ANC1B Commissioner Resigns, Special Election to Be Held if Necessary

At its regular monthly meeting on March 10, James Turner, Chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street, announced that Kevin Cain, Commissioner for district 04, had resigned that day. No reason for the resignation was given. Turner further announced the timeline for filling the seat.

The opening will be advertised in the DC Register on March 20. Blank petitions for the open Commission position will be available at the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) starting March 23. Candidates must gather at least 25 registered voters who live in the ANC district. Deadline for filing the petitions will be April 13. There will be a three-day "challenge period" for signatures on the petition. The qualifying candidates will be announced on April 22.

If there is only one qualifying candidate, DCBOEE will declare the position filled. If there is more than one candidate, a special election will be held of the sidelines of the next ANC1B meeting after the challenge period ends. ANC1B normally meets on the first Thursday of the month, so the election might take place on Thursday, May 7. ANC1B normally meets at 7pm. The location of the May meeting has not yet been announced.

According to DCBOEE information here, candidates must be a registered voter in the ANC district they wish to represent, and they must have lived in that ANC district for at least sixty days prior to the day the nominating petition is filed.

District 04 is located just north of the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets NW), north of V street, west of 15th, east of 12th -- see map above.

ANC1B Achieves Quorum, Does Business

At its last regularly-scheduled meeting of the year, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street achieved a quorum and conducted business. Seven out of 11 sitting commissioners were present. Six were required for a quorum.

From ANC1B Twitter feed

Commissioners attending the meeting: Sedrick Muhammed (district 03), Ricardo Reinoso (05), Dyana Forester (06), Mark Ranslem (08), ANC1B Chair James Turner (09), Allyson Carpenter (10), and Zahra Jilani (12).

Commissioners not attending: Marc Morgan (01), Deborah Thomas (04), Juan Lopez (07), and E. Gail Anderson Holness (11).

All of the Commissioners who did not attend the meeting either did not run for re-election or lost the election.

Two Commissioners who did not run for re-election (Reinoso and Jilani) attended their final meeting and said a few words thanking their colleagues.

Many Commissioners-elect observed the meeting, including: Brian Footer (01), Nicholas Ferreyros (05), Jessica Laura Smith (07), Robb Hudson (11), and John Green (12).

Commissioners-elect Footer and Kevin Cain (04) were already put to work. The ANC voted to have them draft new policies and procedures for the next session.

It was briefly noted that the race in district 06 will trigger an automatic recount. The incumbent, Dyana Forester, is so far the victor by a single vote (205-204) over challenger David Gilliland. No date was given for the recount or announcement of results.

The DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) certified the results of the November general election on December 3, according to an announcement on Twitter.

DC Councilmember-elect Brianne Nadeau also attended the meeting.

ANC1B has had difficulty achieving a quorum on several occasions this year -- see, most recently, SALM blog post of November 7.

Logan Circle ANC Write-in Winners Announced

On Friday, November 21, DC's Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) announced the winners in the 19 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) races in which all of the candidates were write-ins. These districts had no candidate on the ballot because no one managed to gather the required 25 valid signatures from voters in the ANC disrict before the deadline.

From Twitter feed of Pepin Tuma

In ANC 2F/Logan Circle, two districts -- districts 03 and 07 -- had no candidate on the ballot. The write in winners are:

• District 03: Pepin Andrew Tuma
• District 07: Kevin Slyvester

I gathered the following information via Google: Tuma is a lawyer. As of 2012, he was Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, "the world largest association of food and nutrition professionals". Tuma was briefly in the news in 2009 after he was arrested on U Street for disorderly conduct after singing "I hate the police" in the presence of police officers. He wrote about the incident in the Washington Post. In 2009, he sued the DC police about the incident. A 2011 report says Tuma successfully had the arrest expunged from the record.

There is not as much information about Slyvester. A Google search gives evidence that there is someone with that name who works or worked here in DC at the Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations, part of the US Department of Transportation. Other online records show Kevin Slyvester bought a house on the 1200 block of 12th Street (in ANC2F district 07) in 2010.

