ISSUES

If elected, I will focus on the following issues. 

INFRASTRUCTURE

We must ensure that our roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, and drainage system are safe and maintained.

Our infrastructure is aging and in need of repair. Infrastructure disrepair poses serious health and physical safety concerns.

Here are some of the issues that we need to address:

  1. Speeding vehicles. It is time to slow down the traffic that flows through our neighborhood. It took the 3300 block of Tennyson Street over 5 years to get a second speed hump. Many other traffic-calming measures have been submitted to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and have been pending for far too long. I support Mayor Bowser’s DC Vision Zero initiative and  will work to improve performance and turnaround times for all traffic-calming measures.
  2. Sidewalks. To ensure that our Lafayette students can walk and ride their bikes safely to school, we need to address adding new sidewalks in places where they don’t exist. We also must address the state of disrepair of our existing sidewalks. If you walk with a cane or a walker or you are in a wheelchair, it can be particularly dangerous to navigate our sidewalks. I will work with DDOT to make sure that our sidewalks are fixed and that walking or bicycling to school or to anywhere else in our neighborhood is safe.
  3. Crosswalks and Stop Signs. Many of our crosswalks need to be repainted. Others need enhanced safety measures, like blinking lights and more “WALK” time, for pedestrians to cross the street. As we know too well, many cars in our neighborhood travel at speeds much higher than the posted speed limit, and they do not obey stop signs. Anyone who rides the Western Avenue or M4 buses knows that crossing Connecticut Avenue, Western Avenue, Nebraska Avenue, or other “thoroughfare” streets (e.g., Nevada, Utah, and Military) can be dangerous. Additional stop signs and other traffic-calming measures should be considered to meet head-on the dangers posed by unsafe crosswalks and speeding cars and commercial vehicles.
  4. Streets. Many of our streets need repairs. Some of our roads are better suited for a moon rover, than an automobile or a bicycle. I have been pleased to see many DDOT crews hard at work on our streets throughout the pandemic. These efforts are appreciated greatly. I will continue to engage constructively with DDOT. It goes without saying that well-maintained roads are important to ensure the safety of all drivers, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
  5. Streetlights and Alleys: Nearly 75,000 streetlights are located on the streets, in the alleys, and in other public spaces in the District. Many of these lights are powered by a variety of inefficient bulb technologies, including incandescent and high-pressure sodium. Upgrading to color appropriate low kelvin LED lighting is not only a cost-effective and energy-saving alternative to these technologies, but also an infrastructure and safe streets issue, as recognized by the DC Smart Street Lighting initiative. Many alleys in our neighborhoods also are in disrepair and pose a safety and infrastructure problem. Alleys are an important community asset which need regular maintenance and upgrades. I will work with DDOT to address both of these issues.

PUBLIC SAFETY

We need to make sure that our community is safe, especially for our children and seniors.

Most of the crimes in our neighborhood involve theft from automobiles and accessible parts of houses (porches, front yards, garages, etc.). But robberies and burglaries also have occurred.

To help address this issue, I have worked with the 2nd District police to increase the number of police cars that patrol our streets, especially at night when auto thefts are at their highest. I will continue to work with our local police and our community members to reduce crime and to make sure that we are safe in our neighborhood.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

To promote the DC Main Streets program, we need to ensure that the revitalization of our business corridor is consistent with our values, including the design of the community center/library complex and the proposed changes to Connecticut Avenue.

Economic development is complicated. There are a lot of competing stakeholders — all with legitimate interests to consider. While I don’t have an answer to all the questions that will arise, I promise to be an active participant in

  1. The plans to “re-develop” the community center/library complex, including evaluating the feasibility of affordable housing.
  2. The plans to address the needs of vehicular and bicycle traffic on Connecticut Avenue (this is especially close to my heart, having twice been hit by a car while on my bicycle).
  3. The development of the DC Main Streets program to help ensure that the plan is consistent with our community’s values, architecture, and business needs.
  4. The plans to support our local businesses, which have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of these businesses already have closed, and others are hanging on by a thread. As Commissioner, I will work with the Mayor’s office to provide whatever assistance can be provided to our local business owners. I also will encourage community residents to “shop local” whenever they can, consistent with DC safety requirements.

