Q&A with Ward 4 candidate Marlena D. Edwards

Part of our Ward 4 voters guide

What made you decide to run for this position?

“I decided to run for this position because I am a passionate community activist who has been committed to social justice, education, health care and economic development. And I have worked in the private sector. After I got my communications degree at Towson University, I worked in communications [on] the Middle East peace talks. Then I went on to get my master’s degree in social work at Howard University, so I’ve been working with District residents for over 23 years and have served as a member of numerous boards and committees that promote coalition building and community empowerment. For me, I just knew it was time for me to jump in this race because of my desire to see this city have more efficient services and move forward.”

What differentiates you from the others in the race?

“I’m the most qualified candidate for Ward 4 city council because I have over 23 years of experience with District government [and] 30 years of professional experience. I served on the DC Democratic State Committee as the Ward 4 representative, and I won that seat [with] 7,143 votes — the highest vote in the history of the position, and that was by the Ward 4 voters. So the Ward 4 voters have put a lot of trust in me with that vote that’s higher than most seated ward council members. Then I’ve also served on the transition team of DC Attorney General Karl Racine, Mayor Muriel Bowser [and] Mayor Vincent Gray. I founded my own company that does business consultation, dealing with community health, social-economic development and legislative policy. And I’ve worked with initiatives on the local and the national level.”

What do you hope to accomplish in this position if elected?

“I desire to bring efficiency to government, effectiveness to government, and to be a bridge with the individuals in Ward 4 and across this city — and to make sure that we are able to have good health care, economic development and improved education.”

What are the top three issues you would focus on if elected?

“My top three issues are education, health care and economic development. 

“I’ve worked extensively with education … on initiatives to maximize revenue so that you could bring more auxiliary positions into the schools. And this would be based through Medicaid because about 200,000 of our residents in this city are on Medicaid, so that includes many children.

“… I’ve worked in the Department of Health Care Finance in administration [as a management analyst], where I was working [on] paying health care for some of our most fragile and disenfranchised residents, individuals on Medicaid, Medicare, working with touching most of the agencies across the city to deal with health care, the providers and the end users.”

Given a history of involvement in many civic activities, she says, “I feel that I am able to bridge all these different groups: labor, employment relation issues. If it’s administrative issues — [even if it’s] citizens unable to deal with issues on the local and national levels. I’ve dealt with executive leaders all over the city and on the national level, too. So I’m able to bridge a gap and help to bring the city together.”