U Street Movie Series Continues Tuesday
U STREET MOVIE SERIES CONTINUES TUESDAY AUGUST 23 WITH CITY OF CRANES and NATIONAL TREASURE 2
U Street, Washington DC [August 18, 2011] — Friends of Harrison
Recreation Center, the U Street Neighborhood Association, and the Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association continue a second season of films on Tuesday, August 23rd. The evening will feature National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, a 2007 adventure film set in Washington, DC that will have the whole family on the edge of their seats in a fast-paced globe-trotting history quest imbued with myth and mystery to find the Lost City of Gold. The film will be preceded by City of Cranes, a documentary that takes viewers hundreds of feet in the air to view the world through the eyes of crane drivers.
Admission is free and films will be shown at the field at Harrison
Recreation Center on V Street between 13th and 14th Streets, NW. Gates will open at 7 pm. Attendees are encouraged to come early starting at 7 pm to picnic in the park, listen to music spun by local DJs. A moon bounce, face painting, cotton candy and sno-cones will be available. Please note that park regulations do not permit pets on the field. Free popcorn will be provided to the first 100 attendees beginning at 7 pm. Showtime will be at sundown, exact time will vary. Local food truck vendors will be on site serving food.
This year’s movie series lineup includes films that feature and celebrate
Washington DC, including both classic and family friendly Hollywood films set in Washington, DC, documentaries addressing environmental and education issues that resonate in Washington, DC, and films about local U Street entertainment institutions such as the Howard Theatre and the 9:30 Club. Prior to each feature film will be a screening of a short documentary.
The remaining schedule is as follows:
August 23:
Short: City of Cranes
Feature: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
Sept 20:
Short: Big Birding Day
Feature: Bag It
Oct 22, afternoon: Feature: *Waiting for Superman, followed by
community forum on education policy
Location: Indoors at Shaw at Garnett-Patterson Middle School, 2001
10thStreet, NW
Donations and sponsorships towards the event, accepted at
http://movies.ustreet-dc.org, will benefit Friends of Harrison Recreation
Center, a nonprofit formed in 2009 that works directly with the Department of Parks and Recreation to improve the recreation center through capital improvements design changes and enhance management and programming of the park, with the goal of making Harrison Recreation Center a better designed, cleaner, safer, and better park in the neighborhood for all to use and enjoy.
Website: http://movies.ustreet-dc.org
Reposting: Ward One Redistricting Proposals
Just to keep you up to date, the following discussion posted on the Columbia Heights earlier this week:
Posted by Mount Pleasant ANC Jack McKay
Within 90 days after completion of ward redistricting, as a consequence of the 2010 census, ANC redistricting must be completed. One-third of that period has already passed by, with remarkably little notice or discussion. Though the boundaries of Ward One remain unchanged (other than a fragment west of Rock Creek Park being turned over to Ward Three,
where it better belongs), there will be substantial ANC changes, as a result of population changes.
The principal population changes in Ward One are in 1B (16% increase) and 1D (11% decrease). Aside from changes mandated by population changes, this ten-year redistricting is an opportunity to create, perhaps, ANCs with more sensible boundaries. To that end, Kent Boese (1A8, the far northeast corner of 1A) has proposed an ANC centered on the Georgia Avenue corridor, incorporating not only the eastern portion of 1A, but of 1B, extending all the way from Petworth to Ledroit Park. I think it’s reasonable to have ANCs built around commercial corridors. 1A has always been divided between its Georgia Avenue and 14th Street contingents. PSA 302 was divided east and west, for much the same reason.
On the west end of 1A, the distinction between Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights has been increasingly blurred, due to the extraordinary developments around 14th and Irving, and the Columbia Heights Metro Station. In the bad old days, residents of Mount Pleasant would go to Columbia Heights only to visit the old Post Office on Irving Street.