EDUCATION

Quality education is essential and provides the foundation for equity in society.

I will work to ensure that the DC Re-Open Strong program adequately:

  • Takes into account the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff;
  • Provides consistency and predictability in school scheduling;
  • Allows for family choice of in-person and/or virtual learning;
  • Meets the needs of children with special needs; and
  • Ensures equal access to children of all economic backgrounds.

Our community must make sure that we have planned adequately for the safe return of our students, teachers, and staff.
Issues that we need to address include:

  • Whether Lafayette, Deal, and Wilson have enough money for safety supplies (masks, sanitizer);
  • Whether there are adequate staff resources and sufficient space for smaller classes and social distancing;
  • Whether schools have sufficient resources to support children who may need to make-up for educational time lost during the pandemic; and
  • Whether safe transportation to and from school is available to our children, teachers, and staff.

I support DCPS’s commitment to equity in our schools. As an ANC commissioner, I will support equity training for all teachers and administrators at Lafayette, Deal, and Wilson. We also must review school policies that could present barriers to academic and social success.

Finally, we need to address overcrowding at Lafayette, which is at 110% of capacity through 2025, with limited ways to grow physically. We need to engage with multiple stakeholders – including Ward 3 and Ward 4 Councilmembers’ offices, DCPS, the District of Columbia State Board of Education, the Washington Teachers Union, and the Ward 3/4-Wilson Feeder Education Network – to develop an effective plan that will reduce overcrowding and maintain the high level of education that we are accustomed to in Chevy Chase. At the same time, we need to ensure equal access to education and opportunity for all.

ENVIRONMENT

The degradation of our environment is an existential threat to our planet. Unaddressed climate change threatens present and future Washingtonians.

I am committed to addressing the key environmental issues facing our community.

I believe that the ANC should consider and provide strong leadership on issues of immediate concern that impact our community, including:

  1. Working with the National Park Service to assess the advisability of permanently closing Beach and Bingham Drives to motorized vehicles.
  2. Improving existing bike lanes and considering the addition of new lanes, including on Connecticut Avenue.
  3. Evaluating whether tree removal standards for old-growth trees need to be strengthened.
  4. Expanding the city-wide composting programs; Community Compost Cooperative Network and Food Waste Drop-Off
  5. Heightening community awareness and expediting implementation of the Green Infrastructure and River Smart programs.
    Our neighborhood could be used as a case study for the city.
  6. Protecting and restoring the natural habitats in the Rock Creek watershed.
  7. Expanding the environmental literacy curriculum in our schools.

We need to focus on these issues now so that we can protect our environment, not only for us, but for future generations.

EQUALITY AND DC STATEHOOD

Issues of equality are critical in our country and in our community. DC Statehood is fundamental to this fight.

I support fully the June 8, 2020 ANC 3/4G Statement on Racism, and I will do all I can to work with the Mayor, the District Council, and the ANCs across the District to eliminate persistent inequities in the District of Columbia.

I applaud the ANC’s establishment of its Task Force on Racism and support the priorities it has established, specifically:

  1. Promoting a safe environment for all District residents, including safety from all forms of police bias.
  2. Addressing our community’s need for more affordable housing that will promote income diversity and enrich our civic life.
  3. Helping to immediately reduce and ultimately eliminate the health disparities between residents on the west side of Rock Creek and those who live on the east side.
  4. Helping to ensure the full staff resources and adjusted funding necessary to help provide a healthy and outstanding education in public schools throughout the District.

I also am committed to protecting the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. While progress has been made, more work needs to be done to reach full equality.

Matters of equality and DC Statehood are integrally intertwined. Without full representation in Congress for DC residents, we will be hamstrung in our efforts to root out systemic racism, injustice, and inequities in our community.

I strongly support DC Statehood and will advocate to make the District of Columbia our 51st state