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Yaida Ford Launches D.C. Mayoral Campaign on MLK DAY

Updated: Jan 18


Campaign Launches on MLK Day with Call for a New Direction Rooted in Service, Accountability, and Self-Determination


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Civil rights attorney, community advocate, and urban farmer Yaida O. Ford today announced her candidacy for Mayor of Washington, D.C., launching a citywide campaign grounded in service, accountability, and the belief that it is about time for a new direction in the nation’s capital.


Ford will officially launch her campaign on January 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, aligning her candidacy with Dr. King’s legacy of justice, dignity, and moral leadership.


“Dr. King taught us that leadership is about service and courage,” Ford said. “Washington, D.C. deserves leadership that is principled, prepared, and deeply rooted in the lives of its people. I’m running for mayor because it’s about time our city worked for everyone—not just the well-connected.”



Ford is the daughter of Earl and Linda Ford, whose lives shaped her commitment to public service. Her father was among the first Black men hired as a soil scientist by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1970s, while her mother spent 16 years as a Head Start preschool teacher. Both worked the cotton fields of Louisiana to pay their way through college.


“That legacy taught me that civic duty is personal,” Ford said. “You show up, you do the work, and you leave things better than you found them.”


A recognized leader in civil rights law, Ford began her legal career clerking for Judge Harold L. Cushenberry of the D.C. Superior Court before serving at the Legal Aid Society of D.C., where she represented disabled workers seeking earned benefits. She later served as legislative counsel to former Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham and entered private practice focused on civil rights litigation.


Ford has successfully litigated or resolved cases against the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Metropolitan Police Department, WMATA, the D.C. Housing Authority, and other powerful institutions—holding them accountable on behalf of everyday Washingtonians.


Her campaign priorities include public safety rooted in accountability, affordable housing, quality education, economic opportunity, food sustainability, and protections for seniors and vulnerable residents.


Ford’s campaign launch event will take place January 19 at Busboys and Poets. More information is available at www.Yaida4DC.com.



Contact: Joshua Garner

Press Office

Committee to Elect Yaida Ford

Phone: 202-827-7427



 
 
 

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