Today, there’s a heavy flow of people back and forth. Sixteenth Street is less and less a barrier between our two neighborhoods. I, for one, come all the way from 19th Street to spend much more money on 14th Street than I do on Mount Pleasant Street. Giant, Best Buy, Staples, Radio Shack, I’m glad to have them a few blocks away. And our ANC now has its mailbox at the UPS Store on Monroe at 14th. This has long been my personal ambition: one neighborhood, working together to deal with
our common problems, not two neighborhoods divided by 16th Street.
A problem here is that our Mount Pleasant ANC is going to be reduced to a mere 5 commissioners. It’s already too small, at six.
Meanwhile, with the eastern end of 1A lopped off to create a Park View/Pleasant Plains ANC — well, how about merging our little ANC into the Columbia Heights ANC, creating an ANC built around the 14th and 16th Street corridors?
Seems to me this reflects the changes of the past decade, and would produce an ANC with a good deal of influence downtown. From my point of view, this expanded Columbia Heights ANC would be more representative of our greater neighborhood demographics than an ANC limited to the dimensions of Mount Pleasant. Sure, this will take some discussion, it’s not something that anyone’s going to buy into at a glance. But that’s why I post it here — to initiate a public discussion of this idea, and perhaps to elicit modifications to it that might be even better.
The overall map of Ward One ANCs that I’ve proposed is posted
here. The green line is Kent Boese’s proposed dividing line. I moved his western boundary a bit further to the west, and the 1B boundary a bit to the north, to yield balanced ANCs:
Revised Columbia Heights ANC 1A (“Ward 1 NW”): population 21,396 (49%
Mount Pleasant, 51% Columbia Heights); 11 SMDs
“Ward 1 East”: population 17,985 (9 SMDs)
1B: population 18,646 (9 SMDs)
1C (unchanged): population 16,435 (8 SMDs)
There’s a Ward One Redistricting Task Force working on ANC and SMD boundary changes. I have no idea what they might be proposing, and I guess we won’t hear from them until September*. Meanwhile — I think the people of the area ought to be heard from.
Posted by Columbia Heights ANC Kent Boese
For clarification, I proposed the possibility of creating a fifth ANC along the Georgia Avenue corridor as one possible solution for the Ward 1 ANC/SMD Redistricting Task Force to look at. Other Wards are also exploring this idea and since we only redistrict every ten years we really should look at all options before we decide they are good or bad solutions.
The map that was provided with the post below, however, I do not support. It divides Columbia Heights further into three ANCs rather than its current two. I have said from day one that I do not support fragmenting our established neighborhoods further. I also don’t support making such drastic changes as propose below if the Task Force endorses to continue having four Ward 1 ANCs and think that in a four ANC solution it would be best for all concerned to maintain current ANC borders as much as possible.
*Ward One Redistricting Task Force Chairman Alan Roth has indicated that the next meeting is scheduled to occur on Tuesday evening, September 13th. The start time is tentatively slated for 6:30 pm and the location is TBA somewhere in Ward One. The meeting is open to the public.
Crowdsourcing my Heartache
Today I channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw as I tell you the story of how I got “dumped by disappearance” last week, and ask for your advice. I don’t date a lot. Which is to say, I go on a lot of first dates, but most of them don’t go anywhere. I’m not into him, he’s not into me, whatever. A second date is rare, a third date happens almost never. I don’t have particularly high expectations when I meet someone I seem to have a connection with, because most of the men I meet aren’t looking for a relationship. This year in particular I’ve had a run of men who are actually in relationships and either don’t disclose that or disclose it nonchalantly as if that’s not a problem. Note to those men: it is a problem. There’s a sisterhood. And I do my research. Note to women: If you’re in a relationship, lock in the relationship status on facebook and help other women help you.
I also don’t believe in signs when it comes to relationships. I have learned to believe in actions, not words. And yet, here I am, blogging about a guy I met last month through a very dear friend, who caught me off guard and made me forget all these lessons.
