Thank you for re-electing me Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 2C01. I appreciate your support and value your input into the important decisions I am charged with making as your representative.

I'd like to invite you to participate in making decisions that affect our neighborhood, our families, and our quality of life here in Shaw.  Here are five ways you can help:

1. Attend ANC 2C01 Community Forum meetings.  I hold periodic meetings for residents of ANC 2C01 to hear presentations by government agency representatives, developers, and business owners on new business proposals, zoning and license applications, and other matters which affect  our neighborhood.  I also report on actions taken by city government and business and property owners in response to my efforts, and issues I am actively pursuing.

Examples of topics covered include:

 Retail Development (attracting new businesses desired by the community to the 7th and 9th Street commercial corridors and the O Street Market)

 Service Delivery (includes street cleaning, garbage and recyclables collection, rat abatement, street light repair, and sign replacement)

 Licenses and Permits (new liquor license applications and renewals and certificates of occupancy for businesses)

 Housing (includes efforts to preserve affordable housing and renovate abandoned residential properties)

 Historic Preservation (issues related to the Shaw and Greater U Street Historic Districts, including building permits, proposed expansion of the Shaw Historic District and nominations of individual buildings to the DC Inventory of Historic Places; Convention Center Historic Preservation Fund; and streetscape improvement proposals)

Meeting dates and locations will be announced at least two weeks in advance of an ANC 2C01 Community Forum. The meetings begin at 7:00 PM and end by 9:00 PM.

2. Subscribe to the ANC 2C01 email mailing list. I send email messages containing information on community meetings, events, and other topics to ANC 2C01 residents who want to be kept up-to-date on community activities and developments affecting our neighborhood. The average number of messages sent per week is six. If you would like to be added to the email list, just send me a message at PadroANC2C@aol.com.

3. Share your ideas and concerns with me.  I spend dozens of hours each week attending hearings and meeting with government agency representatives to present our community's views on a wide variety of issues.  I also attend a number of community meetings each month in order to present information on different topics, answer questions, and gather community input.  But I can only reach a fraction of the residents of the neighborhood that way. If you have specific concerns related to city services, want more information on a specific topic, or would like to share your opinions or ideas about neighborhood issues, just email me at PadroANC2C@aol.com or call me at 202-518-3794. Your input is important, is used to develop priorities, and influences the decisions and actions I take on your behalf.

4. Become a block captain or co-captain. Even if it was possible to speak with people on every block in the ANC 2C01 area regularly, I still wouldn't be able to personally reach everyone with news that affects them and hear their concerns.  Block captains help keep neighbors informed by distributing meeting agendas and other materials and reporting issues of concern and incidents to my attention. As a block captain, you would help remind everyone of when important meetings are being held, get input on topics being discussed by the commission from people who are unable to attend meetings, and make arrangements for me to address your civic or tenants association, when appropriate.

5. Attend ANC meetings. If there are topics on the monthly ANC 2C meeting agenda that are of interest or concern to you, come to the meeting. Time is provided for community residents to express opinions on the issues being discussed. The opinions presented by the public at ANC meetings help commissioners decide how to vote, especially when the comments come from individuals directly affected by the decisions being made.

Help shape our community's future.

When developers planning housing and retail establishments come before the ANC with their proposals, I want to be able to say that my constituents either support or oppose their plans, and if appropriate, negotiate with the developers so that projects are more palatable to the community. When liquor licenses are up for renewal, or new licenses are applied for, I need to be able to say whether residents welcome those applications or reject them.  When our city councilmember, Jack Evans, calls to ask how neighborhood residents expect him to vote on issues affecting us, I need to be able to say that we favor or oppose those proposals.  We, not just me.

When I first ran for office, I wrote you to set out my goals, my vision for the community.  I closed the letter with this statement: "I want to work on improving the quality of our lives here. I want to help provide for a brighter future for everyone in our community, for our children and seniors, working and unemployed men and women, blacks, whites, latinos, asians, gays and straights. And I want to listen to your concerns about our neighborhood, as well as your ideas and hopes for the future. Together, we can make our dreams a reality." Our neighborhood is changing for the better, thanks in no small part to the community's activism and involvement.

I need your help to continue to make this happen. Send me an e-mail at PadroANC2C01@aol.com or call me at 202-518-3794 to let me know what you can do to help reach our goals.

I welcome your calls and emails about neighborhood issues you’d like me to work on. I walk or drive through most of my jurisdiction each week (even the alleys!), but can’t spot every problem that should be reported as quickly as possible. If you serve as my eyes and ears, together we can deal with issues as they come up.

And that reflects my philosophy as an ANC Commissioner: we all need to work together, because we’re all in this together. The community asked me to take on this responsibility, and I accepted it willingly, for the neighborhood’s sake. But I can only continue to succeed with your support and involvement.

I am eager to continue working with you to build a brighter future for our neighborhood and all its residents.

Sincerely,

Alexander M. Padro

Commissioner, ANC 2C01

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