About us
Initiative 83 passed; what now?
We are urging the DC Council to Defend DC, Respect 83 and honor the will of the people. The Council has the power to include implementation funding in the budget. The Mayor did not include implementation funding in her budget proposal. The Council must act to amend the budget to include these funds so that the Board of Elections can successfully implement the initiative for our next elections in 2026.
We need a majority of Councilmembers to respect the will of the people by voting to amend the budget.
We are looking for volunteers to help us keep Initiative 83 top of mind in Councilmembers' offices and in community circles. Are you eager to see Initiative 83 actually implemented? Sign up here.
Lisa D. T. Rice, Proposer
Lisa D. T. Rice, S.M., a passionate political innovator and champion of electoral reform, is a native Washingtonian and serves the local community as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 7. She is the Proposer of Initiative 83, a bold ballot initiative which, if successful, would stop DC voter suppression by opening DC’s closed primaries to independent voters and hold politicians accountable by implementing ranked choice voting in the nation’s capital.
Lisa has a long history of standing against the status quo and in favor of meaningful, practical changes to our system. She is currently a Unite America board member; an Open Primaries spokesperson; a DC State Leader of Veterans for All Voters; and Vice Chair of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship board of directors. Lisa was a 2022-23 Bridge Alliance Democracy Fellow.
Lisa lives in her childhood home with her husband in the Penn Branch neighborhood; her son is a District of Columbia Public Schools early literacy teacher in Ward 8. A sought-after keynote speaker and panelist, Lisa has moderated several political panels, debates, and forums on national and local platforms. Lisa loves to write, quilt, and speak truth to power.
Philip Pannell, Treasurer
Philip Pannell has held many leadership roles East of the Anacostia River and our campaign is proud to have him as our Treasurer. He is the Executive Director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, a columnist for East of the River magazine, and a former ten-year trustee of the DC Public Library.
He’s been elected five times as the President of the Ward 8 Democrats and was formerly Recording Secretary of the DC Democratic Party, President of the Congress Heights Community Association, and Vice President of the DC Federation of Civic Associations. He was appointed as a DC Human Rights Commissioner by Mayor Marion Barry and currently is a member of the Commission on African-American Affairs. He is a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist who has stood for what’s right, no matter the cost.