Our friend set up a happy hour for us to meet, so that we wouldn’t have to do the awkward blind date thing. Everyone else at the happy hour knew why they were there, so it was sort of like we had a bunch of extras on a first date. For some reason, that wasn’t weird, and we spent the evening talking, he walked me all the way home (10 blocks out of his way), and then I figured, either I’d see him again or I wouldn’t. Now, I’ve read “He’s Just Not That Into You,” (thanks mom) so I rarely follow up after a first date. I wait and see. But, this guy filled out the checklist, to be sure. Into politics and journalism, from the midwest, Jewish, smart, funny, cute. But I also noticed right away that he had a great energy. That’s not something I could have ever put my finger on before, but I knew when I saw it that it was what had been missing in so many other dating scenarios. I couldn’t let that go, and I knew he had a super busy week at work, so I made a move. This is one of the upsides of dating in the era of facebook. I messaged him, and the next day he friended me, and wrote back. Don’t worry, I limited his access to my profile. A girl can’t be too careful these days.
I won’t get into all the details here, but within 10 days we had 4 date-like experiences, had some good conversations about important and not-so-important things, and I had determined that we had things in common that ranged to the very big and important to the very small and insignificant. Our fourth and last time hanging out we went out to dinner, he met my friends, he stayed over, we hung out the next day….and then boom: I never saw him again. Pretty unoriginal if you ask me. But also, wtf?
I’ve played the whole thing out in my head and I wouldn’t change anything I said or did. I didn’t say or do anything crazy. I followed his lead. I was my awesome self, and he….what? freaked out that it was moving quickly? Has a girlfriend who was on vacation for 10 days? Is an asshole? I don’t know, friends, but I fell hard for this guy. And I. was. crushed. I’ve done the fade out before, and it’s been done to me, but usually after one date, maybe two. Definitely not after meeting friends, etc.
Once the shock and hurt wore off, and I realized I’ll probably never know what the hell happened (this is the worst part, obviously), I thought about some things I might do, you know, just to get some closure. Men out there who like to disappear, this is a good lesson. Women like closure, and in the absence of that, some of us turn to vindictive measures. Here were my top ideas:
1. Egg and/or TP his house. He lives very nearby in a rowhouse, so this idea immediately popped into my head. The extreme heat is the main deterrent, but also, he has housemates and I’m sure they’re very nice. Or at least, this is not their fault.
2. Mention him in a tweet that indicates he is a cowardly bastard who couldn’t even tell me it was over to my face (or phone, or e-mail account, or hell, even my facebook wall). He has like 15 times the number of followers I do, so this was really tempting. I’m just not sure what the burden of proof is in twitter-slander cases these days.
3. Let my friends handle it. This mainly would have involved a) finding him and then b) at least a dozen people taking turns punching him in the face. I don’t really like violence. Although I appreciate that my friends were so pissed on my behalf.
4. Write a blog post about him. Well, here we are. After drafting this I contemplated whether to post and ultimately decided that you all would have the best sense of justice. And that hopefully you wouldn’t mind me taking a little break from blogging about community issues. Do you even read those posts?
Now, I’m only 30 years old. I have lots of good years left, and frankly, I’m not sure meeting Mr. Right in my 20s, when I was still trying to get a handle on who I was and wanted to be would have even been a good idea. But I’m definitely ready now, and this type of b.s. really pisses me off. So, my dear readers, I am crowdsourcing my heartache to you. Tell me in the comments below what you would have done. And because I’m too busy to actually be as vindicative as may be called for here, and frankly — SO over it at this point, we’ll just let your suggestions serve as a warning to those to come.
Ward One Task Force for ANC and SMD Redistricting Meeting
This is not an exhaustive recap, but includes most of the highlights:
Tonight was the first meeting of the Ward One Task Force for ANC and SMD Redistricting. The group is tasked with redrawing the boundaries of the ANCs and the Single Member Districts within them and includes community members and all four ANC chairs. The task force is chaired by former ANC Alan Roth, who was one of the architects of the redistricting process ten years ago.