There was no information about how many votes candidates received, other candidates who received votes, or the winners' margins of victory.

The press statement on write-in winners is a Microsoft Word document which can be accessed at the DCBOEE home page under the "News" tab.

A Few ANC Races Still Cliffhangers as DCBOEE Inches Toward Final Election Results

The margin of victory in one race for Commissioner in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle slipped from 11 votes to 6, while the margin of victory in one race in ANC 1B/U Street increased from 3 votes to 6, as DC's Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) released revised vote counts late Friday afternoon, November 14.

There are still ballots to be counted.

Updated numbers from DCBOEE

Incumbent Abigail Nichols now has 221 votes to 215 votes for Jonathan Jagoda in the race in ANC2B district 05. In ANC1B district 06, David Gillliland increased his lead slightly, winning 194
votes to incumbent Dyana Forester's 188.

Numbers of votes changed in every ANC district covered by SALM. The districts mentioned above were the only ones where the margin of victory is in the single digits.

In a press statement Friday, DCBOEE said it had processed 5,400, or 27 percent, of the approximately 20,000 special ballots cast in the election November 4. In addition, last Thursday, November 13, was the last day to receive absentee ballots postmarked on or before election day. DCBOEE had processed 6,000 absentee ballots as of November 13.

According to a tweet by WAMU's Martin Austermuhle, the counting of special ballots should be done by tomorrow, November 18. A separate tweet by Austermuhle said that the winners in races where all of the candidates were write-ins could be revealed at that time.

The final results will be certified by the DCBOEE at its next regularly-scheduled meeting on December 3.

DCBOEE updated the information at 5pm Friday afternoon. A tweet from DCBOEE seemed to indicate that there would be an additional update on Saturday, but as of this writing there are no further updates to the vote count.

50% of Commissioners Running Unopposed in U Street, Dupont

12/16/14 NOTE: I have removed the name of the candidate who dropped out of the race for ANC1B district 10 per the candidate's request.

Half of the candidates for Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats in the 1B/U Street and 2B/Dupont Circle districts will be unopposed in November. Of the seven seats in ANC 6E/Shaw, only one district will have an unopposed candidate on the ballot.

On Friday (August 8), DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) released a list of candidates who had successfully filed petitions with 25 signatures or more. There will be a 10-day challenge period, during which registered DC voters can question the validity of the signatures that a prospective candidate has collected. DCBOEE will investigate signatures on a petition only if a registered voter files a challenge. Otherwise, it is assumed the signatures on the petitions are valid.

Below are the lists of candidates in ANCs 1B, 2B, and 6E, by district:

ANC 1B/U Street:

01: Brian Footer
02: Jennie Nevin, Ellen Nedrow Sullivan
03: Sedrick Muhammed (incumbent), Patrick Nelson
04: Kevin Cain
05: Nicholas Ferreyos
06: Dyana Forrester (incumbent), David Gilliard
07: Juan Lopez (incumbent), Jessica Laura Smith
08: Mark Ranslem (incumbent)
09: James Turner (incumbent, ANC Chair)
10: Allyson Carpenter (incumbent), [name removed per candidate's request]
11: Robb Hudson
12: Matt Abbruzzese, John Green

ANC 2B/Dupont Circle:

01: Mike Feldstein (incumbent)
02: Jonathan Padget, Daniel Warwick
03: Stephanie Maltz (incumbent)
04: Michael Upright
05: Jonathan Jagoda, Abigail Nichols (incumbent)
06: Mike Silverstein (incumbent)
07: Justine Underhill
08: Allison Fitzsimmons, Nicole Mann, Robert Sinners
09: Edward Hanlon, Noah Smith (incumbent)

ANC 6E/Shaw:

01: Alexander Padro (incumbent, ANC Chair), Mary Sutherland
02: Kevin Chapple (incumbent), Eugene Simms, Leroy Joseph Thorpe Jr
03: Kennith James, Frank Wiggins (incumbent)
04: Clyde Brown, Rachelle Nigro (incumbent)
05: Marge Maceda (incumbent)
06: Antonio Barnes, Alvin Judd (incumbent)
07: Alfreda Judd (incumbent), Rosemary Segero

If you are a candidate and I missed your website, or if you wish me to link to website other than the one above, please email me at shortarticlesaboutlongmeetings at gmail and I will change the link.

