In the Nov. 8th General Election, DC residents will have the opportunity to elect the ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commission) representative in their district. The ANCs are a non-partisan body of elected officials that represent local residents.
Commissioners serve two-year terms without pay. All commissioners in all wards are up for election this year. Each commissioner represents a Single Member District (SMD) of approximately 2,000 residents. The ANCs’ main role in the District is to be their neighborhood’s official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on things that affect their neighborhoods.
The boundaries of the ANCs and SMDs are updated every ten years, based on the results of the latest decennial census. The latest boundaries were approved by the DC Council on June 7, 2022, and approved by Mayor Muriel Bowser. Updated ANC and SMD boundaries will be used for the November 8, 2022 General Election.
To see if your ANC or SMD boundary has changed, enter your address in the new 2023 Locate Your ANC/SMD tool at https://arcg.is/1PrKXG.
Changes to ANC Boundaries
Ward 6 experienced the biggest changes during redistricting. Navy Yard neighborhoods are now located in ANC 8F. ANC 6A is smaller, reduced to seven SMDs between East Capitol and Florida and Seventh and 15th Street NE. ANC 6B expands west to meet the interstate 395 at Washington Avenue and east to 15th Street SE above Potomac, dipping south at E Street and 19th Streets SE to include Congressional Cemetery, bounded on the south by the Anacostia River. ANC 6C is located north of East Capitol, but the area has shrunk to encompass south of Florida Avenue, west of Seventh Street NE and east of Union Station along First Street NE and then north along the railway tracks.
Two SMDs in Ward 6, the section of Navy Yard bounded by H Street and M Streets SE and South Capitol and New Jersey Avenue SE, are located in a Ward 8 ANC. They are SMD 8F to the north and 8F04 in the south. The redistricting of Navy Yard into Ward 8 significantly shrinks the bounds of ANC 6D, moving the eastern boundary to South Capitol Street SW, and south of Independence Avenue SE. ANC 6D reaches south to encompass Hain’s Point south of East Basin Drive.
Many readers of the Hill Rag are now residents of Ward 7, meaning they have new SMDs and representatives. The new boundaries of Ward 7 encompass three neighborhoods west of the Anacostia: Kingman Park, included in 2000; the portion of Hill East that is east of 15th Street; and Rosedale. Both the latter were formerly in Ward 6. The Ward 7 Redistricting Taskforce incorporated these neighborhoods into two cross-river ANCs: 7D and 7F. Former residents of ANC 6A07, 6A08, 6B09 and 6B10 are now in Ward 7 ANCs 7D06, 7D07, 7D08 and 7D10. Meanwhile, the former 7D01 retains the same boundaries but is now 7D05. Phase 1 and 2 of Reservation 13 development, including the Park Kennedy Apartments (1901 C St. SE) and The Ethel (1901 C St. SE) are part of ANC 7F.
Changes in Representation
The changing of boundaries also seems to have ushered in a period of refresh for many Hill commissions. Many of those commissioners who have represented the area for years have decided not to seek election in 2022. That includes Andy Litsky, who represented parts of Southwest for more than four decades. Nobody is on the ballot to represent his most recent SMD, 6D04. Karen Wirt (6C01), the outgoing chair of ANC 6C who was first elected in 1992, has also chosen to step down.
Commissioner Denise Krepp will not run again to represent 6B09, which is now part of 7D09. In fact, only two of the commissioners representing what is now ANC 6B are seeking re-election; Jerry Sroufe and Edward Ryder are running unopposed to represent ANC 6B02 and 6B08 respectively. Alison Horn, former representative for 6B09, withdrew from her bid to represent the newly-constituted 7D10 after announcing a pending move. Brianne Eby is running for 7D10 as a write in candidate.
I am really excited that @brianne_eby has decided to step up and run for ANC as a write-in in 7D10. Brianne is a kind and caring neighbor and a fierce transportation policy expert. I’m confident she will make an excellent ANC commissioner. https://t.co/AEbxNk9q0V
— 👻lison H🎃rn (@AlisonANC) October 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Chander Jayaraman, who stepped down last term to stage a run for the at-large council seat, is running unopposed in the new 6B06.
Many of the commissioners for the former ANC 6A are seeking re-election in their newly-defined SMDs. All of the SMDs for ANCs 6A, 6B and 6C have candidates on the ballot. There are a number of notable contests. In 6A01, Christina Goodlander challenges incumbent Keya Chatterjee. Amber Gove runs to retain her office against Alexandra Kelly for 6A04. In ANC 6D02, incumbent Ronald Collins is challenged by newcomer Tom Seidman.
Opportunities for Write-Ins
There is an opportunity for a write-in candidate for the new 6D04. Andy Litsky’s former SMD is now 6D06, where Bob Link has stepped up to take the office the will vacate at the end of December.
Candidates are on the ballot for all of the Hill East ANC 7D SMDs except 7D07, where Brian Vorhees is running as a write-in. Returning commissioner Brian Alcorn steps up to represent constituents again in the new 7D08; Ashley Schapitl and Shane Seger are running to represent 7D09, Denise Krepp’s former ANC.
In terms of the full cross-river commission, there is not yet a name on the ballot for SMD 7D02, between Hayes Street NE and Benning Road NE along the Anacostia; nor for 7D03, which represents communities in the buildings bound by Hayes and Jay Streets NE, Mayfair and Paradise-Parkside.
In ANC 7F, there is no representative on the ballot for 7F04, 7F06 or 7F08.
If you wish to vote for a write-in candidate, or an individual whose name is not printed on the ballot, you may write in that individual’s name on the blank “write-in” line and fill in the oval to the left of that line.
Those candidates still have to file paperwork with the DC Board of Elections (202-727-2525) if they want to win the election as a write-in candidate. Write-in nominees have to file an Affirmation of Write-in Candidacy on a form provided by the DCBOE not later than 4:45 p.m. on the seventh day immediately following the election.
Write-in nominees who fail to submit the documents required by this section within the required times will be deemed “ineligible.” That means if they don’t file, they can’t win, even if they have a thousand votes and there is no other candidate.
Learn more about the 2022 General Election at dcboe.org. Learn more about ANCs at anc.dc.gov.