The question at hand is: will the task force simply add seats to the ANCs that have grown, or will it use this opportunity to redraw the boundaries in a way that reflects the changing needs of the varies communities within Ward One?
Before the meeting began those present from the community and task force gathered informally around the latest Ward One population map and engaged in constructive conversation about how the boundaries might possibly change. Some of the ideas tossed about included a new ANC that would flank the eastern side (Park View, Pleasant Plains, Howard, LeDroit Park) of Ward One or a shuffling of the U Street and Columbia Heights ANCs to create three ANCS: North Columbia Heights, South Columbia Heights and U Street.
In his introductory statement, Chairman Roth indicated that Councilmember Graham does not have any particular agenda and does not wish to impose his will. He will ultimately review the recommendations of the task force and make a decision as to whether he can support them. He hopes the process will result in a set of ANCs and SMDs that minimize the disruption to residents.
The task force began by electing ANC and Graham staffer Wilson Reynolds of Adams Morgan as vice chairperson, which chairman Roth indicated would allow for expediency in reporting back to the Councilmember throughout the process. ANC Gregg Edwards of Mt. Pleasant was elected secretary.
The overall Ward population has not changed significantly, after taking into consideration the return of Woodley Park to Ward Three. However, the populations of the ANCs have changed somewhat dramatically. ANC1B would be looking at two new commissioners while 1D would lose one. But it’s not limited to those ANCs. There is great deviation from the target population numbers among many of the SMDs (3 deviate +20%, 3 deviate -20%, 1B02 deviates by +63.9% and 1D04 -35.2%).
The chairman asked the following questions:
Would adding seats to 1B leave it unwieldy or would it be okay?
Would subtracting a seat from 1D make it too small and unrepresentative or would it be okay?
What shifts in neighborhoods could lead to changes in SMD boundaries?
Should a fifth ANC be added to Ward 1?
Should each ANC have an equal number of SMDs as in some other wards?
Task force members were open to the idea of a fifth ANC or even starting from a clean slate, and recognized that moving forward with cooperation and neutrality would be essential if they were to meet the October reporting deadline.
Commissioner Gregg Edwards noted that 1D does struggle to make ends meet, as having a small commission means a small annual allocation. Even a few thousand more dollars per year would allow them to hire staff and better serve their constituents. He indicated having 9 commissioners would provide the right amount of resources. He also noted changes in commercial districts and populations that might call for more shifting of resources. He suggested that perhaps aggregating Mt. Pleasant into 1A would address some of the demographic changes and provide cohesiveness for the Latino community. He also reminded the task force that in the last redistricting process a Georgia Avenue ANC was proposed and only lost by one vote.
During public comments:
Commissioner Tony Norman noted that a large institution like Howard University should be situated in one ANC.
Commissioner Kent Boese asked that neighborhood boundaries be respected as much as possible.
Commissioner Jack McKay noted that the overall theme here seems to be that we should work to agree upon ANC boundaries and then work to divide the ANCs up equally.
In conclusion, Chairman Roth noted that there is enough interest in having an additional ANC created that it is worth exploring. He proposed that while he is on vacation for the month of August he take a crack at redrawing the maps as a Chairman’s Mark, as a starting point for the discussion. He will solicit input from task force members as he does this. Then he will put it out the week of Labor Day for the members of the task force and the community to comment on and discuss. They will then come back together for a public forum and for a markup.
A few members of the task force indicated that they would like to get together in person while the Chairperson is away to discuss different elements of the process.
Re-uniting 14th & U requires your help
I’m home now after 6 hours of the redistricting hearing, having provided our testimony. So we’re on the record in front of the Council, and yesterday in an email sent to me and sitting members of ANC1B Councilmember Graham offered his support for our proposal. The challenge, it appears is Councilmember Evans.
