for former felons working to get their lives on track as well as anyone else hungry for brunch and conversation.Some of McLaughlin’s former roommates were at Pancake Saturday this weekend, which doubled as a campaign launch, eagerly asking him when they could knock on doors to promote his candidacy. They mingled with McLauglin’s neighbors in a crowd of more than 30 people.
dollops of pancake batter from a massive bowl onto three griddles on McLaughlin’s stove, he has 12 employees and a contract to cater three meals a day for a transitional house for ex-convicts like himself. Among his campaign promises: reducing regulations that make it more expensive to build affordable housing in the District, including allowing developers to build taller apartment complexes in some places. He says he is reading research papers on his other top priorities, including reducing crime and reducing discrimination against LGBT residents, to come up with his policy goals.