and I have spent my professional career in business leading teams, managing complex budgets, operations, and delivering results across the private and public-facing sectors. My business has built housing in the city, created communities and consulted for major universities and nonprofits in finance, real estate and personnel. I earned a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Johns Hopkins University in D.C. while working full time. My work has allowed me to work directly with residents, workers, businesses and the D.C. Government to create real-world solutions. I have seen how government decisions affect everyday people, from public safety and housing costs to transportation, healthcare access, and economic opportunity. My experiences have taught me how to lead by example; with creativity, collaboration, empathy focused on execution benefiting stakeholders. Bringing people together across disparate systems that are not working, and focusing on delivering measurable improvements for residents in every ward is what qualifies me to serve as your mayor. I am running to restore trust in city leadership and ensure Washington, DC works for every resident, business and not for the political establishment.

My top three priorities are affordability, public safety, and education. Affordability means tackling housing costs through increased production of multi-generational homes and implementing my Fare-Free program, providing free Metrobus and Metrorail to D.C. residents. Safety means fully staffing MPD, fixing the 911 system, rebuilding trust through accountability. I will create the Capital Corps, a transformative workforce development program. Education means improving our literacy rates, reducing chronic absenteeism, and retaining our teachers through stronger support. My priorities mean creating a city that is safe and affordable for everyone to thrive in.

Public safety is the foundation of a vibrant and thriving city. My approach starts with rebuilding the understaffed and overworked Metropolitan Police Department. I will achieve this through improving recruitment, through the Public Safety Support Branch of my Capital Corps. However, enforcement alone is not enough. Our city deserves more prevention efforts focusing on youth engagement, mental health services, workforce pathways, and intervention programs that identify at-risk individuals. I will expand partnerships with schools and their respective programs, community organizations, and violence interruption initiatives that have measurable outcomes. Public trust and civil rights are integral to public safety. Accountability, transparency, and constitutional policing standards are essential to maintaining legitimacy and cooperation between residents and their law enforcement. While I would work cooperatively with federal law enforcement agencies given they have the proper judicial warrant, as communication and cooperation are essential to governmental success; I would strongly oppose any further attempt from the White House to seize control of local policing or undermine the authority of our locally elected leadership.

Too many younger residents in D.C. feel disconnected from their school community and consistent support systems. Reducing youth-involved crime requires early intervention, structure, and opportunity. My administration will prioritize expanding and staffing after-school programs, providing vocational training and securing safe and productive pathways for our younger residents in the Capital Corp. I will also strengthen communication between schools, parents and social services to responsibly identify at-risk youth before they become involved in violence. Mental health is health, and mental health support and trauma-informed services will be accessible. Accountability must also exist for serious and repeated criminal behavior. A small number of individuals cannot be allowed to continually harm communities without consequences. My focus will be targeted intervention and enforcement strategies that prioritize rehabilitation, while protecting public safety. Youth curfews are not a permanent solution. They are meant to serve as a temporary tool during periods of unrest or concentrated violence. My administration will realize real progress by restoring stability in neighborhoods, strengthening families, and creating sustainable opportunities for young residents to succeed. The youth path of the Capital Corp will provide a structured system to provide a place of purpose and belonging.

Protecting and expanding Home Rule requires strong leadership, competent governance, and constant engagement with federal partners. I will aggressively advocate for D.C.’s right to make its own local decisions while building relationships in all levels of governance and their federal partners. By improving public safety, restoring trust in city agencies, maintaining fiscal discipline and ensuring residents see direct results from their elected officials, we will prove that our government can operate effectively and responsibly, strongly defending Home Rule. When D.C. leadership fails to address major issues, it creates openings for federal interference. I will also work closely with the D.C. City Council, Attorney General’s Office, civic organizations, and our federal advocacy teams to challenge congressional overreach whenever necessary. If Congress attempts to overturn local laws or interfere with District operations for political reasons, I would use every legal, political, and public platform available to defend the authority of D.C. residents to govern themselves.

Washington, D.C.’s 700,000 residents deserve full voting representation and equal rights under our federal system. Advancing statehood requires more than symbolic resolutions; it requires sustained coalition building, national outreach, and demonstrating that D.C. is governed effectively. As mayor, I will use my office to elevate statehood as a national civil rights and democracy issue, not simply a local political debate. I will work with advocacy organizations, congressional allies, regional partners, business leaders, and mayors across the country to build broader bipartisan awareness and support. I will also ensure D.C. is consistently present in national conversations on taxation, military service, voting rights, and representation. I believe that local and competent governance strengthens the case for statehood. Fiscal responsibility, public safety improvements, economic growth, and effective city services demonstrate that D.C. is fully capable of operating with the same autonomy as any state. Progress needs to be measurable through concrete benchmarks, including growth in congressional co-sponsorship, stronger national coalition support, increased public awareness outside D.C., and successful legal and legislative efforts defending Home Rule and local authority. Statehood will not happen overnight, but the mayor must actively move the issue forward every day.

Washington, D.C. should never be placed in a position where its locally raised tax dollars are treated as leverage in federal political disputes. When I am mayor, I will aggressively advocate for the District’s budget autonomy while building strong and effective relationships with Congress and regional politicians to reduce the likelihood of future disruptions. However, the city must strengthen its own financial position. We cannot continue relying on unsustainable spending growth while economic activity and population growth slows significantly. I will focus on restoring long-term fiscal stability by growing the tax base, supporting small businesses, attracting new employers and residents, reforming burdensome commercial and real estate tax policies, and conducting top-to-bottom audits of agency spending and performance. When necessary, I will publicly and energetically push back against congressional interference that threatens essential city services or undermines Home Rule. By demonstrating responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars and maintaining strong reserve funds, we are protecting D.C. financially, ensuring the city is better prepared for federal uncertainty. My role as mayor will not only be to fight for D.C.’s autonomy, but also to ensure the District is economically resilient enough to withstand political instability beyond our control.

