Elissa Silverman

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Elissa Silverman

Independent

Prior offices

Washington D.C. City Council At-large

Predecessor: David Catania

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Brown University

Contact

Personal website

Elissa Silverman (independent) was an at-large member of the Washington D.C. City Council. Silverman assumed office on January 2, 2015. Silverman left office on January 2, 2023.

Silverman (independent) ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Washington D.C. City Council. Silverman lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Elections

2022

See also: City elections in Washington, D.C. (2022)

General election

General election for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Bonds (D)	31.7	103,991
✔		Kenyan McDuffie (Independent)	21.9	71,924
		Elissa Silverman (Independent)	19.3	63,471
		Graham McLaughlin (Independent)	10.2	33,402
	Submit photo	Karim Marshall (Independent)	5.1	16,883
		David Schwartzman (G)	5.1	16,650
		Giuseppe Niosi (R)	3.9	12,832
	Submit photo	Frederick Hill III (Independent)	2.3	7,494
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	1,620

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 328,267
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Anita Bonds defeated Lisa Gore, Nate Fleming, and Dexter Williams in the Democratic primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Bonds	35.9	42,421
		Lisa Gore	28.1	33,225
		Nate Fleming	27.7	32,815
	Submit photo	Dexter Williams	7.9	9,356
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	504

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 118,321
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Leniqua’dominique Jenkins (D)
• Bradley Thomas (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

Giuseppe Niosi advanced from the Republican primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Giuseppe Niosi	91.8	2,576
		Other/Write-in votes	8.2	230

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,806
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green primary election

Green primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

David Schwartzman advanced from the Green primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Schwartzman (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	100	342

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 342
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Washington, D.C. (2018)

General election

General election for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Bonds (D)	44.6	152,460
✔		Elissa Silverman (Independent)	26.5	90,589
	Submit photo	Dionne Reeder (Independent)	14.4	49,132
		David Schwartzman (G)	7.6	26,006
		Ralph Chittams Sr. (R)	3.7	12,629
	Submit photo	Rustin Lewis (Independent)	2.5	8,463
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	2,909

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 342,188
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• S. Kathryn Allen (Independent)
• Denise Hicks (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Anita Bonds defeated Jeremiah Lowery and Marcus Goodwin in the Democratic primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 19, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Bonds	52.8	39,351
	Submit photo	Jeremiah Lowery	23.8	17,688
		Marcus Goodwin	23.4	17,419

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 74,458
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Aaron Holmes (D)

Green primary election

Green primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

David Schwartzman advanced from the Green primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 19, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Schwartzman	100.0	382

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 382
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large (2 seats)

Denise Hicks advanced from the Libertarian primary for Washington D.C. City Council At-large on June 19, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Denise Hicks	100.0	110

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 110
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Washington, D.C. Council elections, 2014

Washington, D.C. held elections for two at-large city council seats on November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on April 1.

Incumbent Anita Bonds defeated Nate Bennett Fleming, Kathy Henderson, Chantel Mapp, Pedro Rubio, John Settles, II and Kevin Valentine Jr. in the Democratic primary. Eugene Puryear defeated G. Lee Aikin in the D.C. Statehood Green Party primary. Bonds and Elissa Silverman (I) defeated Puryear, Michael D. Brown (I), Frederick Steiner (L), Eric J. Jones (I), Kishan Putta (I), Wendell Felder (I), Courtney R. Snowden (I), Brian Hart (I), Robert White (I), Calvin H. Gurley (I), Graylan Scott Hagler (I) and Khalid Pitts (I) in the general election.

