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Matthew Frumin
DC Council Ward 3 2026
Opportunity DC's Questionnaire
Opportunity DC advocates for priorities that grow our local economy, make government work better and faster, and make DC a more affordable place to live. We partner with pragmatic leaders to pass
effective legislation and help elect champions capable of leading our city forward.
Our questionnaire project is dedicated to providing DC Voters with the information to make the best decision possible for the District. No answers have been edited for the candidates, except light formatting changes.
Biographical Information
Please share any accomplishments or experiences that reflect your commitment to
advancing Opportunity DC's policy priorities
I navigated changes to ERAP in the RENTAL Act in a manner that won full support, including eventually of the business community. I have been a consistent supporter of adding and incentivizing the construction of new and affordable housing, efforts to revitalize downtown and promote office to residential (and other) conversions. I have supported a number of successful efforts to strengthen our public safety ecosystem supported by the business community. Before joining the Council, I served on and Chaired the Board of Tenleytown Main Street working to support our small businesses.
Please share any accomplishments or experiences that reflect your commitment to
advancing Opportunity DC's policy priorities
I navigated changes to ERAP in the RENTAL Act in a manner that won full support, including eventually of the business community. I have been a consistent supporter of adding and incentivizing the construction of new and affordable housing, efforts to revitalize downtown and promote office to residential (and other) conversions. I have supported a number of successful efforts to strengthen our public safety ecosystem supported by the business community. Before joining the Council, I served on and Chaired the Board of Tenleytown Main Street working to support our small businesses.
All endorsements to date:
I received numerous endorsements in the 2022 election cycle, but have not yet received any endorsements this cycle (although I find myself in the midst of completing many questionnaires and am slated for various interviews).
Previous offices held:
ANC 3E Commissioner, periodically Chair, Treasurer and Secretary, 2008 to 2014.
District Priorities
DC residents tell us their three most important issues are the cost of living, public safety, and jobs and the economy. Please list one legislative or regulatory solution you support to address each policy challenge.
Cost of Living: I have and continue to support policies focused on increasing the supply of housing, with the goal of reducing the cost of rent or homeownership that regularly feature as the top cost of living pressure facing District residents. That includes my support, following detailed engagement with developers, property owners, managers and tenants of the RENTAL Act, and my continued work facilitating new housing in Ward 3 and across the District.
Accessible & Affordable Housing
DC’s average housing costs are 140% above the national average. DC laws, rules, and
regulations make building housing here more expensive, time-consuming, and bureaucratic compared to other jurisdictions—creating a scarcity of available housing that drives up rent and home prices. Do you agree that increasing the supply of available housing, including market-rate, will lower the cost of rent and homes for residents over time?
Public Safety: I supported SECURE DC working with MPD as we moved through that process to consider various proposals and amendments. I believe SECURE DC struck an important balance in our approach to public safety. In addition to enforcement initiatives like SECURE DC, I also believe it is critical to address root causes of crime.
Zoning and land use policy can restrict where housing is built and the number of units for a specific project. Transit-oriented development—building housing near thoroughfares and public transit—helps local governments plan housing near key services and transportation hubs. Do you support or oppose requiring all areas of the District currently zoned for commercial development to be automatically zoned for high-density residential development?
Jobs and the Economy: I have consistently supported efforts to revitalize Downtown DC, including incentives for businesses opening and staying in the District. My focus on supporting small businesses and neighborhoods has led to my advocacy and funding for the District's Main Streets and Business Improvement Districts, including passing legislation establishing the Friendship Heights BID. My work on public education, as a member of the Workforce Investment Council, and now as Chair of the Committee on Human Services, has focused on creating sustainable pathways for District residents towards gainful employment and independence.
In 2025, DC lawmakers modernized the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) to make DC a more attractive and viable place to build housing. Building enough housing to address DC’s supply shortage will require local government to revise legislative code and pass regulatory reforms so that DC can compete within our region and across the country for limited capital investment. What 1 – 3 legislative or regulatory proposals do you support to make DC a more attractive place to build both affordable and market-rate housing.
Agree
Economic Innovation & Workforce Development
In July of 2024, DC lawmakers increased the paid family leave tax (a payroll tax on District employers) from .23% to .75% of total wages. The additional revenue went to offset $2 billion in new general fund expenditures rather than towards expanding paid family leave. The higher payroll tax makes it harder for local employers, especially schools, hospitals, and small businesses, to grow and hire District residents. Do you support or oppose eliminating the 2024 payroll tax increase on DC employers over the next four years?