Before I launch into this I also want to note that it appears the Council will support allowing Woodley Park to reunite in Ward 3. Which means there is wiggle room in the Ward 1 population count — room for some new territory to the south.
Now, back to Evans. He explained to me, on the record, that 10 years ago 2B09 residents chose to be a part of Ward 2. He said they recently came into his office and reiterated that they would like to remain in Ward 2. He also explained that these residents identify with Dupont Circle more than U Street and that’s why they wish to remain in Ward 2.
Well, I have a response to that, and this part I told him: I suspect the residents that were in his office are part of the small, yet vocal group of residents that are the very same ones preventing growth on 14th street. What I didn’t say, is that it doesn’t actually matter if they identify more with Dupont Circle at this point because — news flash — they live on U Street. And while my friends at Borderstan would say there is some confusion related to that point, I think it’s fair to say that U Street has a much more distinct personality than it did 10 years ago.
What I’m saying tonight to the residents of the U and 14th Street Corridor, is that it has been hard trying to help this little corridor that could grow in a smart and positive way over the last 10 years, but we’ve done it. And we’ll keep fighting to reunite it all in one ward. But if we can’t do that, we will continue to fight tooth and nail against those who do not want to see growth. We’ll fight against those who have moved into this wonderful community, but don’t see that its strength is the balance we are striking with the mixed residential and commercial areas. Even if we lose this one battle, and as a result have to fight 100 times harder than we would if it was all in one ward, we will not back down. That’s my pledge as an active resident of this corridor. And that’s my notice to those in 2B09 trying to hold us back. you. know. who. you. are.
Tomorrow (yikes, make that today. I am up way past my bedtime) ANC1B will have the opportunity to vote in support of the testimony we provided tonight, giving it great weight. That will help a little bit. But that’s basically handled at this point.
Here’s what you can do. If you live in Ward 2 or know someone who does, weigh in with Councilmember Evans. Because he tells me you guys don’t want to be a part of Ward 1 and I think he’s wrong. I think the people living there on the edge of 14th and U Streets want to be a part of the great things we’re working on and want to see their side of the streets thrive too. And I don’t believe they think they live in Dupont Circle.
And if you live in Ward 1, let Councilmember Graham know, loudly, that you understand he supports this and you want him to fight for it. He’s losing Woodley Park if all this gets done, so maybe he’ll consider reclaiming 14th and U a way of softening that blow. I don’t know. Just give it a shot.
If you live in either jurisdiction, consider submitting testimony. It will be accepted up to 10 days after today’s hearing by Ms. Sadler: csadler@dccouncil.us.
Tomorrow night, Commissioner Aaron Spencer and I will offer this testimony on behalf of all those listed below.
June 1, 2011
To: Subcommittee Chairman Michael Brown
Re: Ward 1 Boundaries
Dear Chairman Brown,
We are writing today as representatives and residents of our Single Member Districts 1B02 and 1B05. Our districts are on the border of Ward 1, shared with ANC2B. As you know, during the last redistricting process in 2000, the southwest corner of 14th Street and U Street, NW corridor was removed from Ward 1 and placed into Ward 2. At the same time, Ward 1 held onto territory in Woodley Park that does not share the identity of the rest of the Ward. The ANC in Woodley Park that is a part of Ward 1 identifies itself so little with Ward 1 that it is actually called ANC3C.
Having our 14th and U Street Corridor split into two wards, literally down the middle of 14th Street, has had devastating effects on the development of our community, management of quality of life issues, as well as management and local leadership of our commercial district. While the rest of the 14th and U Street corridors have grown steadily and positively, we have seen many missed opportunities on the Ward 2 side of the corridor. Once again, we feel the primary jurisdiction of our commercial district and should reside within one ANC, and that ANC should once again be 1B.
