Advisory Neighborhood Commission

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United Statesdistrict. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The first elections for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners were held in the fall of 1975, and commissions began operating in 1976. Congressman Don Fraser (D-Minn) and D.C. resident Milton Kotler helped to draft the ANC language in the Home Rule Act based on the success of Adams Morgan Organization (AMO) in Adams Morgan and on a 1970 report of the Minneapolis Citizen League, as well as on related neighborhood corporations in Pittsburgh; Brooklyn, New York; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio.

ANCs consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the district's annual budget. Commissioners serve two-year terms and receive no salary, but commissions do receive funds for the general purpose of improving their area and hiring staff. This policy has come under scrutiny because of the misuse of funds by commissioners and their employees. Candidates can accept campaign donations up to $25 per person.

As of 2023, ANCs represent more than 100 neighborhoods.

Powers

The powers of the ANC system are enumerated by the DC Code § 1–207.38:

# May advise the District government on matters of public policy including decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social services programs, health, safety, and sanitation in that neighborhood commission area;
# May employ staff and expend, for public purposes within its neighborhood commission area, public funds and other funds donated to it; and
# Shall have such other powers and duties as may be provided by act of the council.

The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the council. They also present testimony to independent agencies, boards, and commissions, usually under the rules of procedure specific to those entities. By law, the ANCs may present their positions to Federal agencies. One of the most common cases of ANC involvement is in the giving of liquor licenses, where the approval or disapproval of the commission, despite having no legal power, represents a veto to the district government.

Membership and qualifications

Each ANC Commissioner is nominated and elected by the registered voters who reside in the same Single Member District as the candidate. The ANC Commissioner is an official representing her or his neighborhood community (Single Member District) on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

In order to hold the office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, an individual must be a registered voter (or must be able to register to vote within two years) in the District, as defined by DC Code Section 1-1001.02; have resided continuously in the Single Member District from which they are nominated for the 60-day period immediately preceding the day on which the nominating petition is filed; and hold no other public office. In order to enter the public ballot, they must receive 25 signatures from registered voters in their district.

Single Member Districts

The District of Columbia is divided into eight wards, each of which elects a representative to the Council of the District of Columbia.

Each ward is further subdivided into smaller areas known as Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs). Within each ANC, there are even smaller areas called Single Member Districts (SMDs), each typically representing about 2,000 residents. Although the SMDs should have equal populations, ANCs may vary widely in size. The largest ANCs have 10 SMDs while the smallest just have two.

Following population growth indicated by the 2020 census, the District now has 46 ANCs, consisting of 345 SMDs.

Each ANC is named by its ward number followed by a letter, assigned alphabetically starting with 'A'. For example, ANC 3B refers to the second ANC in Ward 3.

Each SMD is named by its ANC number followed by a two-digit number starting with '01'. For example, SMD 3B05 is the fifth single member district within ANC 3B.

Due to population growth and redistricting, these boundaries often change, causing shifts in power and election turnout.

Ward 1

* 1A - Columbia Heights
* 1B - LeDroit Park, U Street, and northern Shaw
* 1C - Adams Morgan, Kalorama Heights, and Lanier Heights
* 1D - Mount Pleasant
* 1E - Park View, Pleasant Plains, and Howard University

Ward 2

* 2A - Foggy Bottom, West End
* 2B - Dupont Circle
* 2C - Chinatown, Penn Quarter
* 2D - Kalorama, Sheridan
* 2E - Burleith, Georgetown, Hillandale
* 2F - Logan Circle

Ward 3

* 3B - Cathedral Heights, Glover Park
* 3C - Cathedral Heights, Cleveland Park, Massachusetts Heights, McLean Gardens, Woodley Park
* 3D - American University, Foxhall, Kent, The Palisades, Spring Valley, Wesley Heights
* 3E - American University Park, Friendship Heights, Tenleytown, Wakefield, Chevy Chase, Ft Gaines
* 3F - Forest Hills, North Cleveland Park, Tenleytown, Wakefield
* 3/4G - Chevy Chase

Ward 4

* 4A - Brightwood, Colonial Village, Crestwood, Shepherd Park, Sixteenth Street Heights
* 4B - Brightwood, Lamond-Riggs, Manor Park, Riggs Park, South Manor Park, Takoma, Fort Stevens Ridge
* 4C - Columbia Heights, Petworth, Sixteenth Street Heights
* 4D - Petworth, Brightwood Park

