Christina Henderson (born October 10, 1985) is an American politician in Washington, D.C. who was elected to the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state ...

as an at-large member in 2020. Henderson previously worked for her predecessor, David Grosso, and served as a legislative aide in Congress. Henderson is an independent, not registered with any political party.

Early life and education

Henderson was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother joined the U.S. Army when she was young, leading the family to relocate multiple times. She considers Washington, D.C. her first permanent home. She attended

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

, where she was the first black student body president, and was a member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority.

Career

Henderson worked in D.C. Public Schools on teacher effectiveness and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Councilmember David Grosso. After leaving his office, Henderson worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer before launching her campaign for the Council. It was the first campaign she had undertaken.

Positions

As a candidate, Henderson said one of the first bills she plans to introduce is for ranked choice voting, as the current system favors incumbents. She is a skeptic of "defunding the police," saying that the

Metropolitan Police Department The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

should keep its current size. She supports tax increases on the wealthy and reforms to rent control.

Campaign

Henderson switched her party affiliation to run as an independent and received an endorsement from '' The Washington Post''. She garnered 15 percent of the vote to win the seat among 23 candidates. She ran using public financing, which capped the amount she could accept from individuals, and was a program created through legislation she worked on as a staffer.

Personal life

She and her husband, Nu, have a daughter. They live in

Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...

and have a rescue dog, Langston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Christina 1985 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Furman University alumni Living people Members of the Council of the District of Columbia Princeton University alumni Washington, D.C., government officials Washington, D.C., Independents Women city councillors in the District of Columbia