Oye Owolewa
DemocraticQ1 Recent policies and budget decision have led to the termination of thousands of grants. DC is an important hub for scientists and researchers in the region. What role do you think research should have in the region and what action if any will you take to retain scientific talent to the city?
My parents, Nigerian immigrants who met as students in Boston, instilled a love of science in me early. When a physics class steered me away from engineering, they introduced me to Black scientists and health professionals, and I found pharmacy. Volunteering at Turner and Malcolm X Elementary, I asked students running experiments to call each other “doctor,” so they could see their potential. After working with more than 2,000 DC students, I know scientific talent exists in every ward. What the District lacks is a path that keeps it here.
Research is part of DC’s economic foundation and a public good. When grants are terminated, the postdoc can no longer cover rent, the lab technician leaves for another state, and residents lose the treatments and data that work would have produced.
Keeping that talent starts with making DC affordable. I will push to make UDC tuition-free and grow it into a research anchor that trains DC residents for science careers. I will fight for social housing and rent stabilization capped at inflation so early career researchers are not priced out. I am proud to be endorsed by 314 Action, and I intend to be the ally scientists need on the Council.
Keywords: Talent Retention, Tuition-Free UDC, Affordable Housing
Q2 Given Congress’s authority over D.C.’s budget, how would you protect the District from science funding + funding programs based on science evidence (such as the proposed $1B reduction last year) while maintaining essential city services?
For six years as DC’s Shadow Representative, I have lobbied members of a Congress in which 700,000 residents have no vote. Last year’s proposed $1 billion reduction showed what that means in practice. Those were DC’s own tax dollars, frozen by people DC did not elect.
Statehood is the only permanent protection, and I will keep pressing for it from the Council. Until then, the District has to reduce its exposure. I will push for progressive revenue such as a Business Activity Tax on large firms using a federal loophole, so DC has room to absorb federal interference without cutting services. I will use Council oversight to stop raids on dedicated funds like the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund and the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund, which pay for evidence-based programs residents can measure in cleaner air and water. And I will defend Medicaid and the DC Healthcare Alliance, because cutting coverage does not remove the cost. It moves that cost into emergency rooms.
Keywords: Statehood, Budget Autonomy, Progressive Revenue
Q3 The cost of electricity and water are on the rise with nearby data centers straining current resources in combination with increased energy costs to consumers. What specific plans do you have, if any, to mitigate utility cost burden for residents? Why these steps?
For a senior who relies on refrigerated insulin or an oxygen concentrator, a power shutoff is a health emergency. That is why I will push to end utility shutoffs for residents who cannot pay and to create utility debt relief for households already behind. I Will also ensure no utilities are cut off during extreme weather events. Those steps stop the immediate harm.
The longer answer is lowering what families use and changing who the grid answers to. I support the Healthy Homes Act to provide electric appliances at no cost to low-income residents, a Clean Heat Standard, and protecting the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund from budget raids. I oppose expanding fossil gas infrastructure that locks ratepayers into decades of rising costs. I also want DC to seriously evaluate public power, because a utility answerable to shareholders will always weigh returns against residents.
On data centers, the principle is simple. Companies driving new demand on the regional grid should pay for the capacity they need, and DC residents should not subsidize that growth through their monthly bills. I will use Council oversight of the Public Service Commission to hold that line.
Keywords: No Utility Shutoffs, Clean Energy, Ratepayer Protection
Q4 Many states are issuing independent vaccine guidelines to ensure consistent vaccine access in light of recent HHS changes - what are your views on vaccine guidelines and why or why not would you support similar initiatives?
During COVID, I administered some of the first vaccine doses in the District. I also watched more than 40 percent of DC’s supply go to non-residents while my Ward 8 neighbors could not get appointments. I went to the FEMA site at Greenbelt Metro and pushed until DC residents were let in. That taught me vaccine access depends on who writes the rules.
Vaccine guidance should rest on evidence and on the clinicians who review it. It should not shift with whoever controls HHS. When federal recommendations become unreliable, medical professionals and parents are left unsure what is covered and what is allowed.
I support DC Health issuing its own evidence-based guidance, drawing on professional bodies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, and coordinating with neighboring jurisdictions to keep standards consistent across the region. I will push to ensure DC law lets pharmacists keep vaccinating under that guidance, and that Medicaid and private insurers keep covering those vaccines at no cost to residents. The resident physicians of CIR/SEIU, who endorsed my campaign, see the cost of confused guidance every shift. DC’s public health should not be hostage to federal politics.
Keywords: Evidence Based Guidance, Vaccine Access, Public Health