Ward 5

* 5A - North Michigan Park, Michigan Park, Fort Totten, Pleasant Hills, Fort Totten Park, parts of Catholic University and other Catholic Institutions, parts of Riggs Park
* 5B - Brookland, University Heights, parts of Woodridge, parts of Queens Chapel, parts of Michigan Park
* 5C - Langdon, Fort Lincoln, Brentwood, Arboretum, Gateway, Mt. Olivet Cemetery
* 5D - Carver Langston, Trinidad, Gallaudet University, Ivy City, Capital City Market
* 5E - Bloomingdale, Edgewood, Eckington, Truxton Circle, Glenwood/St. Mary's Cemeteries, McMillan Sand Filtration Site

Ward 6

* 6A - North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, H St. corridor (eastern half)
* 6B - Barney Circle, Capitol Hill (southern half), Eastern Market
* 6C - Near Northeast, NoMa, Union Station, H St. corridor (western half)
* 6D - Carrollsburg, Fort McNair, Navy Yard, Near Southwest/Southeast, Waterfront
* 6E - Shaw, Northwest One, and Mount Vernon Triangle

Ward 7

* 7B - Dupont Park, Fairfax Village, Greenway (part), Hillcrest, Naylor Gardens, Penn Branch, Randle Highlands, Twining
* 7C - Benning Heights, Burrville, Deanwood, Grant Park, Lincoln Heights
* 7D - Eastland Gardens, Kenilworth, Kingman Park, Mayfair, River Terrace
* 7E - Benning Ridge (part), Capitol View, Fort Davis, Marshall Heights
* 7F - Benning Ridge (part), Fort Dupont, Greenway (part), Hill East (part, including D.C. Jail)

Ward 8

* 8A - Anacostia, Fairlawn, Fort Stanton, Hillsdale
* 8B - Garfield Heights, Knox Hill, Shipley Terrace
* 8C - Barry Farm, Bolling Air Force Base, Congress Heights, St. Elizabeths Hospital
* 8D - Bellevue, Far Southwest
* 8E - Congress Heights, Valley Green, Washington Highlands

Members

The 345 commissioners are:

ANC 1A

# Jaspal Bhatia
# Dieter Lehmann Morales
# Carlo Perri
# Jeremy Sherman
# Christine Miller
# Anthony Thomas-Davis
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# Jake Knoll
# Billy Easley

ANC 1B

# Matt Fay
# Francois Barrilleaux
# Jamie S. Sycamore
# Aaron Lemon-Strauss
# Alan Kensek
# Miguel Trindade Deramo
# Matthew Holden
# Sabel Harris
# Stephen Hanrahan

ANC 1C

# Daniel Michelson-Horowitz
# Isabel Clements
# Peter Wood
# Marie-Elise Diamond
# Scott Olesen
# Lynda Laughlin
# Jean Evans
# ''Vacant''
# Katherine Swanson

ANC 1D

# Jay Falk
# Susan Patrick
# Erika Nunez
# Melissa Wyers
# Omar Parbhoo
# Angela Allison
# Gary Decker

ANC 1E

# Brad Howard
# Audra Grant
# Phillipa Hawker
# Rashida Brown
# Philip Newland
# Josh Jacobson
# Brian Footer

ANC 2A

# ''Vacant''
# May Yang
# Trupti "Trip" Patel
# Ed Comer
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# Jim Malec
# ''Vacant''

ANC 2B

# Colton Flower
# Jeffrey Rueckgauer
# Vincent E. Slatt
# Lawrence Sprowls
# Alex Marshall
# Matt Johnson
# Libby Franklin
# Zachary Adams
# Christopher Davis

ANC 2C

# Michael D. Shankle
# Nancy Groth
# Thomas S. Lee
# Jim Swart

ANC 2D

# Robyn Lipton
# Carole L. Feld

ANC 2E

# Kishan Kumar Putta
# Christopher "Topher" Mathews
# Paul Maysak
# Peter Sloniewsky
# Mimsy Lindner
# Gwendolyn Lohse
# Daniel Chao
# Knox Graham

ANC 2F

# David R. Rubenstein
# Neil Rocklin
# Joe Florio
# Kyle Oliver
# Christopher Dyer
# John Fanning
# Kevin Cataldo
# ''Vacant''

ANC 2G

# Howard Garrett
# Alexander M. "Alex" Padro
# Nicole Shea
# Steven McCarty
# Sheena Berry
# Rachelle P. Nigro

ANC 3A

# Thaddeus Bradley-Lewis
# Gracemary Allen
# Isaac Bowers
# Clair McCafferty
# Ann Lane Mladinov

ANC 3B

# Kevin Lavezzo
# Brian Turmail
# Melissa Lane
# Richard Pollock
# Gupi Howie
# S. Robert Rodriguez

ANC 3C

# Samuel Littauer
# Adam J. Prinzo
# Janell Marie Pagats
# Erin Beard
# Zach Shaben
# Jay Bose
# Gawain Kripke
# Rick Nash