Oppose. I support increased density and believe that should be a focus of the upcoming Comprehensive Plan process. While there may be areas that should be high density, I am not prepared to say every commercial district should be so designated, but that each should be subject to a case by case analysis. In the last update of the Comprehensive Plan there were differences in the density designations between commercial districts, which together added significant density overall. I think that approach was appropriate.
Currently, all DC small businesses are required to file an annual personal property tax form (FP-31), even if their property assets are below the threshold that would subject their business to the tax. FP-31 is a cumbersome form that forces entrepreneurs to spend hours on compliance for a tax that most businesses are not even subject to. Do you support or oppose B26-0229, The Personal Property Tax Form Simplification Act, which eliminates the requirement for businesses to file personal property tax form (FP-31) if they are below the proposed $325,000 property threshold?
I am interested in revisiting the way in which Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) units are managed. Too often the units sit empty, becoming a drag on the finances of a property. I would also like to see the city purchase buildings and/or secure buildings and campuses from the federal government – think the Homeland Security site at Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues or the INTELSAT site – that can then be subject to an RFP to get more housing and affordable housing built by lowering land acquisition cost. I would also like to explore using Tax Increment Financing to encourage new housing in key areas including potentially Friendship Heights. In the meantime, we must constantly improve the Department of Buildings so that it operates at optimal efficiency. While there have been improvements, we are not there yet.
In DC, some workers must obtain occupational licenses from government-appointed boards and pay large fees to work in fields like interior or landscape designer, barber—including hair braiding, cosmetologist, and manicurist, among others. These barriers artificially limit employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for District residents. Do you support or oppose reducing the time and financial requirements necessary to obtain occupational licenses in the fields where licensure is unnecessary and presents no material risks to
consumers?
Support. However, I am supportive of a BAT to replace this and other business taxes.
Efficient & Effective Government
Since 2020, the District’s budget spending has dramatically outpaced new revenue growth. DC will have to spend more efficiently and grow the tax base, without raising tax rates, to sustainably fund core services moving forward. Do you see DC's dramatic budget growth as a challenge that needs to be addressed through increased efficiency while avoiding new taxes on residents and businesses?
Support. I am a co-introducer of B26-0229.
What three strategies would you propose to reduce DC government spending or grow our tax base to ensure long term fiscal stability?
Support
Over time, DC lawmakers have added more rules, regulations, and fees that increase costs for small businesses, which are often passed onto consumers, raising prices for everyone. Having more information about the unintended consequences from new legislation can help prevent higher costs for entrepreneurs and residents. Do you support or oppose requiring the Council to review economic impact assessments, generated by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), for all new legislation and regulations that increase regulatory or financial costs for District employers?
Yes. While I think finding efficiencies needs to be the first focus in balancing our budgets, I have not foreclosed the possibility of tax increases.
Are there any government rules or regulations that should be updated, streamlined, or eliminated to make government more efficient and lower administrative burdens on residents? Please list up to 3 rules/regulations & how you would change them:
1. Convene a Tax Revision Commission that can fulfill its charge and deliver the Council a set of comprehensive, common-sense, fiscally responsible reforms that retain progressivity in our tax system and rationalize our business taxes while putting the District on a sustainable path forward for economic growth. We cannot afford to continue a piece-meal approach that creates unpredictability for residents, businesses, and the District government.
2. Convene an Expenditure Commission and begin a comprehensive assessment of the District's current regulatory framework. The District has many well-intentioned programs intended to provide important services and support to residents across the economic spectrum. But there are structural inefficiencies in many. We need to take a hard look at our approaches to ensure we achieve maximal positive impact from our tax dollars. I undertook some of this work in my position as Chair of the Human Services Committee in the FY26 budget, eliminating unnecessary or overburdensome regulations and creating efficiencies within programs such as case management.
3. As the District and nation transition into a new model of work for the 21st century, we need to be thinking strategically about how to most effectively use District and federal government buildings and land to both reduce spending and increase our tax base. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to plan for significant mixed-income residential and mixed-use developments - like, the Homeland Security site near Ward Circle, or the former INTELSAT building on Connecticut Avenue near Van Ness, as just two Ward 3 examples.
Support
Do you support legislation to authorize the Chief of Police to declare dedicated zones with earlier curfews for large groups of young people as needed?
