On Nov. 6, District residents selected commissioners to represent their community on their Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC). The new commissioners were sworn in and took office after noon on Jan. 2, 2019.
An ANC is a non-partisan, neighborhood body made up of locally elected representatives called Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. The ANCs were established in 1976 to bring the will of the people closer to government.
Each of the District’s eight wards are divided into ANCs, and each commission into Single Member Districts (SMDs). Each SMD is designed to represent around 2,000 residents and elects one commissioner to represent their interests. Ward 6 is divided into five ANCs, with 31 commissioners representing the four ANCs discussed in this article.
Commissioners serve two-year unpaid terms. Their main duty is to be their neighborhood’s official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on things that affect their neighborhoods.
Although not required to follow the ANC advice, District agencies are required to give ANC recommendations “great weight.” District law says that agencies cannot take any action that will significantly affect a neighborhood unless they provide 30-day notice to ANCs. This includes zoning, streets, recreation, education, social services, sanitation, planning, safety, budget, and health services.
The ANC may also initiate recommendations for improving city services, conduct neighborhood improvement programs, and monitor resident complaints.
Learn more about your ANCs by visiting the District Office of ANCs website, www.anc.dc.gov. Find your ANC and SMD by visiting www.ancfinder.org.
ANC 6A
The Eight Commissioners of ANC 6A represent an area from Lincoln Park north to Benning Road NE, bounded roughly to the east by Eighth Street and to the west by 15th Street NE. There were races in three Single Member Districts, and two new faces will join the commission in 2019.
6A05 Ruth Ann Hudson
Ruth Ann Hudson won the election to represent SMD 6A05, formerly the role of Patrick Malone. Hudson and her family have lived in the neighborhood for the past decade, and say they couldn’t have asked for a better community to raise their family. Hudson has two girls. Her oldest daughter is in preschool at Maury, and her youngest will be joining her next year.
Over the past year Hudson has served on the Economic Development and Zoning (EDZ) committee for ANC 6A, and she is particularly passionate about working to ensure smart decisions about how to expand and grow as a community. In her day job, she works for a consulting company to bring technology solutions to a wide variety of clients.
“All that really means is that I am a problem solver and a doer, skills I am excited to bring to my role as Commissioner,” she said.
Hudson said that since she has been living on Capitol Hill, she has been inspired by everyone who is working to make our community the great place it is today. “I’m eager to do my part,” she said. “I look forward to working with everyone in the community over the next two years and I am honored to be a part of the Commission.”
6A08 Brian Alcorn
Newly-elected ANC Commissioner for SMD 6A08 Brian Alcorn comes to the seat occupied by Calvin Ward, who is stepping down after representing the SMD since 2012.
Alcorn has always been interested in how government and public policy intersect. He credits an elective Washington DC civics course taken decades ago at the George Washington University for tempting his curiosity and awareness of the important role the ANCs and volunteer Commissioners play in civic life.
Alcorn has spent nearly all of his years living on Capitol Hill. Professionally, he has worked in both the federal and private sectors on matters ranging from public diplomacy to housing and finance. Personally, he said that he (along with his wife and daughter) cherishes this unique community they call home.
As ANC Commissioner for the 6A08 area covering Kingman Park and Hill East, Alcorn plans to encourage more citizens to engage with ANC 6A and hopes to use the Commission’s unique “great weight” with the City on land use, zoning and education matters.
ANC 6B
ANC 6B covers the area south of Lincoln Park, roughly from South Capitol and Interstate 395 to the west and RFK Campus to the east. Four commissioners have stepped down in 2018, including James Loots (6B03), Nick Burger (6B06), Daniel Ridge (6B09) and Steve Hagedorn (6B05); only the election in the last SMD was contested.
The two newly elected commissioners will join Gerald Stroufe (6B02), who came to his seat after Diane Hoskins stepped down in February 2018, and Kelly Waud (6B07) who assumed the office after the departure of Amiee Grace in March. Both were re-elected in uncontested races.
6B03 Brian Ready
Brian Ready ran unopposed in November to represent SMD 6B03, represented by James Loots since 2012. Ready moved from Las Vegas to Capitol Hill four years ago citing the neighborhood’s long history and diversity of community, arts and culture. He has a background in hospitality and law and volunteers at The Townhomes on Capitol Hill. Ready is passionate about promoting affordable housing, ensuring that the neighborhood is safe, and strengthening the diversity of the community.
Ready said he has learned a great deal from his predecessors. “The most important thing I have learned is that we must use our voices to push our government to respond to the needs of our community,” Ready said. “I want to foster a healthy dialogue between neighbors and local businesses. I want to make sure that our neighborhood continues to improve for all residents.”
Ready said he will advocate to work through bureaucracy and to strengthen ties between neighbors and government. He wants to improve community safety by working with First District Police, the Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement and with neighbors. He will keep neighbors informed by going door-to-door and holding community office hours. Follow him on Twitter at @Ready_4_DC.
