The Advocate attended the last ANC meeting and there was a marked improvement over past meetings. There was an appearance of order and there was NO yelling. YEAH! Definitely an improvment over past meetings but still far from what this ANC needs to get functional and to become successful.

Although we are now three months into the new year there still has not been even one executive meeting of the ANC (an internal meeting in which the commissioners can discuss and vote on internal business) which means that to date a meeting agenda still has not been approved and the mandatory quarterly financial reports have not been filed. Because of the non filed quarterly reports from last quarter ANC 8C was recently notified by the DC Auditor that they forfeited their allotment for that quarter.

In a nutshell it means that once again the community has been left holding the bag and missing another financial opportunity to make some MUCH NEEDED community improvements.

After the officers election in January where there was a tie for Chair and Vice Chair, the four commissioners in attendance (Ellis, Jordan, Shelton and Cuthbert) promised a special election to resolve the unfilled officer seats within 30 days.

That never happened and although almost all over ANCs have moved on to new business we are still stuck in a familiar place - behind the (Ward) 8 ball.

Not having a Chair and a Vice Chair are causing a host of other problems - namely that ANCs are required to have the Chair and Treasurer bonded(something that has also been lacking). A bond insures that in the case of ANC funds being mismanaged or stolen that those funds would be reimbursed to the ANC. Think of it as someone driving your new sports car without any insurance. Without the bond the community is on the financial hook without a net.

To be fair there have been some individual efforts on the part of some of the Commissioners but they are still not working together and that is selfishness and short sightedness at it's worst.

When we as a community went to the polls in November and placed our votes for our ANC Single Member District Commissioners we voted for our Commissioners to represent our needs and to do whatever it takes to put the needs of the community first. That meant to sacrifice any personal pride, rebuff any personal agendas and to bury any past beefs.

That's not happening and as a result our community is continuing to suffer.

The Advoc8te has a dire prediction and a warning for ANC 8C Commissioners and any group for that matter that can't or won't step up to the plate.

Everyday new residents and returning residents are moving into the Ward. Many of these new faces have professional backgrounds and were leaders in their past communities and are bringing a unique and comprehensive skill set with them. This new crop of residents are the leaders of tomorrow - today. They have the drive, dedication and perspective that Ward 8 sorely needs - without the baggage.

As was demonstrated by the extremely large attendance at the first River East Emerging Leaders social these "emerging leaders" (both new and born and raised in River East) are here and they are ready to get involved in the success of their community.

The fact of the matter is that the current Ward 8 leadership (or lack thereof depending on who you ask) are growing older and becoming less and less relevant. The secrecy, the intimidation and the community apathy that kept them in power for so long are being being stripped away and as a result that is the basis for a lot of the old vs. new leadership resentments. Residents both new and established are sick of the foolishness and are sick of the dysfunction and are ready to put a stop to it.

There is a corporate career term that perfectly describes the type of leadership most often seen in our community - "key person dependent".

A "key person" is identified as, an Individual whose knowledge, creativity, inspiration, reputation, and/or skills are critical to the viability or growth of an organization, and whose loss may cripple it.

Everyone wants to be a "key person" - it makes them indispensable however successful corporations or organizations don't want their success dependent on one person. Not only does it leave them vulnerable to their success being tied to one individual but it doesn't grow their business and it stifles their progress. A successful corporation or organization thrives on the success of their members. The more successful, educated and diverse their parts the more successful they are as a whole.

For these reasons (and a host of others) The Advoc8te cautions the ANC 8C Commissioners to get it together (and get it together quick) before they find themselves on the other side of the commissioner's table in 2011 and a new crop of Ward 8 leaders (most likely not having been born in Ward 8) will lead the community toward the progress and unity that has eluded their predecessors.

Seniority does not always guarantee success.

One of my favorite sayings is "If you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem".

The other Wards are not holding us back, Mayor Fenty is not holding us back, the media is not holding us back - we are holding ourselves back. We are responsible for our success and failures.

Let's be accountable.

Let's be solutions.

The ANC 8C Mtng is Wed, March 4th @ 6:30pm at the UPO Petey Greene Center at 2907 MLK Ave SE