We ask that you consider returning the aforementioned parts of Ward 2 back to Ward 1 as you move forward in the redistricting process. Over the last ten years this commercial area that makes up the heart of ANC1B has fought mightily to preserve continuity and foster smart growth, but it has done so with one hand tied behind its back, and just barely. We ask that as a part of the redistricting process you provide us with the tools to make sure our neighborhood and our local commercial district continues to fulfill all its promise.
Sincerely,
Commissioner Mary Streett, 1B05
Commissioner Aaron Spencer, 1B02
Former Commissioner Brianne Nadeau, 1B05
Former Commissioner Phil Spalding, 1B02
Bryan Martin Firvida, Former President of U Street Neighborhood Association
Scott Pomeroy, Former Director of 14th and U Main Street Alliance
Joined in support by:
Commissioner Deborah Thomas, 1B04
Commissioner Juan Lopez, 1B07
Cc: OANC, Councilmember Jim Graham, ANC2B, ANC3C
Brianne becomes an (tri-)athlete
So I’ve been training for the DC Triathlon. If you’ve been anywhere near me in the past 16 weeks, you already know that. If you haven’t, and you know me, this probably comes as a surprise.
As my term on the ANC was winding down I decided I wanted to do something totally different with my time for a little while, and despite not being a runner, had always thought doing a triathlon would be a good experience. So, I joined the DC Tri Club and the New Triathletes Program (NTP), and I was rolling.
Training has been going really well, and we’re now only 4 weeks out from the race. One of the reasons I joined DC Tri Club was to meet new people and get more involved in outdoor activities around DC. I’m learning about a whole world that mainly operates before 10 am on weekends and after 5 on weekdays, and does not primarily congregate in bars. A little change has done me good. I feel great, and I’m tapping into all this energy and strength I never knew I had. Plus, I get to eat lots of carbs.
Some of the organizations I’ve come to know through my training include the High Cloud Foundation, Sports & Spinal Physical Therapy, Wave One, and the awesome guys at Revolution Cycles. But today, I did one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in DC. I participated in Bike DC.
This morning at 7:30 am, slightly hungover and severely under-padded (I really need to buy bike shorts) I joined hundreds of others in a 20-mile ride along DC streets and highways. This event draws all kinds of people and ranges of skill levels. I saw families, serious cyclists, commuters, and cruisers. I bumped into (not literally) a fellow NTP-er near the Air Force memorial, passed by several unicyclists, and even saw my first ellipti-cycle. That’s what I’m calling it. It’s an upright bike-type apparatus but the pedals are like the elliptical in my living room. There was a guy cycling with a portable stereo that was playing the Star Wars theme, Superman theme, some random 80s music and of course, Sousa marches. Little known fact — I love me some Sousa marches. I rode along with him a little while, but had to move on. Next year if I can convince Keith to join me, we’re totally doing that.
It was a beautiful morning, and a great ride. It turns out cycling on the GW Parkway is not so different from driving on it. There was a bottleneck getting onto it, with your typical shoulder-drivers trying to skirt the wait. There was rubbernecking when people pulled off to change tires or tend to injuries. And there were always good samaritans willing to lend a hand to those in need. Although I did notice the hills a lot more than I usually do in my trusty Focus.
Check out our route.
A new tradition for me in DC. I highly recommend it.
Vote Tuesday
This Tuesday we elect our next At-Large Councilmember. We have an opportunity to help decide the direction of the Council, and I for one am hoping for a fresh voice that will focus on oversight, accountability and reform while tackling all the tough issues.
All the information you need to get out and vote Tuesday is here at the Board of Elections web site.
And I hope you’ll consider Ward One Democrat Bryan Weaver. He believes in better, and I believe he can deliver it.