Don't know your ANC district? There are two search tools: one by the DC government, the other by Code for DC.

See here for a separate post about the candidates for ANC 2F/Logan Circle.

Two of Eight Logan Circle ANC Posts Have No Candidates

According to records released by DC's Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) on Friday (August 8), two of the eight districts in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle will have no candidates listed on the ballot. Apparently no one living in districts 03 and 07 was able to collect the required 25 signatures of registered voters and return them before the August 6 deadline.

It will be possible to write in names on the November ballot.

From ANC2F's website

The seats for districts 03 and 07 are currently held by Stephanie Dahle and Matt Raymond, respectively. Dahle recently won an uncontested special election. Her first ANC2F meeting as a commissioner was in May. Raymond is the Chair of ANC2F and has served several terms.

Three ANC2F incumbents filed a petition in time to appear on the November ballot -- Commissioner John Fanning (district 04), Jim Lamare (05), and Kevin Deeley (08). All three are running unopposed.

Only one district (06) has more than one candidate.

Here is a list of all the candidates for ANC2F seats who have filed petitions by district:

01: Katherine Gordon
02: Karin Berry
03: [no candidate]
04: John Fanning (incumbent)
05: Jim Lamare (incumbent)
06: Charlie Bengel, Danielle Pierce
07: [no candidate]
08: Kevin Deeley (incumbent)

If you are a candidate and I missed your website, or if you wish me to link to website other than the one above, please email me at shortarticlesaboutlongmeetings at gmail and I will change the link.

There is a "challenge period" for nominating petitions, which begins three days after a candidate files a petition, and continues for 10 days. During this period, any registered voter can challenge the validity of signatures on a petition. DCBOEE automatically accepts submitted petitions as valid unless there is a challenge.

Don't know your ANC district? There are two search tools: one by the DC government, the other by Code for DC.


See here for a separate post about the candidates for ANCs 1B/U Street, 2B/Dupont Circle, and 6E/Shaw.

Aspiring ANC Candidates Start the Process

On 15 July, the DC Board of Election and Ethics (DCBOEE) released a list of people who had picked up (and, in a few cases, had already returned) nomination papers for Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC). Below is information from the document about races in the ANCs I usually report on, occasionally supplemented by announcements, online information, and/or gossip I have heard at meetings.

Don't know your ANC district? There are two search tools: one by the DC government, the other by Code for DC.

According to tweets on July 21 by ANC2B Commissioner Stephanie Maltz, 240 candidates city-wide have picked up petitions. Of these, 121 are incumbents, 119 not. More than one-third of all ANC districts (109) have no candidates yet.

ANC 1B/U Street

Sitting commissioners who have picked up nominating papers for re-election: Deborah Thomas (district 04), Juan Lopez (07), Mark Ranslem (08), ANC1B Chair James Turner (09), Allyson Carpenter (10).

Sitting commissioners who have announced at public meetings they will not run for re-election: Ricardo Reinoso (05), Zahra Jilani (12).

At an ANC1B committee meeting, someone said that Commissioner E. Gail Anderson Holness (11) would not run for re-election.

Commissioner Marc Morgan (01) is seeking an At-Large seat on the DC City Council. I don't know if he is allowed to run for re-election at the same time. I suspect not. 

Non-commissioners who have picked up nominating petition for ANC1B seats, by district:

• 01: Brian Footer
• 03: Patrick Nelson
• 07: Jessica Laura Smith
• 11: Amanda Bonam, Robb Hudson
• 12: Matt Abbruzzese, John C. Green

ANC 2B/Dupont Circle

Sitting commissioners who have picked up nominating papers for re-election: Stephanie Maltz (03), Abigail Nichols (05), Mike Silverstein (06), Leo Dwyer (07), and Noah Smith (09).