ANC 6B05 Steve Holtzman
In January, Steve Holtzman will become Commissioner for SMD 6B05, formerly represented by Steve Hagedorn. As Holtzman campaigned, he went to every door and spoke with many neighbors.
In January, after taking his oath of office, he intends to do so again as ANC Commissioner to learn how to best serve constituents and how to find sustainable, lasting ways for all to work together.
Holtzman said he’s noted two misperceptions about what the ANC is. The first one is that the ANC is a forum where the big, pressing policy issues of the day are debated and dealt with. The second and more common perception is that the ANC is an institution that only focuses on micro-level things that concern a home owner or a business and their immediate neighbors, critical to them but not of much interest to anyone else.
“The truth I think is that each ANC, even within the constraints of its ‘advisory’ role, is constantly shaping the big public policy issues in our neighborhood and in our city,” said Holtzman, “precisely through the cumulative effect of every review of a house addition, every negotiation with a business on a liquor license, every effort to lobby for a stop sign or a traffic calming measure, every recommendation on expanding or contracting resident-only parking, every position on bike lanes or bike-share stands.”
“It’s hard to see these impacts in a year or two but they are real and, in a hundred ways, they set the tone for what kind of a community we will be a decade from now.”
Whatever your viewpoints, Holtzman said, you can only get involved if you’re informed. He asks that all local list servs and blogs add his email to their list. He also requests that his constituents share their email addresses with him so that he can sent them relevant news. Finally, he is looking for representatives from his SMD for ANC 6B’s committees and task forces. Reach him at 6B05@anc.dc.gov
6B09 Kasie Clark
Kasie Clark was uncontested in the race to represent SMD 6B09, formerly served by Daniel Ridge. Clark is a former middle school STEM teacher with a BA in Film, a BA in Political Science, and a M.Ed from SMU and Johns Hopkins University, respectively. She currently serves as Program Director at College to Congress, a DC nonprofit where she works directly with low-income, high achieving students who serve as a voice for their community by interning in congressional offices.
With her connections to education, Clark began a fellowship with Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) where she worked towards their mission to promote political participation in order to give voice to underrepresented groups.
As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, Clark hopes to continue to be a voice for her community in DC, especially the community of 6B09. Kasie is interested in finding innovative ways to improve safety and security for the residents of 6B.
Clark is compassionately and tirelessly supported by her husband Caleb, an Army officer currently deployed in Afghanistan.
6B06 Corey Holman
In January, Nick Burger will step down as Commissioner for SMD 6B09, and Corey Holman will take his place. Holman lives on 14th Street SE with his wife, Meg, and his son, Calvin. His son is attending The Hill Preschool before starting pre-K next fall.
In their free time during tax preparation season, Holman and his wife volunteer for Community Tax Aid. You may have seen the Holmans at Congressional Cemetery, where they spend a lot of time as a family with their dog, Maizey.
When Holman moved with his wife in 2013 to their house in Hill East, he had no intention of getting into ANC politics. However, he said that when the New York Pizza development project moved forward, then-Commissioner Nick Burger demonstrated the importance of effective representation at the ANC level.
Holman has served the last two years on the ANC 6B Transportation Committee, and Holman and said he is grateful to represent ANC 6B06 for the next two years. “I am ready to represent my neighbors as well as work tirelessly to get their needs met and concerns addressed by city agencies,” he said.
ANC 6C
The area covered by ANC 6C includes Stanton Park and Union Station, reaching north to New York and Florida Avenues NE. Three Commissioners will have stepped down from ANC 6C at the end of 2018. Chris Miller (6C05) left the District and his office in the summer after two terms. Heather Edelman (6C06) decided not to seek re-election. First elected as an ANC Commissioner for the now defunct SMD 6A13 in 1988, John Scott Price is stepping down from ANC 6C03 at the end of the year. First elected in 1994 to represent 6A03, Karen Wirt will continue representing 6C02 which she has represented since being elected in 2012 along with Mark Eckenwiler (6C04). Christine Healey (6C01), first elected in 2016, was re-elected to represent her SMD.
6C03 Jay Adelstein
Jay Adelstein ran uncontested to represent SMD 6C03, assuming office from Scott Price who will step down after eight years. Adelstein has lived on the Hill since 1979, where he and his wife Patricia have raised their two daughters, Rose and Lily.
Adelstein retired from the Federal government in 2018, having devoted his career in the field of civil rights to the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor. With a particular distaste for the use of single-occupancy vehicles, Adelstein hopes to respond timely to constituent concerns with a concentration on transportation, accessibility to housing, and preventative crime measures.
Adelstein was a former head of Stanton Park Neighborhood Association and is currently active with the Friends of Northeast Library.
6C05 Joel Kelty
Joel Kelty won a tight race to represent SMD 6C05, a position vacated by the departure of former Commissioner Chris Miller in August 2018.
A licensed architect and real estate professional, with a focus on the creation of affordable housing and senior housing, Kelty has lived on the 600 block of Sixth Street NE since May 2000 and has served for the past seven years as a member of the ANC 6C Planning Zoning and Environment Committee.