1. I have been especially focused on streamlining regulations in my role as Chair of the Committee on Human Services. My team is laser-focused on ensuring that District residents applying for public benefits - from housing supports to food and cash assistance - have a streamlined experience that reduces administrative burdens on both them and the District. That means improving the efficiency of DCAS, making it easier for expecting parents to add their newborns to their benefits, and aligning the processes and oversight of voucher administration between DCHA and DHS.
2. Oversight of DMPED was recently added to my Committee. I look forward to working with the Deputy Mayor and her team to identify changes in that portfolio that can make government more efficient and lower administrative burdens.
3. While not a rule or regulation, I have become increasingly interested in adult workforce programming. This is a critical need. We have to move people into the kind of independence that a job can bring. We actually have significant needs but we are not training people and matching them with the available jobs. Meanwhile, our return on investment from our workforce investments are pitiful. Keys to a successful turnaround in this area is cutting programs that are not delivering, bolstering ones that do, creating an effective oversight mechanism and deeply engaging the business community in developing the structures and programs since in the end the goal is to connect people to fill jobs that answer the needs of the business community.
Please provide 1 – 3 policies or strategies you support to make residents, workers, and businesses safer in DC.
More officers
Quality Education
In 2006, DC had one of the worst performing public school systems in the country. Only 12% of eighth graders were proficient in reading and 8% in math, only 43% of students graduated in five years, and the system was mired in mismanagement. Following the passage of the Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) of 2007 and enabled by PERAA’s governance reforms, DC tripled proficiency in reading and math and saw the highest rate of post-COVID test score improvement in the country. Do you support or oppose Mayoral control with Council oversight of the District’s public school system, as established by the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007?
Yes. I have supported this authority a number of times this Council period when I thought it was a necessary and important tool and it proved to be an effective one in that moment. I will review the circumstances when the current legislation expires if there is a request for renewed authority.
Approximately 48% of DC public school students attend charter schools, which are free, public, and open to all students from all wards. Do you support or oppose funding DC Public School (DCPS) and DC public charter school students at equal levels, weighted by student need, through the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula?
1. I was proud to work collaboratively with my colleagues, MPD, and the public to pass SECURE DC, which I believe has gone a long way in striking an effective balance to improve public safety and policing in the District, and I will continue to do the work to build on this legislation in my next term.
2. I have continuously supported and fought to fully fund our Main Streets and Business Improvement Districts - including having passed legislation to create the Friendship Heights BID. While not typically considered public safety initiatives, these investments provide resources that allow our neighborhood small businesses to work together, coordinate security investments, and have organizations that represent their collective interests - including regarding safety - to their ANCs, Council, MPD, and the Executive.
3. Out of School Time programming and funding has been a high priority for me. The vast majority of Police Chiefs surveyed nationally say that good OST programs are the most successful tool to avoid juvenile crime.
Chronic truancy among DCPS students has increased dramatically in recent years. How do you propose we reduce truancy levels to ensure students receive a quality education?
I support Mayoral control in the sense that I would not support a wholesale reversal. However, I do think there are ways we can and should strengthen the oversight capacity and ability to propose policies of the State Board of Education. While there has been significant improvement since PERAA, the trajectory of improvement was similar in the years immediately preceding PERAA and the level of investment increased significantly with PERAA. The governance structure was not the sole source of improvement and steps along the way may have impeded progress in the face of significant additional investment. It is striking today to hear leaders and advocates from across the education spectrum – charter advocates and operators, DCPS advocates and operators and academics – talk about best practices which are radically different from approaches initially implemented under Mayoral control.
(Optional) Notes Provided by Candidate
Oppose. I want to ensure all of our schools are fully funded, but we are miles away from having all funding pass through the UPSFF. Both DCPS and charter schools receive significant funding from other sources, including government sources. DCPS and charter schools face different challenges, with many students leaving charter schools and arriving at DCPS schools midyear, while the charter schools retain the UPSFF funds for those students. Meanwhile, DCPS school buildings are used for many different purposes and must be maintained to ensure capacity in case the student population grows. I am more than happy to discuss this issue at length but the question implies charter schools are somehow shorted in the current funding arrangement, which is hard to square with the fact that as reported in their most recent Financial Analysis Review they have around $475 million in unrestricted cash on hand and close to $974 million in accumulated net assets.