2022 DC Debates

On this page you can learn about how to watch or listen to the 2022 DC Debates hosted by the DC Office of Campaign Finance. The 2022 DC Debates are the second debates under the Fair Elections Program (FEP). The debates will be held from September 19th through September 21st, with participating candidates announced soon.

THE FAIR ELECTIONS PROGRAM

About FEP

Beginning with the 2020 election, the FEP is a voluntary public financing program, operated by the Office of Campaign Finance, to support candidates for local political office in the District of Columbia. The Fair Elections Program is monitored and administered by the District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance.

The FEP has a mandatory requirement that all certified candidates running in a city-wide contested election for certain offices must participate in a minimum of one debate for the covered office. Any non-participating candidate (candidates registered within the Traditional Program and not in the FEP), who have registered for the covered office and qualified for the Ballot, may also participate in the debate. Where there is no other viable opposing FEP certified candidate, or other non-participating candidate willing to debate, the mandatory debate requirement shall be waived by OCF.

You can learn more about the Fair Elections Program here.

Where to Watch?

You will be able to stream the debates live at DCDebates.com

Links to watch or listen to the recording later will be available on this website as the details are finalized.

TUNE-IN LIVE • WATCH ON-DEMAND

When to Watch 

Mayor of the District of Columbia

September 19, 2022 • 7:00-8:30 PM

At-Large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia

MODERATOR

Denise Rolark Barnes

Denise Rolark Barnes is the publisher and second-generation owner of The Washington Informer, succeeding her father, the late Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, who founded the newspaper in 1964.

The Washington Informer is a multi-media organization serving the African American community in the Washington metropolitan area. Denise is also president of Washington Informer Charities, a non-profit organization that promotes 21st-century literacy and journalism through writing competitions, internships, scholarships and other events promoting African American history, culture, and literature.

Rolark Barnes Rolark Barnes is a past chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association – the Black Press of America. She serves on the boards of several local non-profit, community and municipal organizations, including the Washington Convention and Sports Authority (Events DC), the DC Martin Luther King Holiday Commission, National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, the Maryland, Delaware, DC Press Association, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and the Pan African Collective. She is also a member of Leadership Greater Washington, as well as an inductee in the D.C. Hall of Fame.

She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Lafayette Barnes. They are the proud parents of two sons.

 

BECOME A PARTNER

Partners

On behalf of the DC Office of Campaign Finance, we are extending an invitation to community-based, non-partisan organizations to serve as partners for the 2022 DC Debates hosted by the Office of Campaign Finance. We are looking for strong partners to help spread the word to District Voters. Becoming a partner does not involve monetary donations. We do ask that partners help promote the debates on their social media channels. Please note that the Office of Campaign Finance cannot accept partners with overtly partisan political agenda.