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Talib I. Karim Muhammad
DC Mayor 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
Engineer-Attorney, Howard University double graduate, former D.C. Council Statehood Committee lead. Secured $500M+ in federal grants for STEM/HBCUs.
Please share any accomplishments or experiences that reflect your commitment to
advancing Opportunity DC's policy priorities
Engineer-Attorney, Howard University double graduate, former D.C. Council Statehood Committee lead. Secured $500M+ in federal grants for STEM/HBCUs.
All endorsements to date:
No endorsements listed.
Previous offices held:
No previous offices listed.
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.
No written response provided.
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?
No written response provided.
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?
No written response provided.
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?
Support
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?
1. The Abundance Blueprint (Mini-Housing & Campus Living): We plan to fast-track the "Mini-Housing" model (successfully utilized in Atlanta) to rapidly lower construction costs. Simultaneously, we intend to incentivize "Employer-Campus Styled Living," which seeks to connect housing directly with local employers to reduce the cost of living for the D.C. workforce.
2. Universal Stability & Senior Protection: We seek to implement Universal Rent Control on all buildings—new and old alike. For our seniors, we intend to Freeze Property Taxes immediately; this seeks to allow them to benefit from the capital gains of their increased property values rather than being evicted by them.
3. Vacant Property Transition: We plan to immediately repurpose vacant properties throughout the District for temporary housing. We intend to assign every resident in this program an Individual Transition Coach who seeks to migrate that person from temporary shelter to long-term employment and permanent residency. We will, Inshallah, ensure that no resident is left without a path to dignity.
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
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
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?
No written response provided.
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:
Enough thinking; it's time to act. We plan to grow the base by reclaiming the $3.2 Billion in annual revenue lost to federal "Taxation Without Representation" through Statehood. We intend to reduce spending by deploying AI Auditing to eliminate "Billionaire-First" contract waste. Furthermore, we seek to establish a $500M Statehood Fund to turn local entrepreneurs into tax-paying employers rather than subsidizing out-of-state developers.
No written response provided.
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?
No written response provided.
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?
No written response provided.
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. The Public Safety Army: We intend to recruit 10,000 residents into a new Department of Public Safety for mentorship and patrol. We plan to offer Child Support Amnesty for those who serve, which seeks to move residents from "incarceration to contribution."
2. The "Violent Hours" Mandate: We seek to implement mandatory STEM and leadership programs from 3 PM to 6 PM for all youth not in athletics. We plan to capture these peak hours of community risk and intend to turn them into technical training hours.
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?
Support
(Optional) Notes Provided by Candidate
Support