Planned Parenthood Announces Endorsements, Ratings in 2020 DC Council Elections

Washington, DC — Today, Planned Parenthood Advocates for DC, Maryland & NoVa (PPADMV), a leading reproductive rights advocate in the DMV, announced endorsements and ratings for this year’s DC Council races. PPADMV endorsed Councilmember Robert White for re-election for At-Large, Councilmember Brooke Pinto for re-election for Ward 2 and Janeese Lewis George for Ward 4, and provided ratings for ten additional At-Large candidates. Due to the sole candidate in Ward 7 and 3 out of four candidates in Ward 8 failing to participate, PPADMV will not be making endorsements or ratings in either of those races. Ashlie Bagwell, PPADMV Board Chair, released the following statement:

“PPADMV is excited to support an impressive list of leaders who we believe will fight to protect and, importantly, expand access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and promote racial justice. As the COVID-19 pandemic has made even more clear, health inequities in DC have a disproportionate impact on Black residents and other communities of color.”

“Councilmembers White and Pinto have proven themselves effective leaders and champions for our community’s health, including on voting rights, maternal health and racial and social justice. And although she has not yet been elected to the Council, Janeese Lewis George has already established herself as a powerful advocate for her community and a leader on countless social justice issues, including her work to ensure high-quality education for DC students,” Bagwell continues.

About PPADMV’s Questionnaire:

PPADMV distributed a questionnaire to all candidates listed on the DC Board of Elections website to assess candidate positions on several topics related to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Guided by the leadership of the Movement for Black Lives, PPADMV’s questionnaire included gauging candidates’ positions on efforts to reduce or eliminate police in schools and to reallocate resources away from policing and towards education, housing, community-led public safety programs, and public health.

PPADMV’s At-Large Ratings:

Markus Batchelor	100%	Franklin Garcia	100%
Marcus Goodwin	95%	Joseph Henchman	95%
Christina Henderson	100%	Ed Lazere	100%
Jeanné Lewis	95%	Will Merrifield	100%
Vincent Orange	100%	Mónica Palacio	100%

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