Washington, D.C. Council, At-large, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Anita Bonds Incumbent	24.1%	85,575
	Independent	Elissa Silverman	11.6%	41,300
	Independent	Michael D. Brown	8.1%	28,614
	Libertarian	Frederick Steiner	1.1%	3,766
	Independent	Eric J. Jones	1.2%	4,405
	Independent	Kishan Putta	1.7%	6,135
	Independent	Wendell Felder	0.8%	2,964
	Green	Eugene Puryear	3.5%	12,525
	Independent	Courtney R. Snowden	5.5%	19,551
	Independent	Brian Hart	2.5%	8,933
	Independent	Robert White	6.3%	22,198
	Independent	Calvin H. Gurley	1.3%	4,553
	Republican	Marc Morgan	2.8%	9,947
	Independent	Graylan Scott Hagler	3%	10,539
	Independent	Khalid Pitts	2.9%	10,392
	Other	Write-in	0.4%	1,472
	Other	Over and Under Votes	23.1%	81,847
Total Votes				354,716
Source: Washington, D.C. Board of Elections - General Election Results

Washington D.C. Council At-Large Primary Election Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Anita Bonds Incumbent	53.2%	43,586
Nate Bennett Fleming	22.3%	18,232
Pedro Rubio	7.4%	6,082
John Settles, II	13.2%	10,775
Kevin Valentine Jr.	3.1%	2,560
Write-in	0.8%	624
Total Votes		81,859
Source: Washington D.C. Board of Elections

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Elissa Silverman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

On her campaign website, Silverman highlighted the following issues:

Education

• Excerpt: "A strong public school system is the key to our city's future. I am a product of a large urban public school system, and I am firmly committed to investing in D.C. public schools to build a public system that is equal if not superior to our suburban neighbors. I see my role as councilmember as being not a micromanager but an advocate for parents, students, and residents, as well as an accountability officer of the DCPS chancellor and the D.C. public charter school board."

Housing and homelessness

• Excerpt: "The District should have good housing options for all residents. But as this past winter so clearly showed, we still have a housing crisis that is leaving our most vulnerable residents and families homeless and at risk. Making sure the District has a supply of safe and affordable housing for households at income levels across the economic spectrum is one of the great responsibilities and challenges for our government. I will work diligently on this issue as your councilmember."

Good government

• Excerpt: "When it comes to improving integrity in D.C. government, I practice what I preach. I was a leader in the Initiative 70 movement to ban corporate contributions in D.C. elections. My previous campaign showed that candidates who don’t take corporate money can still be viable, and I am once again running a people-powered campaign that won’t accept corporate contributions. As a councilmember I will not only work to ban direct corporate and PAC contributions but also to enhance the D.C. Council’s ethics rules, so that District residents can have confidence that decisions affecting their lives are made strictly on the merits."

Transportation

• Excerpt: "I am someone who uses all our transit options: I own a car, ride a bike, and use both buses and trains to get around. I am a member of Capital Bikeshare, Zipcar, and Car2Go. My house at 4th and G Streets NE is a nine-minute walk to the Union Station metro station, a block from the X2, four blocks from the 90s line, and one block from the still-not-yet-operational H Street NE streetcar. I bought my house because it was so transit-convenient (at the time I did not own a car). I often make cycling or public transit my first option, but sometimes traveling by car is more efficient and convenient. I think we need to be responsible in sharing our roads and routes no matter what form of transportation we take."

Fiscal responsibility

• Excerpt: "I consider the annual budget a statement of our priorities as a city. I will closely inspect the D.C. budget to make sure we spend our tax dollars efficiently and effectively. I will focus on expanding our tax base through smart economic development and a diverse economy. Whenever we give public resources to a developer or contractor, we as the city should get something in return, such as a pipeline of jobs. And we need to make sure we negotiate up front and understand the training that might be needed for the jobs that will be created."

Public safety

• Excerpt: "A visible and trusted police force keeps all of us safe. To maximize the effectiveness of our hard-working officers, we must use data to drive deployment, promote visibility of officers with foot or bike patrols in crime hotspots, and ask commanders to maintain communication with residents. We also need to improve the effectiveness of our fire and emergency medical response, making sure the agency’s leadership and officers are working together with a common sense of mission."

See also

• Washington, D.C.
• Municipal elections in Washington, D.C. (2022)

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