At least 46 known LGBTQ candidates are running for seats on the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission in the Nov. 5 D.C. election, with the exception of Ward 3, where there are only two known LGBTQ candidates. There are six or more LGBTQ candidates running in each district. Running.
Of the 46 known LGBTQ candidates, 22 are incumbent ANC committee members seeking re-election to a four-year term. The ANC Rainbow Caucus, made up of LGBTQ ANC members, indicates on its website that it currently has 27 sitting members, most of whom are seeking re-election.
This seems to indicate that the proportion of LGBTQ ANC members who are running for re-election is greater than the proportion of overall ANC members who are running for another term. The Washington Post and other media have reported that many ANC members have chosen not to run for re-election this year, citing the stress associated with their jobs.
Under Washington, D.C.’s Charter of Home Rule, advisory neighborhood commissions act as unpaid elected officials tasked with making recommendations to city government on a wide range of neighborhood issues, such as approving liquor licenses for bars and restaurants and zoning regulations. are. City officials are required to “give weight” to the ANC’s recommendations, but government officials are not required to accept them.
According to the official list of ANC candidates on the DC election ballot paper released by the Washington DC Elections Commission, 51 of the 345 ANC Single Member Districts (SMDs) are running on the November 5 election ballot. There are no candidates to do so. The Electoral Commission has released another list of registered write-in candidates, including several ANC candidates.
According to the Electoral Commission’s list, there are far more ANC single-member constituencies where a single candidate is standing unopposed. Of the 46 LGBTQ ANC candidates, 32 have no opposition on the electoral ballot.
Gay ANC Commissioner Vincent Surratt, who represents Dupont Circle ANC District 2B03 and chairs the ANC Rainbow Caucus, said ANC members were facing considerable stress.
“The ANC is a volunteer organization, working without pay in addition to their day jobs,” Surratt told the Washington Blade. “Attrition rates are extremely high due to a lack of support from the executive branch and the perception by our neighbors that we are providing the same services to our constituents that city council members provide.” he said.
Mr Surratt added that residents sometimes did not fully understand the role of ANC members, which was causing “mass turnover and making the problem worse”.
The Blade obtained a partial list of known LGBTQ ANC candidates from the ANC Rainbow Caucus, which has created its own list of LGBTQ candidates, and from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization that supports LGBTQ political candidates. . Thirteen Victory Funds “endorsed” ANC candidates. The Blade obtained additional names of LGBTQ ANC candidates who are not on the Rainbow Caucus or Victory Fund lists from people with knowledge of the candidates.
Also, of the known LGBTQ ANC candidates, two LGBTQ candidates are running against each other in just two single-member constituencies. One is District 1B03 in the Columbia Heights area, where J. Swiderski is challenging incumbent Jamie S. Sycamore.
The other is District 2G01 in Shaw, where Howard Garrett, recently elected president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, a Washington, D.C., LGBTQ Democratic group, is running against community activist Parker Griffin. Both men are vying for ANC seats where the incumbent is not standing for re-election.
As in past election years, this year the largest number of LGBTQ ANC candidates known are running in District 2 districts, which include Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, and the Shaw area. However, this year, more LGBTQ candidates than usual are running for Wards 4, 5, and 8.
Kent Bose, a gay former ANC member who represented the District 1 SMD in the Parkview area until 2022, will continue in his current role as director of the DC Advisory Neighborhood Commission Authority, appointed in October 2022. continues. It is to oversee the financial and administrative operations of the ANC throughout the city.
Below is a list of LGBTQ ANC candidates and the single-member constituencies and districts in which they run.
1A04 – (Columbia Heights)
Jeremy Sherman, he/him
1A07 – (Columbia Heights)
Mukta Gopadi, she/her
1A10 – (Columbia Heights)
Billy Easley, he/him
1B03 – (Columbia Heights/U Street)
J. Swiderski, They/He
Jamie S. Sycamore, he/him
1B06 – (Columbia Heights/Meridian Hill)
Miguel Trindade Deramo, he/him
1B07 – (U Street)
Matthew Holden, he/him
1D01 – (Mount Pleasant)
Jay Falk, she/her
1E01 – (Park View)
brad howard, he/him
1E07 – (Howard University/Pleasant Plains)
brian footer, he/him
2A05 – (Below the Fog)
Luke Chadwick, he/him
2B02 – (Dupont Circle)
Jeffrey Luckgauer, he/him
2B03 – (Dupont Circle)
Vincent Surratt, he/him
2B09 – (Dupont Circle/U Street)
Christopher Davis, he/him
2C01 – (Penn Quarter)
Michael D. Shankle, he/him
2F05 – (Logan Circle)
Christopher Dyer, he/him
2F06 – (Logan Circle)
John Fanning, he/him
22F07 – (Logan Circle)
Kevin Cataldo, he/him
2G01 – (Show)
Parker Griffin, he/him
Howard Garrett, he/him
2G02 – (Show)
Alexander “Alex” Padro, he/him
2G04 – (Show)
Stephen McCarty, he/him
3B06 – (Wesley Heights)
S. Robert Rodriguez, he/him
3F05 – (Van Ness/Cleveland Park)
Adrian Jesus Iglesias, he/him
4B01 – (Tacoma)
Doug Payton, he/him
4B4B10 – (Ramond Riggs)
Jinin Berry, she/her
4C06 – (Petworth)
Kristen Voss Hayes, They/Them
4E02 – (16 Street Heights)
Vince Mikone, he/him
5B02 – (Brookland)
Nandini Sen, she/her
5B04 – (Brookland)
La Amin, he/him
5B05 – (Brookland)
Monica Martinez Lopez, she/her
5D05 – (Trinidad)
Salvador Sauceda-Guzman, he/him
5D06 – (Trinidad/Carver)
Charquinta (Char) McCray, she/her
5E05 – (Bloomingdale)
tyler lopez he/him
5F06 – (Eckington)
Joe Bishop Henchman, he/him
6B03 – (Capitol Hill)
David Soberthorn, he/him
6B09 – (Capitol Hill/Berney Circle)
Karen Hughes, she/her
7B05 – (Hillcrest)
elizabeth reddick she/they
7C01 – (Dean Wood)
Brian Glover, he/him
7C03 – (Lincoln Heights)
Carlos Richardson, he/him
7C08 – (National Diet Building View)
Brandon M. Scott, he/him
7E06 – (Benning Ridge)
Ravi K. Perry, he/him
8A01 – (Fair Lawn)
tom donahue he he
8B05 – (Garfield Heights)
Marcus Thomas Hickman, he/him
8C08 – (Douglas)
elizabeth carter she/her
8F04 – (Navy Yard)
edward daniels