The residents of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) Single Member District (SMD) 6B09 will be without representation until 2021, commissioners heard at their May 12th meeting. Unlucky timing combined with the pandemic combined to make a temporary replacement impossible.
Gottleib Simon of the Office of the ANC (OANC) told the meeting, held online due to the Coronavirus outbreak, that a person representing SMD 6B09 cannot be selected until the November elections. Constituents of 6B09 have been without representation since Kasie Clark announced she was stepping down as of March 10th.
ANC 6B09 is bounded roughly by 15th Street to the west, 19th Street to the east, Massachusetts Avenue to the north and Pennsylvania Avenue SE and Congressional Cemetery to the south.
It was expected the seat would be filled in the interim by a candidate elected by residents of Clark’s SMD at a later meeting.
Simon said that there were two reasons why the seat cannot now be filled prior to November. First, legislation governing ANCs specifically prohibits a virtual vote, and large meetings are illegal during the public health emergency. A Mayor’s Order prohibiting gatherings of ten or more people went into effect March 25. Second, legislation states that a vacancy cannot be filled within the six-month period before a general election, or after April 8.
ANC Commissioners are rarely representatives of a party and the selection of ANC representatives is not part of the primary elections.
Commissioners said they would work together to represent residents of 6B09 until November and encouraged those with questions or concerns to contact any ANC 6B commissioner or the ANC generally via email at 6b@anc.dc.gov.
Learn more about ANC 6B and subscribe to their newsletter by visiting anc6b.org or connect with the commission via email at 6b@anc.dc.gov. Find @ANC6B on Twitter.
