The Next ANC Meeting is This Tuesday

The next monthly Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting (ANC 5C) is in three days:

Tuesday, September 19th
7 - 9 p.m.
Harry Thomas Recreation Center
1743 Lincoln Road N.E.

And when was this meeting announced? Yesterday, through two Internet listservs. The official ANC website still has not been updated at this writing.

Call me a stickler, but announcing a public governmental meeting four days before it is set to occur is not acceptable. This is, of course, not the incumbent 5C02 commissioner's fault alone. I wonder how well the other commissioners are advertising this meeting.

At best, 20 percent of constitutents are aware of this meeting. If elected, I will do my best to inform all citizens, regardless of their computer access (and by extension, their income level). This is the most basic duty of the ANC commissioners.

At the Polls on Primary Election Day

About an hour ago, Fox News 5 declared 35-year-old Adrian Fenty to be "the next mayor of D.C."

I arrived at the polling place at around 7:20 a.m. this morning and had a little trouble receiving a ballot. I stepped up in the appropriate location in line and gave my name. "Kris Hammond" I said... "K-r-i-s." I then gave my address as requested. The poll worker couldn't find my name, so I pointed to it on the ledger, which to me appeared upside down.

"Can I see some I.D.?" she said. I balked. A poll worker came over, and I immediately recognized him from the Emery Elementary School cleanup project. "How are you doing?" I said, and he smiled, shaking my hand. "He said his name was spelled C-h-r-i-s." the poll worker told him. I shook my head, but rather than draw things out, I produced my driver's license. The poll worker confirmed my I.D. and immediately became more friendly. They are doing their job, I thought.

Outside the polling place, volunteers for Fenty, Cropp, Johns, and Orange voiced support for their candidates. I managed to chat with volunteers from all of these campaigns, except Johns. (For the record, I asked some Fenty volunteers if one could appear in the photo to the right to provide some balance.)

In the midst of all of this, Officer Freeman came up to me and introduced himself. Apparently my advocacy is making waves. Police officers are walking the streets, he volunteered, but this technique came into use only recently. I told him that my conversation with neighborhood residents confirmed this; that they never saw police officers walking the streets until recently. Kudos to the MPD for embarking on the foot patrols; that seems to be what residents want.

Harry Thomas, Jr. cruised to victory for the city council seat for Ward Five.

Congratulations to Mr. Fenty and Mr. Thomas.

(Adrian Fenty photo credit: Todd Franson.)

Primary Election Day in the District

Today is the Election Primary in D.C., but it won't affect my candidacy because Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner is a nonpartisan race and there is no primary for ANC. It appears as though Fenty will be the Democratic nominee for Mayor, but I'm not taking sides in this primary. The important thing is that you realize that if elected, I will do my best to inform the elected Mayor and Ward Five City Councilmember of your concerns, no matter who is elected to these positions.

Registered voters will be casting their ballot at 142 voting precincts throughout D.C. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Our ANC is split between two precincts: (19) Dunbar Senior High School (1301 New Jersey Avenue, NW) and (75) Harry Thomas Recreation Center (1801 Lincoln Road, NE).

People often comment on the peculiar shape of ANC 5C-02, particularly given that North Capitol Street is a natural dividing line, but the ANC is split by North Capitol. Does anyone know how this district shape came to be?

Faith Temple Church

Earlier today, I attended services at Faith Temple Church (1719 North Capitol Street N.E.). The worship service began around 12:15 p.m. and wrapped up around 1:30.

Faith Temple is one of the very few churches actually located within the boundaries of ANC 5C-02. This Pentecostal congregation is very small, but their spirit far outweighs their numbers. Pastor Daniel Smith told me that several churches in the past had been "born" in this building until they grew and needed larger quarters.

One of the opening scripture verses from the service came from I Corinthians 9:6: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." That sounds like a call to action for our community.