It took Nichols two days to collect sufficient signatures and file them. The DCBOEE clerk told Nichols she was the first filer, Nichols said in an email.

Commissioner Kishan Putta (04) is running for an At-Large seat on the DC City Council. He announced at an ANC2B monthly meeting he is not running for re-election to the ANC.

Non-commissioners who have picked up nominating petition for ANC2B seats, by district:

• 02: Daniel Warwick
• 04: Michael Upright
• 05: Jonathan Jagoda
• 07: Holly L. Biglow, Justin Underhill (see note below)
• 08: Allison Fitzsimmons

Note: "Justin Underhill" may be a misprint in the original document. A woman named "Justine Underhill" is active in a group in the district called "Neighbors of St. Thomas Church DC", which opposed the development of a multi-story residential unit and an expanded church.

ANC 2F/Logan Circle

Sitting commissioner who has picked up nominating papers for re-election: John Fanning (04).

Commission Walt Cain (02) announced at the last ANC2F meeting that he would not be running for re-election, according to a summary of the meeting on the ANC's web site.

Non-commissioners who have picked up nominating petition for ANC2f seats, by district:

• 01: Michael Forster, Katherine Gordon
• 06: Danielle W. Pierce

ANC 6E/Shaw

Sitting commissioners who have picked up nominating papers for re-election: ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (01), Rachelle Nigro (04), Marge Maceda (05).

Non-commissioners who have picked up nominating petition for ANC6E seats, by district:

• 02: Eugene Simms
• 04: Clyde H. Brown

See the full list (seven-page .pdf) from the DCBOEE web site of all people who have picked up nominating petitions for ANC Commissioner here.

Special Elections in ANC 2F and 1B

Three Commissioners of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) 2F/Logan Circle and 1B/U Street have moved or will soon move out of their districts, so must vacate their seats. There will be special elections to fill their vacancies.

From ANC2F web site

According to the web site of the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE), anyone can run for ANC commissioner if he or she is a registered voter in DC, has lived in the ANC district for at least 60 days, and holds no other elective office. A candidate must gather 25 signatures to appear on the ballot.

ANC2F: Districts 03 and 08

At its regular monthly meeting last night (March 5), ANC2F Chair Matt Raymond (district 07) announced that this was the last meeting for ANC Commissioner Chris Linn (district 03). Linn is buying a home in Columbia Heights. The Commission passed a resolution thanking Linn for his work.

In January, Commissioner Matt Connolly (district 08) left the commission. On an announcement on the ANC web site, Connolly said he was moving back to Boston. At its January meeting, ANC2F thanked Connolly for his service.

At last night's meeting, Raymond announced nominating petitions would be available starting this Monday, March 10. Prospective candidates would have until Monday, March 31, to file their petitions. There would be a "challenge period", during which the validity of signatures on nominating petitions could be challenged.

Assuming that there is more than one candidate for at least one of the ANC2F positions, special elections will be held at the next possible ANC2F meeting. Raymond said this would probably be ANC2F's May meeting, currently scheduled for May 14.

ANC1B: District 08

From ANC1B's web site

At last month's meeting of ANC1B (held February 6), it was announced that Commissioner Mary Washington (district 08) was attending her last meeting as a commissioner. She is also moving out of her district. It was announced that there would be a special election to fill her seat, but no other details were given.

Further details may be announced at ANC1B's next meeting general meeting, which will take place tonight, March 6, at 7pm, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets NW).

ANC special elections do not draw a great turnout and are often decided by a handful of votes. For example, last year's ANC special election for a open seat in neighboring ANC 2B/Dupont Circle was won by a vote of 34-12.

Find out what ANC district you live in here.

A blank DCBOEE declaration of candidacy form is available here.

ANC Commissioners, Activists Criticize Voting Precinct Simplification Plan

DC's Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) held a public hearing October 24 on its proposed Precinct Boundary Efficiency Plan, which would redraw and simplify the District's voting districts. Fewer than 15 people attended. 

