History
DC for Democracy began in 2004 as DC for Dean – a grassroots effort to support the inspirational Howard Dean presidential campaign. Ever since, we’ve taken the same people-powered approach to focus on issues and campaigns that impact our communities the most. Over the last two decades we’ve fostered a community of local activists who take collective action on local elections, policy issues, and more.
In the nearly two decades since our founding, DC for Democracy has been part of more than 100 different campaigns. In addition to endorsing dozens of candidates over the years, we helped create and win DC’s groundbreaking Fair Elections public campaign finance program. We helped fight for Paid Family Leave, which positions DC as a leader in the nation on guaranteed time off, as well as the $15 minimum wage. We campaigned for Initiative 77 and later, its successor Initiative 82. We advocated for the Local Residents Voting Rights Act to make sure every resident of DC has a say in our local government.
We’ve had major successes and heartbreaking losses, but uniting all of our efforts is the belief that DC residents should have more say in our democracy than corporate interests.