06 Dec 2010

Your Corner of Capitol Hill: Meet Your Elected ANC Rep

An abundance of trash on your street? Cars driving too fast in your neighborhood? Looking for a way to get more involved in the community? Your Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner is here to help (and yes, he/she ran for the position knowing it was unpaid!) This week, I sat down with Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg (ANC 6B 04) over coffee and asked her about the work she’s done since first being elected in 2007.

1 – Tell us a little about yourself and the reason(s) you sought a position on your neighborhood’s ANC.

Having lived on Capitol Hill since 1982, Kirsten has a real fondness for the neighborhood at large. After retirement from a federal job in 2006, she was looking for a way to get more deeply involved with the Capitol Hill community, so she sought election to the ANC a year later. Since first being elected, the whole process has been a huge learning experience and a lot of work.  But, she thoroughly enjoys her interactions with people in the community and, thus, chose to seek re-election in 2010.

2 – What is the number one issue facing your neighborhood and how do you plan to address it?

There isn’t a “number one” issue rather there are two distinct types of issues: those that affect the 2,000 residents she was elected to represent and those that impact all of us living on Capitol Hill.  Both types may come before the ANC itself for resolution.  But, much of her time is spent working directly with residents, businesses, and others on very specific problems, such as noise and parking and just connecting people with DC services.  The major issues that may come before the ANC in the next two years include several major developments (Hine, Hill East, and the Marine Barracks), construction of the new CSX tunnel, and the growth of restaurants on Barracks Row and its impact on nearby residents.  Most of these require careful collection of the facts and listening to all points of view before votes can be cast.

3 – What will you do to increase resident participation in the ANC process? Do you have any plans to make meetings more appealing to residents in your neighborhood and/or solicit increased community involvement?

Kirsten is well known for keeping residents fully informed about ANC upcoming meetings and actions taken through an email newsletter. She also distributes notices in neighborhoods, forewarning about a vote or issue that will directly impact specific residents. These not only inform but also provide contact information so people can follow up with questions and concerns.  The reality is that Capitol Hill residents are very busy people.  They participate on a case-by-case basis not constantly.

4- What do you need from residents in your neighborhood in order to be a good representative?

Local residents need to be proactive and get involved. Read the Hill Rag and The Hill is Home to find out what is going on. If you live in the neighborhood and don’t already know her, please introduce yourself via email or in person, she’d love to meet you!

5- Complete this sentence: “Capitol Hill is the best place to live in DC because __________.”

It is a genuine neighborhood, full of fascinating people doing quite interesting things.  Other than some missing retail shops, we have just about everything we need on the Hill.  But, surely Eastern Market is what knits our community together.  The fire in 2007 proved that.

Coming up next, an interview with newly elected ANC 6B 09 rep Brian Flahaven.  In the meantime, leave a comment or suggest an ANC rep to be featured in an upcoming post! You can also contact the author and follow her foray into the twitterverse @laurentorlone.

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