Five members of the public testified before the committee. Three were Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) members. The other two were the chair of the Ward 3 DC Democratic State Committee and the executive director of government watchdog group DC Watch.

ANC Commissioners: Polling Station Complaints

Commissioner Mike Silverstein (ANC2B/Dupont Circle - district 06) said many of his constituents would have far longer walks to the polls under the new plan. As an example, he talked of his constituents who live at 2301 N Street NW. These constituents now vote at Francis Stevens school (2425 N Street). Under the new plan, they would have to walk to the Charles Summer School (1201 17th Street, at M Street). According to Google Maps, this would mean a walk of 8/10ths of a mile or less, which might take 15 minutes, crossing eight intersections, including intersections at New Hampshire and Connecticut Avenues.

Silverstein invoked the memory of the civil rights movement and compared moving the voting place to acts of voter suppression of that era.

DCBOEE Board Member Devarieste Curry told Silverstein it was inappropriate to compare the Precinct Boundary Efficiency Plan to Jim Crow-era attempts to deprive the vote to African-Americans.

"Mr. Silverstein, I find it troubling in making a comparison to civil rights," Curry said.

Curry noted the DCBOEE had previously been taken to task for long lines at the polling stations. which discourage voting. The new plan aimed to reduce this obstacle, and encourage voting.

"Nothing suppresses votes like long lines," Board Member Stephen Danzansky said later.

Silverstein also repeated objections first aired at the October 9 meeting of ANC2B - see October 16 SALM blog post. ANC2B voted to oppose the new plan at that meeting.

Two Commissioners from ANC6E/Shaw - Rachelle Nigro (district 04) and Marge Maceda (district 05) - also protested the location of polling places.

Nigro, who is also ANC6E chair, took exception to two separate polling places.

Nigro asked the board to reconsider the decision to put a polling station in the United House of Prayer (1721 7th Street), located in her home district. Nigro noted that the United House of Prayer frequently puts up candidates for election to the ANC, including three in the last election. She said putting a polling place in this church would be like putting a polling place in the offices of a major political party.

"I represent 400 members of the United House of Prayer," Nigro said. However, other residents "have made it clear to me that they do not want to vote in a house of worship."

Nigro also objected to the choice of the J.O. Wilson Elementary School (600 K Street NE) as a polling place for district 06. Some residents will have to walk 13 blocks to the school.

Clifford D. Tatum, DCBOEE Executive Director, later said he did not know the school was 13 blocks from the district. The DCBOEE would consider changing the polling place, he said.

The text of Nigro's statement to the DCBOEE is available on her Facebook page.

Commissioner Maceda said the proposed new polling place in her district (Walker Jones Elementary - 1125 New Jersey Avenue NW) would be a serious inconvenience for some voters. Some would have to walk "at least" 13 blocks, she said.

Activists: Too fast, not enough community input

The first person to testify was Shelley Tomkin, Chair of the Ward 3 Democrats. She said her organization needed more time. She also said the new plan would disrupt Ward 3 Democrats, who are organized by precinct. It had the potential to break up political communities. She urged the DCBOEE to delay implementation until the 2016 elections

"The decision to rush through is wrong," she said. "The sensible way to approach the proposal is to give the community time to comment."

In response, Devarieste Curry wondered aloud whether it was appropriate for the board to consider the effects of the changes on a political party.

Other testimony was heard from Dorothy Brizill of DC Watch. She urged the board to extend the time for public comment and to make the 58-page report (.pdf here) on the plan easier to read, photocopy, and display on mobile devices. She also said the maps in the report were poorly designed and ANCs had not had sufficient time to comment. 

Brizill was extremely unhappy with the way the board presented the plan to the public, and felt that the board was not taking comments on the plan seriously. Brizill got into an argument with members of the board. While board members were speaking to her, she got up from the table where she was giving her testimony, collected her things, and walked out. 

"I didn't come here to be talked to" were her last words to the board as she rose to leave.

