My Priorities for the ANC

My ANC campaign is off in full-swing! The signs are up (and let me know if you can host one on your front steps!). And I’m now reaching out to speak with as many residents as possible about my campaign and what are my priorities should I be elected.

And my top three priorities are as follow:

#1 – Constituent Services

I promise to make active constituent services my number one priority as an ANC commissioner. This begins with a regular monthly newsletter that will update everyone on all that is happening within our district and in Georgetown beyond. It will be available to anyone who wants to sign up and I will do my best to get out the word on how to do so.

But active and regular communication is just the start of what I plan to offer the community if elected commissioner. I want to be the first person you think to call whenever a municipal issue arises. Missed trash or recycling? Illegal construction down the block? Potholes? Let me know what’s wrong and I will endeavor to address it and let you get back to living your life.

Additionally, I envision the role of commissioner as being someone who helps connect residents to build community. For instance, I would like to gather a list of senior residents or others with mobility issues and organize neighbors to ensure that after a snowfall, their steps and sidewalk are clear. I’d also take a keen interest in ensuring that any new tree that is planted is properly looked after by a nearby resident. These are small acts that many are happy to perform, they just need to be asked.

#2 – Safer Streets

I promise to push the city to prioritize pedestrian safety throughout Georgetown. This involves firstly calling on the city to increase traffic enforcement, particularly along the commuter routes that wind through our neighborhood. The pandemic has unfortunately fostered a sense of unaccountability amongst some drivers who put everyone else at risk with their reckless driving. It’s time for the city to make those drivers accountable again.

Beyond that, the city is about to begin a livability study of Georgetown considering all aspects of our road design. I want to ensure that the interests of pedestrians are kept central during that study and with any proposed road re-designs it recommends.

I feel passionately about this because I have a ten year daughter. I want her to be able to explore the neighborhood on her own. But I am petrified of what an impatient and reckless driver could do to her. I want to know that I have done everything possible to ensure that she, and every other kid like her, gets home safe again. I don’t want any family to experience the despair of losing a loved one to traffic violence.

#3 – Commercial Revitalization

Living within a short walk of hundreds of shops and restaurants is one of the best aspects of living in Georgetown. But as residents surely recognize, too many of Georgetown’s commercial blocks are beset with empty storefronts. This is particularly true of Wisconsin Ave., just around the corner from our district.

I will work closely with the business community to encourage good, resident-serving businesses to come and open in these long vacant spaces. There is, of course, only so much an ANC commissioner can do to accomplish this. But through building relationships with the business community, I believe a commissioner can help steer promising businesses to a smoother opening. And conversely, I believe a commissioner can help steer away businesses that have the potential to bring undue disruptions.

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These will be my top priorities if I am elected Commissioner. If there’s one theme that unites them, it’s the importance of pulling together a diverse group of residents, businesses and government representatives to fix problems. And those skills and relationships would apply just as well to the myriad other issues that arise for the ANC.

I hope these priorities appeal to you, and I hope that you’ll vote for me this November 8th.