RSS FeedANC Race Heats Up
Warning: This article is totally biased. But, it’s only a blog – lighten up.
Several neighbors wrote in requesting that we post an article about the upcoming ANC elections in our neighborhood. Requests ranged from explaining how Penn Quarter spans 2 Wards to detailing each candidate running for all of the ANCs. We covered some of this info a few months ago, but since the general election (where the ANC votes are cast) is on November 7th, a refresher is appropriate.
ANC 2C or 6C?
ANC2C contains Mather Studios, Ventana, The Artisan (coming soon), Residences At Gallery Place, Terrell Place. ANC6C contains just about everyone else. The article we did in the past has a map of the ANC lines.
Registration in our condo buildings is very low
GPLiving had a look at the spreadsheet of registered voters in ANC 2C03 and the contents were a little disappointing. Several apartment buildings had almost 100% voter registration, while newer condo buildings had registration around 30% of total units. Check to see if you are registered. If you are not yet registered to vote, the deadline is 10/10/2006 to be able to vote in the General Election (the Primary deadline has already passed). We vote for the ANC in the General Election.
The ANC2C imbalance
While researching ANC2C, a common theme cropped up. Several of the apartment buildings around the Convention Center (most of which are owned by the Universal House of Prayer, others are co-ops), in recent history, made up the majority of registered voters in the ANC. These voters would vote for the same candidates year after year. And in turn the elected ANC commissioners would appoint the same individual, Leroy Thorpe, as the chairperson. Strong opinions fly when Leroy Thorpe’s name is mentioned, we’ll just let Google do the talking (note the corruption article). In recent years, ANC 2C01 elected Alex Padro, who is considered to be a balancing power of Thorpe. However, 2C03 (Doris Brooks) and 2C04 (Barbara Curtis) still unconditionally support Thorpe as chairperson and the ANC remains unbalanced. PQ residents should note that the lines for ANC 2C03 are drawn such that ANC commissioners that reside outside of Penn Quarter are in the position to make significant decisions in our neighborhood.
ANC6C in a league of their own
The lines for ANC 6C09 were drawn to include current and future condominiums to be built in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood seems to be well taken care of by Charlie Docter, the ANC 6C09 commissioner. Where Docter has been present at a majority of neighborhood residential meetings, Brooks has been notably absent.
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Comments
what about city council maps/candidates for residents who are new to this ward? the primary is coming up on sept. 12.
for those of you who don’t know about the city’s political structure below the Mayor, ANCs are Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. this is the lowest rung on the elected scale with each Ward having many ANC districts. the PQ/GP area is split between Ward 2 and Ward 6.
“The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the District’s annual budget.”
see this link for more info and to see who is your ANC rep…your voice as a resident does matter:
http://anc.dc.gov/anc/site/default.asp
ANC6C’s website: http://anc6c.org/
for Ward maps, go to DC’s map gallery at:
http://about.dc.gov/index_map.asp
check out anc info at the mvsna site:
http://www.mountvernonsquare.org
detailed single member district map is in the maps section. also info on the meet & greet tonight for john tinpe (candidate for 2c03) is in the blog section.
reminder: the next ANC 2C meeting will be Wednesday Sept. 6th, 6:30pm, Africare 440 R Street NW
Looks like 6c ANC are heating up maybe. 6c5 and 6c9 both have more than one candidate running. I think information about the candidates would be worthwhile – or at least so in those areas.
Voters in Doris Brooks’ Single Member District (2C03) should know that she was the treasurer during the period described in the auditor’s report at http://www.dcwatch.com/auditor/audit022.htm
Some choice quotes:
“ANC 2C Did Not Maintain Documentation for 94% Of Disbursements Made During the Audit Period”
“For the Audit Period, 82 Percent of Canceled Checks and 70 Percent of Bank Statements Were Missing from ANC 2C’s Files”
“ANC 2C’s current treasurer, Doris Brooks, and chairperson, Lawrence Thomas, must repay the ANC $2,963 in unauthorized disbursements made to the ANC’s office staff and $950 in unauthorized disbursements made to a consultant.”
“grants violated the ANC law as follows: 1) the ANC did not adopt grant guidelines for the consideration and award of grants; 2) a grant was made to an individual; and 3) minutes were not available to reflect the ANC’s approval of the grants.”
If Kevin Chapple can muster the votes to unseat Mr Thorpe, the dynamic of ANC 2C will change dramatically. More information on Kevin is available at: http://www.ChappleANC.com.
Kevin has been out and about knocking on doors and winning over some of the incumbent’s long time supporters, so nothing is certain in this race.
There is of photo of ANC 6C Chairman Mark Dixon with Mr Chapple on the home page.
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As a longtime Penn Quarter resident , it is great to see the political evolution of the neighborhood! I encourage this blog to invite candidates to provide their background and take on the key issues. And – thanks to those who are taking the time and effort to run.