'Embarassing' crime surge plaguing nation's capital leads fearful resident and business owner to launch recall effort
DC's violent crime surge pushes business owner to launch 2nd recall
A Washington, D.C., native and small business owner, Diana Alvarez, launched a recall campaign against a Democratic councilmember after her smoke shop endured four burglaries.
Surging violence in Washington, D.C., pushed a victimized small business owner to launch a recall campaign against a Democratic city councilmember she said failed to protect residents and emboldened criminals.
"As someone who was born and raised here, it's just so disheartening to see," Diana Alvarez told Fox News. "I don't feel safe walking my dog."
"I don't feel safe knowing that my 23-year-old son coming home, something may happen to him," she continued. "I don't sleep sometimes when he goes out to work and he has to stay out late."
Alvarez, who opened Lit City Smoke Shop in the Columbia Heights neighborhood seven years ago, hit a breaking point after her business endured four burglaries in 2023. She initiated a recall effort against her councilmember, Brianne Nadeau, on Feb. 20, arguing that the Democrat pushed soft-on-crime policies that have endangered residents, such as supporting slashing millions from the police budget, reducing penalties for some major criminal offenses like carjackings and eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders.
Democratic Councilmember Brianne Nadeau in February is facing a recall campaign launched by Diana Alvarez. The small business owner blamed the official for supporting soft-on-crime policies that have allowed criminals to thrive and businesses to suffer. (Getty Images)
"Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, she's responsible," Alvarez said.
Another Democrat, Councilmember Charles Allen, is facing a recall campaign over similar soft-on-crime arguments.
"How can we make progress when we have a city council who's not doing what is correct for the citizens?" Alvarez, herself a Democrat, said. "They're being too soft on crime, and now, as a result of that, crime has completely gone out of control here in Washington, D.C."
Nadeau, in response to the recall effort, told WUSA9 she could "understand people's concerns about crime." The three-term councilmember defended her work and pointed to three bills she's spearheading to address public safety concerns, including legislation aimed at improving the city's 911 center and police cadet recruitment.
"I will focus on doing the work that I was sent here to do by Ward 1 voters, and I will keep doing that regardless of any recall efforts," Nadeau told the local outlet.
The nation's capital has faced a crime surge in recent years, hitting a 26-year-high in homicides in 2023. The skyrocketing crime has led some residents to flee the city and caused several businesses to shut down completely. (Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
But Alvarez said "it's a little too late" for the councilmember to regain the community's trust.
"We have received an unwavering amount of support on this recall, and this just means that D.C. residents, especially the residents of Ward 1, we're tired," she said.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS, CAPITALS PLAN TO DEPART DC AS CRIME CRISIS INTENSIFIES; YOUNGKIN CELEBRATES MOVE
The city council will vote on a massive public safety bill Tuesday. The legislation is an urgent response to the District's surging crime and aims to crack down on illegal gun possession and retail theft and would broaden the definition of carjacking, among other reforms.
In 2023, there were 274 homicides in the nation's capital — a 26-year high — and robberies spiked 67% from the year prior, according to Metropolitan Police Department data. The surging violence has led some residents to flee the city and caused several businesses to shutter.
"It's embarrassing," Alvarez said. "We are the nation's capital. This should not be happening here."
Alvarez' smoke shop saw its first break-in in 2023 last summer, but faced three more burglaries in October alone. The incidents led to costly damage, employee distress and put customers on edge, she said.
A seven-year small business owner in Washington, D.C., launched a recall effort against her Democratic city councilmember after her smoke shop endured four robberies in 2023. (Courtesy: Diana Alvarez / Lit City Smoke Shop Security Camera)
"I can't afford to stay closed, so we had to clean up and be resilient and go back to work," Alvarez said. "It's been very, very challenging. The crime in D.C. has just gotten way out of control, and it's affecting small businesses like mine."
A nearly 10-year-old wine bar, for example, shuttered in December after the restaurant accumulated hefty costs from five burglaries in five months. Another eatery, Sticky Fingers, closed in February after the owner was carjacked while making a delivery, FOX5 reported.
"There is crime for sure. It makes it extremely difficult to operate," Sticky Fingers' owner Doron Petersan told the local outlet. "D.C. has not done enough to make sure our infrastructure is set up, so everyone can operate in a safe manner."
The Nadeau recall effort came soon after the campaign to oust Allen was launched over his criminal justice reform policies. The push, which began in December, has attracted support from Democratic political fundraisers and congressional staffers who have helped raise over $56,000 for the campaign.
A recall effort was launched against Democratic Councilmember Charles Allen over his relaxed criminal justice reform policies. The campaign to oust Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is the second recall effort to launch in the district in months. (Getty Images)
The Nadeau recall committee similarly said it has garnered widespread, bipartisan support among business owners, real estate agents, homeowners and families who feel this is their last resort to save their neighborhood.
"Our group is as bipartisan and non-political as it gets," a recall campaign spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. "We are entirely focused on crime, public safety, and Brianne's failed record on those issues."
"Your carjacker or home invader doesn't care if you are on the right or the left, and neither do we," the statement read. "Partisan politics has no place in this campaign."
Nadeau did not return a request for comment.
Matt Leach is a Fox Digital Originals senior producer based in Tampa, FL.
