The Advoc8te is all about transparency and integrity- the more the better.

The Advoc8te just received an open letter from Commissioner William Ellis of 8C01 which she will be posting shortly. Although The Advoc8te has at times had issues with Commissioner Ellis and what she felt was his hestitation to address publicly the serious issues of ANC 8C she has to give credit where credit is due. For those of you who may not be aware Commissioner Ellis has worked tirelessly (and often times without public recognition) to try make ANC 8C compliant with the ANC laws as well as the Auditor's recommendations.

One of these recommendations (from the September 2009 Audit) was to cease the $900 a month  payments on the (unapproved and underutilized) office rent until the issue had been approved by the majority of the Commission - something that has not happen in many, many years.  As a result of these illegal payments the DC Auditor is recommending that the DC Treasurer withhold $24,300 in ANC 8C allotments - the amount of the unapproved payments. Who has been the ultimate receipient of these unapproved and frankly unneccesary rent payments? Inquiring minds want to know.

Recently, Commissioner Ellis in his role as elected Treasurer informed Chairperson* Mary J. Cuthbert that per the DC Auditor's recommendation that he will  no longer be signing for checks for the unapproved office rent - not until the expense has been approved in a public meeting by a majority of the ANC 8C Commissioners.  For those of you not aware ANC checks  must be signed by both the Chairperson and the Treasurer.

Commissioner Cuthbert's response to Commissioner Ellis refusing to sign an unapproved and illegal check for ANC office rent?

She threatened to have him removed as Treasurer in a secret meeting, Friday November 6th!

The Advoc8te and fellow ANC 8C residents continue to be astounded and frankly appalled by Commissioner Cuthbert's continued efforts to keep ANC 8C dysfunctional, non compliant and shrouded in financial darkness! Concerned ANC 8C residents are continuing to fight for transparency, compliance with ANC laws, and responsible fiscal management of ANC funds. We fully support as a community of residents Commissioner Ellis and any ANC 8C Commissioner who is not afraid to stand up and do what is right AND legal for ANC 8C!

As Barack Obama so eloquently said, "We are the change that we seek." We cannot expect different results from the same corrupt captains that have been at the helm of lawlessness. We need NEW and HONEST representation that isn’t afraid to follow the law and to encourage ALL residents to get involved, ask questions and demand more.

The Advoc8te will be posting Commissioner William Ellis' letter shortly. This ANC 8C resident gives Commissioner William Ellis a big round of applause for standing up and doing what is right!

Weather you are an ANC 8C resident or not please come out to the next ANC 8C meeting next Wednesday, November 5th and show your support for Commissioner Ellis and all the ANC 8C residents who demand accountability and change in ANC 8C! We have had enough of this disfunction and curroption.

The next ANC 8C meeting will be held Wed, November 4th at 6:30pm at the F-R-E-E meeting space located at the UPO Petey Greene Center, 2907 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

*Please note that despite Commissioner Cuthbert’s repeated claims that she is Chairperson of ANC 8C please note that the January 2009 election for Chair resulted in two votes for Commissioner Dion Jordan (8C02) and one abstaining vote (William Ellis). With 3 of the 5 ANC 8C Commissioners in attendance it was later verified that this vote was valid and Commissioner Dion Jordan was in fact elected Chair. To listen to the January 2009 meeting check out the blog post on CHOTR.


For more Congress Heights and River East news visit The Congress Heights Examiner website, http://www.examiner.com/x-13507-Congress-Heights-Community-Examiner

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