Keltye also serves on the Board of Capitol Hill Group Ministries (CHGM), a local non-profit that provides supportive services to homeless families and individuals not only on Capitol Hill, but throughout DC. He has two children that attend public school.
6C06 Rob Dooling
Despite having no opponents in the race, Rob Dooling received more than 1,800 votes affirming him as the choice to represent SMD 6C06 when Heather Edelman steps down at the end of this year. Dooling describes himself as a bike adventurer and progressive dreamer who fell in love with DC’s green, urban, and nerdy culture after moving from Nebraska four and a half years ago. He said he ran for neighborhood commissioner in NoMa and Old City because the 4,000 new units planned for the area must feature affordable housing, parks, and sustainable transportation options.
Dooling works as a technical editor at the U.S. Department of State. Since 2017, he has also served on DC’s Multimodal Accessibility Advisory Council advising the city government on how to improve transportation and public spaces for people with disabilities.
“I was born deaf,” said Dooling. “So, whenever I respond to constituent concerns with, ‘Your noise complaints fall on deaf ears! Haha!’, I do it with love.”
Dooling is enthusiastic about serving on ANC 6C, and invites the community to learn more about him at https://robbdooling.com/platform.
ANC 6D
Big change comes to ANC 6D, which covers neighborhoods in both the Southeast and Southwest quadrants located south of the Mall and Virginia Avenue, including the homes of DC United and the Washington Nationals as well as The Wharf and Buzzard Point. The ANC had three contested races last November, two of which unseated long-term incumbents: Roger Moffat (6D05), who has been an ANC Commissioner since 1996, when he was elected to now-defunct SMD 2D05; and Cara Lee Shockley, who was elected representative for SMD 6D02 in 2010, and again in 2016.
6D02 Anna Forgie
Anna Forgie defeated incumbent Cara Lee Shockley to represent SMD 6D02 for the next term. Forgie has lived in ANC 6D for nearly seven years, and said the area is exceptional for its wonderfully diverse population, including a mix of single-family homes and high-rise apartment buildings, government offices and businesses, and recreation and performance facilities — all so close to spectacular waterways.
She said that as the neighborhood continues to change and grow, the community needs to pursue creative, sustainable, mixed-use and mixed-income development that incorporates retail, affordable housing, and green space, while promoting best practices for changing traffic and parking patterns.
“Economic growth and development should be accessible to all groups, regardless of income or demographic identification, and the ANC has to promote these opportunities for everyone’s benefit,” Forgie said.
As a former Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador, Forgie saw the power of music and arts education to nurture strong, confident students while teaching music classes. She said that access to affordable childcare and pre-K education that incorporates music and arts is crucial for our growing community.
As ANC Commissioner, Forgie said she will listen to constituent concerns, proactively seek out and disseminate information, and advocate on behalf of ANC 6D.
6D05 Anthony Dale
In another contest unseating an incumbent, Anthony Dale will take the seat of Roger Moffat to represent SMD 6D05. Dale has been a resident of Southwest DC for the past 14 years, and says he is honored to have been selected as the next Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for SMD 6D05.
“It is my hope to bring new voice to the commission—one that echoes the voices of parents and school children, low-income and middle-class residents, and retirees as well as new residents,” he said.
His goals for his term are to help endow schools with the necessary resources for our children by playing a critical role in securing investments for our schools, to fight for projects that offer a significant number of affordable housing units, and to work with MPD and community partners to ensure the safety of my fellow neighbors.
Dale has worked as a legislative director for the Department of Parks and Recreation. He also spent 14 years as a United State Marine.
“I look forward to this extraordinary opportunity to continue my public service,” Dale said.
6D07 Edward Daniels
Edward Daniels won a three-way race in SMD 6D07, currently represented by Meredith Fascett, who is stepping down at the end of the year. He graduated from UVA in 2002 and moved to DC to begin an acting career in stage and film.
You may have seen him perform in the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of RENT at the Keegan Theatre, or on television in House of Cards, VEEP, or most recently in Showtime’s Homeland.
Daniels is the owner of two small businesses. Scorpio Entertainment will celebrate 14 years this fall, and Monologue Madness, a theatre competition produced at the Miracle Theatre will be expanding to Atlanta, GA, in 2019.
He has closely followed the growth of the neighborhood, where he moved in 2016. Daniels said that the Capitol Riverfront project captivated him during the early development of the BID, but he decided to get involved this year in part due to the national political climate. “Upon learning that our ANC seat would be vacant, I found this to be the perfect opportunity to become more involved in the decisions that are being made which affect our neighborhood,” he said.
Daniels said that his platform is very much in-line with the immediate concerns of the residents that he spoke to during his campaign, especially with its emphasis on the efficiency associated with addressing infrastructure issues associated with traffic safety. He said that he also means to streamline issues related to development, noting resident concerns regarding affordable housing, inadequate parking, and poor property management, need to be addressed along with construction and planning.
“I don’t expect to completely solve many of these concerns,” Daniels said, “but I plan to work as hard as I possibly can to alleviate them and to be an amazing resource to each of my neighbors.”
