Anita Bonds

Anita Bonds is an At-Large member of the Council of the District of Columbia and is currently the Chairwoman of the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization.

Working to ensure that every District resident has a safe, sanitary, and affordable place to call home, Councilmember Bonds pushes policies that will expand tenants’ rights, increase opportunities for homeownership, preserve and increase the District’s affordable housing stock, and put an end to the displacement of longtime Washingtonians.

In addition to creating and preserving affordable housing, Councilmember Bonds has been vocal about the need to improve the District’s public-school system, expand violence prevention initiatives, and promote the idea of “good government.” Councilmember Bonds is also deeply concerned about shielding senior citizens from physical and financial abuse and neglect and ensuring that they have the resources needed to age in place.

Taking a strategic and results-oriented approach, Councilmember Bonds conducts rigorous oversights of the committees under her purview and has helped to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to critical public programs and services that benefit residents of all socio-economic backgrounds.

In all, she has authored, co-authored, and helped pass into law more than 150 pieces of legislation that helps to make the District of Columbia a safer, more equitable, and more vibrant place to live and do business.

Some of her most recent legislation to pass into law includes the:

• Vacancy Increase Amendment Act, which preserves housing affordability by lowering the maximum rent increases on particular turnover housing units.
• Limited Equity Cooperative Task Force Act, which establishes a task force that will provide policy recommendations to improve existing and add new cooperative housing in the District.
• Elder Abuse Response Team Act, which establishes the Elder Abuse Response Team (EART) as a commission of the Office of the Attorney General to coordinate victims’ services including investigations, prosecutions, and medical forensic care for all types of elder abuse.
• Feminine Hygiene and Diapers Sales Tax Exemption Amendment Act, which eliminates the sales tax on feminine hygiene products and baby and adult diapers in the District.

Outside of the Council, Councilmember Bonds seeks opportunities to further her commitment to service and to improve the lives of others. She is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Task Force on State and Local Taxation (NCSL SALT), the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), and a board member of the national Democratic Municipal Officials (DMO), and served as the Chair of the DC Democratic State Committee and was a member of the Executive Committee from 2006-2018. She has also worked on numerous campaigns to elect like-minded, high-profile Democratic candidates at the national, state, and municipal levels, and has served as a cabinet member in the administrations of Mayors Anthony Williams, Sharon Pratt, and Marion Barry.

Councilmember Bonds attended the University of California Berkeley — where she was involved in the Free Speech Movement — is a mother of three, grandmother, and proud Washingtonian.

Compress biography