Dear Neighbors,
I'm updating my website today with a heavy heart about a difficult topic. I have resigned as your ANC Commissioner because my wife and I are moving to Alabama in the near future. Her parents are getting older and not in very good health, and after much thought and discussion, we decided that attending to these family issues was just something we had to do. This was especially clear in light of the passing of my wife's only sibling, who had previously undertaken many of these responsibilities.
We did not make this decision easily, and my commitment to each of you and this great neighborhood was the thing that weighed most heavily on me. I had told many of you with great confidence that I wasn't going anywhere and that I was in the neighborhood for the long haul. This was most certainly true as far as living anywhere else in the DC area, as I couldn't imagine anywhere that we would like better-I just did not foresee this change of circumstances.
I continue to love our neighborhood, and will miss terribly being able to bring your concerns to the ANC, District officials and private companies active in our neighborhood, and to otherwise represent your interests. It has been an honor and privilege to represent you, despite the fact that my tenure as ANC Commissioner lasted far shorter than I would have preferred. Even in this short time, the ANC has dealt with a number of important issues in our neighborhood, and I hope that you will remember me as a positive influence on these issues, challenges and events.
Although I am no longer your ANC Commissioner, I will continue to live at my current address and be active in the neighborhood until at least the end of May. I deliberately chose to resign "early" so that I can be here to ensure a smooth transition for your new ANC Commissioner.
I have decided to endorse RACHAEL HALL in the election that will be held at the May ANC meeting. Rachael is a quality individual who has helped me (and the neighborhood) tremendously by serving on the ANC's Planning, Zoning and Environment Committee since January 2007. Here is the information about the election to replace me:
***You must vote in person at the May ANC meeting***
Date: May 14, 2008
Time: 7pm
Location: Heritage Foundation (214 Mass Ave NE, just east of the Exxon at 2nd & Mass Ave NE)
Note: You only have to stay long enough to vote--you don't have to stay for the entire meeting if you don't want to.
I deeply appreciate the opportunity to have represented you on the ANC. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner: What does it all mean?
Many people wonder just what it is that an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner does. Under the DC Code of Regulations, the purpose of each Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) is to "advise the Council of the District of Columbia, the Mayor and each executive agency, and all independent agencies, boards and commissions of the government of the District of Columbia with respect to all proposed matters of District government policy including, but not limited to, decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social services programs, education, health, safety, budget, and sanitation which affect that Commission area."
Each ANC is made up of the Commissioners that have been elected from each Single Member District (SMD) within the
ANC. Each SMD is designed to have a population of approximately 2,000 and to be as close to equal in population to all other SMDs as possible.
Here's a map of our SMD, 6C05:
It may be helpful to think of the ANCs as the most local, grassroots and hands-on level of DC government, serving to keep citizens informed of projects, issues and actions that will impact their immediate neighborhood, and fulfilling the need to communicate neighborhood concerns to higher levels of DC government and to DC and Federal agencies. Each ANC Commissioner has the power to raise issues on behalf of their constituents either directly with the appropriate DC or Federal agency, or to first bring issues to the ANC in order to have the full weight of the ANC applied to the issue.
