What are the campaign finance rules for ANC elections? Because I'd chip in for the campaign for any reasonable opponent. And since it's a non-partisan contest, I'd be free to encourage others to do so as well.
Generalizing a bit, you've written about the many failings of the ANC system in general, which is in part because the individuals ANCs are isolated from one another. Perhaps one solution--and I have neither the time nor expertise to coordinate this--is to try to elect good ANCs citywide, from a sort of good governance/livability quasi-party.
Good idea.
And to pair it with a training infrastructure, which is something I hope to create via a revitalized and revived Citizens Planning Coalition.
Thanks for writing this Richard. It speaks to the downside of micro-fifedoms around the city. Too much of this kind of behavior is tolerated by the residents because few have the time to stay on top of it.
Being an an unpaid ANC Commissioner is a selfless act for the community, and one that is appreciated. However, when good intentions go astray on so many levels across so many neighborhoods, you have to look at the value of the system as a whole.
I personally do not like the ANC system. The elections are not competitive enough, giving the whole process very little credability. Too many people win unopposed and commissioners need to be "recruited" by community leaders, otherwise the seats remain vacant. That is not democracy. It's just bureaucracy.
Also, in Dupont Circle a few months ago the Citizens Association sponsored a lecture by Tersh Boasberg of HPRB. A commissioner asked "what does great weight mean? because you don't listen to us." Tersh bascially replied in a political way, "you are not a professional. ANC advice on decsion making is not professional advice."
I agree with him.
Well, the "great weight" thing is tricky. The communication is supposed to be considered relevant to the matter at hand.
E.g., HPRB has very specific criteria and parameters for what it does. By law, it only considers evidence and communication relevant to the matter. So it is only about the preservation law, requirements, and whether or not the property meets the standards.
Typically, most ANC comments on these matters don't address the specifics in the way that the laws are crafted. And this is true for many of the matters that come before various DC Governmetn bodies. Therefore, the comments are entered into the record but may have little influence.
I am a big fan of skilled amateurs. There are plenty of skilled and able professionals living in the city, participating in local affairs, on issues which they aren't trained in, but their education and abilities allow them to analyze and learn and participate in fundamental ways.
But I am not a fan of unskilled amateurs. That being said, some ANCs are truly outstanding (i.e., ANC6A, some of the ANCs in Ward 3, etc.) and there are many great and committed Commissioners.
What is sad is that the City or other groups hasn't responded by developing a training and support infrastructure to assist the skill level and ability to participate by Commissioners and other volunteers.
When I first went on the ANC6C zoning committee in January 2003 (I finished up in Dec. 2005), I suggested that they subscribe to _Planning Commissioners Journal_ and the _Zoning Advisory Report_ from the Am. Planning Assn.
In fact, any ANC commissioner or member of an ANC zoning committee can join the APA at the reduced rate made available to government officials, at about 1/3 or 1/4 the cost of the regular rate.
But the ANC never did spend the $125 or so to get subscriptions to those publications--partly the problem is that they don't have an office.
But as I have written over and over and over again, we need a place in one of the libraries comparable to the Urban Information Center at the Dallas Public Library, although I would add a whole lot more other publications ranging from Momentum Magazine to Spacing to Green Places (UK), etc.
I will work to make this happen at some point.
"Tersh [Boasberg] bascially replied in a political way, "you are not a professional. ANC advice on decsion making is not professional advice."
Many years ago, I used to always wind up in a debate with one of my dear friends, who also happened to be a lawyer. Inevitably, I would comment that so-and-so must be ultimately qualified and successful becuase he or she was a "professional."
One day, he finally stopped me from thinking in such a constrained manner, when he responded with, "Hookers are professionals, Elizabeth."
My six-member ANC(2A) currently has five attorneys (one retired from U.S. DOT) on it, and the sixth Commissioner is preparing to go to law school either this year or next.
The problem is not the ANCs, IMHO, it is about 30+ years of living in a city that has one industry: development. And until that changes, the residents are going to be powerless over Boasberg and other "professionals" just like him who don't feel obligated to pay any attention to community.
I would simply prefer to see either smaller Council Wards or beefed up councilmember offices.
Being a councilmember has prestige and the elections are therefore competitive. I have lived in other cities where councilmembers are more in touch with their contituents and the government has better services and offers a superior quality of life to what the ANC system does.
Also Elizabeth - Just because someone is a lawyer does not mean that they have a professional understanding of the issues at hand. A lawyer that does mergers and acquisitions all day is just as clueless as a plumber when it comes to historic preservation review.
And historic preservation is something that the greater community and the ANCs simply do not understand. "That building is ugly" has no place in the discussion. So the HPRB rightly ignores it.
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