On Sunday, constituents rejected an effort to recall Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Amber Gove from her office representing Single Member District (SMD) 6A04.
The DC Board of Elections reported that 452 ballots were cast at the two sites, the Northeast Library and Maury Elementary, over four hours of voting. 344 votes were against the recall; 108 were for; and 16 were “special ballots.” These are not yet official, but it looks like Gove will retain her office.
There were more signatures on the petition than votes for recall. Nearly half the 206 signatories did not cast a ballot for Gove’s recall Sunday. That could be because of the limited voting window or perhaps because some signatories either changed their minds or did not fully understand the petition they had signed.
Either way Gove is again on a ballot Nov. 8, running for re-election as Commissioner for 6A04 in 2023. Her challenger is the recall’s author, Alexandra Kelly.
The vote and the recall were centered around plans for traffic reconfiguration along one block of North Carolina Avenue NE. Petitioners said they felt unheard and unrepresented in the process; Gove responded that all ANC 6A Commissioners had voted in support of the plans and cited her efforts at communication and to notice meetings.
The recall was originally scheduled to be on the Nov. 8 ballot together with the election for a new commissioner who will take office in January 2023. The vote was rescheduled, evidently to avoid confusion.
ANCs are a non-partisan body of elected officials that represent local community members.
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 the official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies such as the Capitol Fine Arts Commission) on matters that affect their neighborhoods.
Boundaries of ANCs and SMDs change as of Jan. 1, 2023. For the November ballot, voters will select a representative for their newly-configured district. Find your new ANC here: Find Your 2023 SMD. See who is running here.
