We have offered to post brief statements from all of the ANC candidates running for seats on Capitol Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods that we cover here on The Hill is Home. These statements are not endorsements and have been posted exactly as submitted by the candidates.
My name is Danny Smith and I am a write-in candidate for Advisory Neighborhood Commission in ANC 6A06. I am a Washington, DC native and attended Gonzaga College High School not far from where I am now. Currently, I work for the U.S. Senate for Senator Cory Booker as his deputy counsel.
I moved to my current location a little over a year ago not because it is a mile from where I work—although that is convenient—but because this area has a unique history, beautiful architecture, great people, and it is rich in diversity. In the foreseeable future, we will see tremendous growth on H Street and the area around it. There are over 1,000 units in the works for the H Street Corridor alone. While there are certainly upsides to this development, our community needs to be vigilant to ensure that those special traits I listed above remain constant a fixture in our neighborhood.
This year, in late August, I was speaking to a good friend and neighbor about wanting to get involved in my community. I mentioned to him that I was interested in perhaps running for ANC in two years. He asked me bluntly, “Why not now?” I explained to him that August 10 was the deadline to get my name on the ballot, which had passed, and I also wanted to immerse myself more in the neighborhood. He pushed me and again asked, “Why not now?” After several days of thought I concluded this: running for ANC will provide me with a great opportunity to meet many of my wonderful neighbors and get to hear about their concerns and their priorities. What better way is there to put your finger on the pulse of your community and understand the issues that people confront besides going door-to-door and talking to folks firsthand? I am running for ANC because I want to be involved in my community and I want to hear from you about how we can make our community better for everyone.
Here are just two ideas I would like to work towards implementing if you elected me as your commissioner. First, I want to explore new ways to engage members of the community to get involved. Whether it is looking into airing ANC meetings on Facebook Live or looking at other social media platforms and I want to make sure that people are not caught by surprise by future projects like many folks were with the announcement of the Maryland Ave. road diet.
Second, I want to work with law enforcement to engage with the community more. Building strong connections between the DC police and the community is critical to public safety. I don’t want people only to interact with law enforcement when something goes wrong or when they have a complaint. Rather, residents should know the officers that patrol their block and officers should know the priorities of people in the neighborhood. This takes organizing events where beat officers can spend time with community members in a more casual setting and get to know the people they serve.
I want to leave you all with one last thing. I want to applaud the other candidates who are also seeking this position. We need more people who want to be actively engaged in our community, not less. For me this race is not about running against someone, it is about running for something.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I want to be easily accessible to members of my community now and anytime moving forward. Thank you for your time and I hope I can earn your support.