Board Chair comments

At the end of the meeting, DCBOEE Board Chair Deborah K. Nichols said, "We need to have something in place before the 2016 election. It would be good if we had a dry run in 2014."

Although this meeting is the last scheduled one, Nichols said: "We may have another public hearing."

"I don't want anyone to think this is a done deal. It's not a done deal," Nichols said earlier in the meeting.

ANC2B Opposes Voting Precinct Simplification Plan

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted to oppose the DC government's plan to simplify the District's system of voting precincts. The new system may save money and make elections easier to administer, but it may also mean a longer trip for many Dupont residents to their polling station.

The vote, 7-1 to oppose the plan, took place at ANC2B's regular monthly meeting on October 9.

Clifford D. Tatum, Executive Director of the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE), appeared before ANC2B to state the case for the new plan.

The plan for new voting districts

As it stands now, DC election precincts are drawn completely without regard to ANC districts. As a result, residents of a single ANC district may vote at three or four different polling places, and a polling place may need to have several different ballots on hand, one for each ANC district in which a voter might reside. The idea is to align ANC districts and voting precincts, so that a single precinct would receive all voters in an ANC district. Voting precincts would handle one to four ANC districts, with the overwhelming majority handling two ANC districts.

According to DCBOEE's 2013 Precinct Boundary Efficiency Plan (58-page .pdf here), the number of ballots that would have to be printed under the new system would drop by 50 percent. Based on the number of ballots printed for the last general election, DCBOEE estimates the new system would save the city $80,000 in printing costs alone. There could be further savings as the reduced number of ballots would be both easier to proofread and administer, and would require less training to use.

An additional benefit for ANC candidates would be (in many cases) a reduced number of polling places to campaign at. Plus, when a candidate visited a polling place, he or she could be certain an arriving voter is eligible to vote for the candidate.

The DCBOEE document contains testimony from ANC2B Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05) about this point. During her unsuccessful 2012 ANC Commissioner bid, Nichols wrote,

My ability to reach out to potential constituents was hampered both by having to spread myself among three polling places but also by not knowing which voters at each polling place were my constituents. Although voters approaching the polls were tolerant, I was wasting the time of up to three quarters of them as I tried to figure out which [district] they were from.

Nichols eventually won a spot on ANC2B in a March 2013 special election.

ANC opposition

Although the total number of voting precincts will remain roughly the same (141 proposed vs. 143 presently), some voting places will change. Of these, some voters will have a longer trip to their voting place. This was the basis of ANC opposition, which was led by Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06).

Silverstein's district has a long, thin dog-leg shape, running from Rock Creek at N Street NW on one end to 17th Street and G Streets, near the White House, at the other. Now, his district is in three different voting precincts: 4, 14, and 17.

Under the new plan, Silverstein's district would be combined with neighboring ANC2B district 07 into a single voting precinct. Residents of both districts would vote at the Charles Summer School (1201 17th Street, at M Street). This polling place is located outside the boundaries of the proposed new district. It would mean a longer walk for most voters, Silverstein said, across several major intersections.

Silverstein said the plan put ease of election administration and campaigning before voter interest.

"It's not our convenience," Silverstein said.

Silverstein also said he opposed changing voting precincts within six months of a primary election. (There will be a primary election on April 1, 2014.) This would increase voter confusion, he said.

The choice of polling places may be controversial in other places as well. Recent tweets indicate some residents of ANC6E/Shaw may not be happy with the choice of a church for their new polling station.

Opportunity for public comment

There will be two public hearings for those wishing to comment on the plan. The first is on Friday, October 18 at 10am in the Office of Zoning Hearing Room, 2nd Floor South, One Judiciary Square. The second is on Thursday, October 24, at 6pm in the Old Council Chambers, First Floor South Lobby, One Judiciary Square.

The public is also invited to submit written comments through Wednesday, October 30, using email director@dcboee.org or postal address

Board of Elections
Government of the District of Columbia
One Judiciary Square
441 4th Street NW
Suite 250 North
Washington, DC 20001