Board of Elections Expands In-Person Absentee Options
MEDIA ADVISORY
D.C. BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND ETHICS
April 7, 2011
Contact:
Alysoun McLaughlin, amclaughlin@dcboee.org
202-727-2511 (direct)/202-441-1121 (cell)
Board to Open on Sunday, April 17 and Extend Hours for In-Person Absentee Voting
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Board of Elections and Ethics has voted to extend the hours of in-person absentee voting for the upcoming special election from Monday through Saturday for an additional hour until 8:00 p.m. The Board will also open its absentee voting center on Sunday, April 17 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
To cast an absentee ballot in person, voters can visit the Board’s office at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street NW, Suite 250 North. In-person absentee voting will be available seven days a week beginning on Monday, April 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. except on the following dates:
- Sunday, April 17
12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 24
CLOSED - Monday, April 25
8:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
The Board made this decision after hearing concerns from members of the Jewish community who will be unable to cast ballots on April 26, the last day of the Passover holiday, or to visit the offices of the Board to cast a ballot on a Saturday due to religious observance. Prior to this decision, the only weekend hours that the Board offered for in-person absentee voting were on Saturday.
Although this decision was made in response to concerns expressed by voters of a specific religious affiliation, the decision will benefit all voters in the District who choose to vote in person during extended hours.
The Board has also distributed absentee ballot applications to synagogues and the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center. Additional organizations that are interested in distributing absentee ballot applications can contact the Board or download the form at http://www.dcboee.org/pdf_files/DCBOEE_AbsenteeBallotRequestForm.pdf.
The last day to apply for a ballot to be sent by mail is Tuesday, April 19.
The District of Columbia Board of Elections & Ethics is the independent agency of the District government responsible for the administration of elections, ballot access and voter registration.
Seriously, DC?
Last year when I decided not to run again for ANC it wasn’t because the gig took up too much time, or my constituents had too many demands. It was absolutely because of the politics. The politics of working with the Council played some part, but mainly it was the political games played by other Commissioners. There was the Chairman who bullied members of the community and other commissioners when he didn’t get his way; There was the Chairman who forgot to mention in the hiring of our new admin that he was in a romantic relationship with her (and then later asked our Councilmember to alleviate her DC parking fines from her overnights at his house); And then there was my Chairmanship.
I planned to change the ANC by ending the antics and actually focusing on the business of the Commission. We’d have functioning committees, effective and efficient staff, office space…dare to dream. Today the Commission has those things, and some of that I can take credit for. However, I could never control the antics. And regrettably, I was also not able to manage my own reaction to the antics in a way that was productive. We had a Commissioner who would refuse to schedule committee meetings; he would tell one party in a voluntary agreement negotiation one thing and another party another thing and the ANC yet another thing; and the lies just flowed out of him like cooking grease in an untended alley. And then there was the one who just hated me and everything I did. One night she sat outside our meeting in “silent protest” of something I had done at a prior meeting, to prevent us from having a quorum. I was not able to manage those two in a way that embodied the civility I would have liked to bring to the Commission. As a result, I was unseated as Chairperson the following January and we all submitted to the tyranny of the no longer silently protesting commissioner. ANC1B is a messed up place. The new Chairperson and commissioners are making strides though. I have hope.
But here we are in 2011, we’ve got a new Mayor, a new Council Chair and there’s this special election. And I just have to ask, what the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on in this city? There’s SUV-gate, we’ve got the Mayor hiring people who abuse women (like, multiple hires folks, not just one fluke) when he can’t find a crony, we’ve got Graham’s COS pleading guilty to bribery, the Interim Councilman Seikou Biddle is playing games with nominating petitions…I mean W.T.F???? That’s all just in the last week, I might add.
I voted for Fenty, and he lost. And I figured, hey, how bad could it be with Gray and Brown in charge? Bad. It’s really bad. As my friend and colleague recently said to me: One City My @$$.
Frankly, I don’t care if you want the old school or the new school or something in between, let’s just get some work done here people. Seriously. It’s no wonder Congress treats us like a freaking colony.