The Commanders stadium project must deliver measurable benefits for D.C. residents, not just for a private sports franchise. My focus will be on strict oversight, financial transparency, and ensuring the surrounding communities see long-term economic and quality-of-life improvements. First, I would require regular public reporting on project costs, timelines, infrastructure spending, contracting, and community benefit commitments. Residents deserve to know exactly how public funds are being used and whether the project is meeting its obligations. Independent audits and strong procurement oversight would be essential throughout implementation. Second, I would prioritize local hiring, apprenticeship opportunities, and small business participation so D.C. residents directly benefit from construction and ongoing economic activity. Investments tied to the project should also improve transportation, public safety, parks, and neighborhood infrastructure that residents use every day. Third, I would closely monitor traffic, parking, public safety, and housing impacts on nearby neighborhoods to ensure the project does not negatively affect existing residents or accelerate displacement without safeguards. My administration would treat this as a long-term responsibility to taxpayers, neighborhoods, and the future economic health of the District.

D.C. residents deserve a government that is responsive, transparent, and focused on results. Too many agencies have operated without clear accountability, while residents experience delays, poor communication and inconsistent services. As mayor, I would implement performance-based management standards across city government with measurable goals, public reporting, and regular agency evaluations tied to outcomes. Agencies will clearly track response times, service delivery metrics, financial performance, and resident satisfaction so the public can see what is working and what is not. I will strengthen oversight by expanding independent auditing functions, modernizing procurement and contract monitoring systems, and increasing transparency around spending, hiring, and agency operations. Leadership positions will be filled based on competence and management ability and mission focus. Technology modernization will also be a major priority. Many city systems remain outdated, fragmented, and inefficient, creating unnecessary bureaucracy for both residents and employees. Most importantly, I would establish a culture where agencies understand they work for the residents of D.C. Accountability means problems are addressed quickly, failures are acknowledged honestly, and taxpayer dollars are treated with respect.

Washington D.C. is in a housing emergency and solving it requires both building more housing and protecting long-term affordability. My housing plan, Affordable D.C., commits to 50,000 D.C., homes by 2032, including 36,000 that are truly affordable and verified at move-in. To get there, we will cut permitting timelines, create a Housing Accelerator Office, allow missing-middle housing like duplexes and small apartments across the city, eliminate parking mandates near Metro, and convert underutilized office spaces into housing, schools, and community spaces. We will guarantee permanent affordability through community land trusts, social housing, and legally binding covenants so homes remain affordable for generations. We will also create pathways to ownership through cooperative housing and first-time buyer support. Housing affordability is also tied to transportation costs, and through my Fare Free D.C. proposal, we will eliminate fares on Metrobus and phase in free Metrorail, starting with buses in the first two years. The program will be funded through diversified sources including telecommunications partnerships, congestion pricing, and fees on delivery and ride hail companies.

My top priority is making sure every child is in school, learning, and supported every day. That starts with accountability and execution. We will implement real time attendance tracking, expand Safe Passages, and scale mentorship programs so students are identified and supported early. Second, every child must read by third grade. We will implement science of reading instruction in every school, require universal screening, screen for dyslexia by first grade, and guarantee free one-on-one tutoring through twelfth grade. Third, we must support and retain great teachers. We will do this by reforming the evaluation system to include teacher input, provide three years of structured mentorship for new educators, and build a pipeline through my civic workforce development program, The Capital Corps, to train and retain DC based teachers. As mayor, I will align DCPS and charter schools around shared standards and transparency. We will fund full time nurses and mental health clinicians in every school, expand career and technical education, and publish a public dashboard tracking attendance, literacy, and teacher retention.

Mayor Bowser has delivered major investments in housing and infrastructure that I will continue, especially efforts to expand affordable housing and modernize city services. However, our city is in a moment demanding a different approach to safety, federal relations, and accountability. I will work to rebuild trust in MPD through stronger oversight and community-based safety strategies. For example, I will invest in affordable housing so that our officers have the ability to live in the communities that they serve. I will also reject any approach that appeases Donald Trump or allows federal overreach in District affairs, including refusing the collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in local policing priorities and pushing the National Guard off our streets and out of the President’s control? Structurally, I will move the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions under the Mayor’s office to improve community engagement and coordination. Most importantly, I will confront the growing sense of our city being divided, by policy and geographically, and focus on uniting all eight wards under a fair and inclusive vision for D.C.

First, we will fully staff 911 call centers and stabilize retention with training and having career pipelines into public safety roles through my Capital Corps workforce development program. I will also fully staff our MPD workforce so emergency response is not stretched thin and simultaneously improve coordination with Fire and EMS to reduce response delays. The Capital Corps plays a central role in sustaining this long-term. The Public Safety Support branch will create a trained pipeline of dispatchers, emergency support staff, and community responders, while also helping divert non-emergency calls to 311. We will modernize the system with transparent real time monitoring and clear benchmarks for performance across agencies. If leadership fails to meet response-time targets, we will require public corrective action plans, independent audits from the Inspector General, and personnel changes where necessary. Our residents deserve a system that responds both quickly and consistently.

My home that my wife and I bought when we got married where both my kids were raised.

I am married today because my wife noticed me dancing.