The Advoc8te is always getting emails from frustrated residents (and an ANC Commissioner or two) about the poor state of some of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) in River East.

Most of these emails are from concerned citizens who want to vent about the misbehavior or mismanagement of their ANC, some are specific requests for information on the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions themselves (such as responsibilities, election process, reporting structure, etc.) and a few are tips about suspected questionable activities (FYI- The Advoc8te always suggests that those tips are forwarded to the DC Office of the Inspector General and/or the DC Auditor).

Therefore the Advoc8te has decided to proclaim this week on Congress Heights on the Rise "Advisory Neighborhood Commission Awareness Week". The purpose is simple - to expand awareness of River East Advisory Neighborhood Commissions;  their functions; encourage residents (black and white, new and old) to get involved in their ANC; and to distribute relevant and important information regarding specific ANCs and ANC Commissioners.

Expect to see a lot of articles on Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, ANC reform, ANC success, ANC audits and community feedback on how effective their ANC is in their community.

The Advoc8te invites River East residents, Non River East residents, ANC Commissioners (both in and outside of River East) to please share information, perspectives and news about their ANCs here on Congress Heights on the Rise. The Advoc8te would love to see comments on the posts and would be even happier to receive some reader and ANC Commissioner submissions on the subject of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

Every single resident (new or old, black or white, homeowner or renter) has a right to an organized, transparent and productive Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

The Advoc8te would love to see the other River East bloggers get involved to bring attention to the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in their area. Let’s work together to spread the word about successful and challenged ANCs in our community (feel free to use the graphic in this post). Let’s all work together to bring much needed attention to this unfortunately underutilized resource. We need to rebuild our Wards, one Single Member District at a time.

The time is over to stop sticking our heads in the sand. The time is N-O-W to get involved, ask questions and demand more.

If we won't demand more for ourselves who will?