ANC 8C - TIME FOR SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS?
After waiting for 10 minutes I finally threw in the towel and went home. It wasn't until later that I found out what happened.
It seems that without notifying anyone a decision was made to cancel the August ANC meeting so that the commissioners could have a "summer break".
I am all for people getting a break and having an opportunity to recuperate but there are several things I have to take issue with.
- It is standard practice to notify attendees of a meeting cancelling. The sooner the better. Especailly for community meetings were community support and attendence is often fragile at best. In the case of the July ANC 8C meeting there was NO mention of cancelling the August meeting. There wasn't even a note left on the door of the scheduled meeting place.
- ANCs only meet once a month. How much of an inconvience is it to expect commissioners to meet for 1 hour? To give their consitituents an opportunity to voice their concerns? To share information? If there is one thing that I noticed in the July meeting is that residents feel as if they are not being heard. That their concerns are not being addressed.
- The cancellation of the August meeting seemed suspiciously timed. It comes directly after the ANC petitions become available (for those wanting to run for ANC commissioner for their single member district) and right after the petitions are due. Call me a skeptic but one would almost thing that there is a force at work that would not like new candidates to take advantage of the ANC meeting to announce their candidacy and collect signatures of residents in their single member district.
- Residents have complained for some time that when there is an ANC meeting that there is rarely a quorum. That usually the only member in attendance is Mary Cuthbert. The only time that most of the members of the board are in attendence is when they have to take a vote. This accounts for the ineffectiveness of the ANC 8C board as a whole.
I could go on and on about the issues and challenges involved with ANC 8C but as the ANCs do not report directly to any governing body or official the many complaints would be moot.
What we need to do in the community is hold our ANCs responsble by not being afraid to elect CAPABLE ANC Commissioners when our current commissioners fail to get the job done. Lord knows there has been intimidation and hostility directed at residents and commissioners alike (I have expereinced it firsthand) who have tried to make a positive change but I implore them, the entire community implores them to please come out and run again for an ANC 8C position.
We can not demand change and progress in our community if we will not demand it from ourselves. It is high time we all take action.
For those living in ANC 8C who truly care about their community please look into your heart and either run for an ANC 8C seat or support someone who can. Please go to your neighbor or co-worker, take them by the hand and tell them "It is time for a change and I support you - you will not have to do this alone".
We also need those living in Bolling to stop hiding behind the brick wall and come out and get involved in THEIR ANC. There are two seats on the ANC board that are reserved for residents living in Bolling yet there has not been any representation for Bolling for a very long time. With all the change and development coming to Congress Heights it is foolish and short sighted for Bolling to not be involved. It is time for them to get involved in the community - for ALL OUR SAKES.
Below please find informations on the current ANC 8C Commissioners as well as information on how to get a petition and run for an ANC seat in your single member district.
If anyone is running for a Ward 8 ANC seat I would be happy to post your information here.
CURENT ANC 8C COMMISSIONERS
8C01
Dorthea Ferrell
1159 Stevens Rd, SEWashington, DC 20020
8C02
Grady Edwards, III
617 Mellon Street SEWashington, DC
562-0963
8C03
Mary Cuthbert
3325 MLK Jr. Ave., SEWashington, DC
8C04
R. Lockridge
121 Raleigh St., SEWashington, DC
562-4974
8C05
VACANT
8C06
VACANT
8C07
Cardell Shelton
115 Upsal St., SEWashington, DC 20032
2008 Election Information
6, 5, 4, . . . January 2!
Election Information for Prospective ANC Candidates
Keep these dates in mind: August 6th, September 5th, and November 4th.
Candidates must go to the Board personally to pick up their petitions, or send a representative to pick them up. (If you send a representative, you will need to give your representative a letter authorizing them to pick up the peititions on your behalf.) In addition to the petitions, the Board will also give the candidates a list of the registered voters who live in their SMD and a map of the SMD's boundaries. Candidates will also need to file a "Declaration of Candidacy." You can file this form when you pick up the petitions, or you can file it when you turn in your petitions, but you must file it before the September 5th deadline.
The Board is located on the second floor of 441 4th Street NW in room 250N. Their phone number is 727-2525. You can also pick up a lot of useful information by visiting their website at http://www.dcboee.org/.
Finally, the qualifications for running for ANC are quite simple. You must be a registered voter and have lived in your SMD for 60 days before submitting your nomination petitions (in other words you must have begun living in your SMD by July 7th of this year.)