It’s 14 days until election day and most of you have probably made up your minds about whom you will vote in the general election. However, when it comes to local elections, most people have no idea how their District, Ward or advisory neighborhood commissions are divided or affect them. Local outlets such as Greater Greater Washington do a good job of bringing hyperlocal politics news, and reasons why you should run for these nonpartisan offices. OpenANC allows you to learn more about your own single-member district, so you know the names of the people in the race. As is now a tradition, The Hill is Home is publishing candidate statements in the order in which we’ve received them, so you know a little more about the people running and don’t go into the voting booth (or mail-in ballot) blind. –Maria Helena Carey
Statement by Andrew Bossi, ANC 6D01
Hello! My name is Andrew Bossi (he/him) and for those looking at their lack of candidates for ANC 6D01: I should perhaps highlight that I am running as a write-in for Southwest’s 6D01 commissioner.
Behind that large floral Muppet-resembling mask is an introvert whom some might recognize from quietly sitting at the front when we still had in-person ANC meetings, and even as we’ve gone virtual I have continued to live-tweet our meetings to the #ANC6D hashtag. Our family, alongside so many others this year, adopted our dog Stella this year, and we’re often roaming about the neighborhood with our fuzzy canine.
I work in transportation as an engineer and planner, and as one might expect from that: transportation and land use are undoubtedly at the fore of my interests. I believe our ANC needs a comprehensive transportation plan that takes into account the massive growth Southwest is experiencing, as well as its impacts while it’s all being constructed. We need safer and more equitable infrastructure for our most vulnerable users, and I like to think I had a hand in the 4th Street Bikeway even if it does still have room for improvement. We need a more robust curbside management program that can tailor our limited streetsides toward our greatest needs: ridehailing and delivery spaces so double-parking doesn’t block lanes, addressing resident parking needs, space for bikes and scooters outside of sidewalk spaces, and especially as COVID continues to threaten our businesses: keeping the door open to business interested in outdoor seating and parklets.
My work and interests also intersect with land use. The growth Southwest is experiencing is both our greatest opportunity and our greatest threat. We must press every development to not just meet, but to exceed Affordable Housing goals, and all the more for those parcels that are able to, by right, develop some of the most valuable real estate in DC without any affordable housing at all. We must seek protections for tenants most at risk of displacement, especially working to help our neighbors in our public housing communities to remain here in Southwest as development seeks that same land, and also our neighbors who wonder how they will be able to afford to remain here in the face of rising rents and rising costs. I want growth that doesn’t turn us into something like a gated community, but provides a variety of homes and a variety of businesses, for the variety of us calling Southwest home.
I’m excited to have received an endorsement from Greater Greater Washington, and welcome others to read my responses to their survey at: http://tiny.cc/6d01 (P.S. Keep wearing those masks & show off your best prints!)