ANC 3D

# Chuck Elkins
# Tricia Duncan
# Quentin Colón Roosevelt
# Mark Blumenthal
# Bernie Horn
# Marilyn Nowalk
# J. P. Szymkowicz

ANC 3E

# Matthew Cohen
# Amy B Hall
# Jonathan Bender
# Tom Quinn
# Jeffrey Denny
# Alexandra Gianinno
# ''Vacant''
# Lizzie Graff

ANC 3F

# Amy Rofman
# Sue Guzman
# Mitchell Baer
# Claudette David
# Adrian Jesus Iglesias
# Courtney Carlson

ANC 3/4G

# Lisa R. Gore
# Bruce Sherman
# Carol Grunewald
# Laura Phinizy
# Karrenthya Simmons
# Peter Gosselin
# Elizabeth Nagy

ANC 4A

# Paula Y. Edwards
# Joan Hoyte
# Christian Hara
# Patience R. Singleton
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''

ANC 4B

# Douglas Payton
# Shamina Christian
# Keenan Courtland
# ''Vacant''
# Sophia Tekola
# Tiffani Nichole Johnson
# Michael Cohen
# Garrett Moore
# Danielle Geong
# Jinin Berry

ANC 4C

# Emily Winternitz
# Antoine M. Kirby
# Mike Warburton
# Elizabeth Kovacevic
# Brittany Kademian
# Christien Hayes
# Eric Heller

ANC 4D

# Antti Koskenrouta
# Abel Amene
# Brendi Bluitt
# Eliza Cava
# Stephen Marencic Jr.
# Stoyan Dimitrov
# Kayla Baker
# Jenn Kauffman

ANC 4E

# Aretha "Nikki" Jones
# Vince Micone
# Maria Barry
# Randy Zmunda
# Camsie McAdams
# Juliana Gonen

ANC 5A

# ''Vacant''
# Timothy Thomas
# Emily Singer Lucio
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# Derrick Holloway
# ''Vacant''
# Elaine Alston
# Shelagh Bocoum

ANC 5B

# Edward Borrego
# Nandini Sen
# Jingwen Sun
# Ra Amin
# Monica Martinez Lopez
# Sukhprita "Prita" Piekara
# Zahid Rathore

ANC 5C

# Konyka Dunson
# Sasha Francis
# Tequia Hicks Delgado
# Shawn Nelson
# Darlene Oliver
# Harry Thomas Jr.
# VJ Kapur

ANC 5D

# Hector Arbuckle
# Sebrena L. Rhodes
# Anna Roblin
# ''Vacant''
# Salvador Sauceda-Guzman
# Charquinta McCray
# Juan McCullum
# Juanita Holsendorff
# Crystal Green-Campbell

ANC 5E

# Kyle Gardiner
# Karla M. Lewis
# Michael Bloomberg
# Huma Imtiaz
# Alice Thompson
# Kirby Vining

ANC 5F

# Nicole Jones
# Aru Sahni
# Patricia Williams
# Mark Galvan
# Jennifer Anderson
# Joe Bishop-Henchman
# Kelly L. Rzendzian

ANC 6A

# Paul Spires
# Mike Velasquez
# Roberta Shapiro
# Amber Gove
# Dave Wethington
# Jeff Giertz
# Stephen Kolb

ANC 6B

# Tyler Wolanin
# Gerald "Jerry" Sroufe
# David Sobelsohn
# Brian Gorman
# Samuel Pastore
# Anna Krebs
# Vince Mareino
# Edward Ryder
# Karen Hughes

ANC 6C

# Jeremiah Foxwell
# Karen Wirt
# Jay Adelstein
# Mark Eckenwiler
# Daniela Mclnerney
# Andrew R. Hayes
# Tony T Goodman

ANC 6D

# Marquell Washington
# Gottlieb Simon
# Gail Fast
# Andrea M. Pawley
# Chearie Phelps-EL
# Bruce Levine
# Fredrica "Rikki" Kramer
# Rhonda Natalie Hamilton

ANC 6E

# ''Vacant''
# Crystal J. Watts
# Kevin M. Rogers
# ''Vacant''
# Ahmad Abu-Khalaf
# Nate Coffman
# Davina Carson
# Dale Prince
# Ritanch Hans

ANC 6F/8F

# Nic Wilson
# Markita Bryant
# Brian Strege
# Edward Daniels
# Liam Goodwin

ANC 7B

# John F. Adams
# Jamaal Maurice Pearsall
# Travis R. Swanson
# Keith Hasan-Towery
# Elizabeth Reddick
# Kelvin Earl Brown
# ''Vacant''
# Angela Sydnor
# Michelle Hammond

ANC 7C

# Brian A. Glover
# Patricia Williams
# Carlos Richardson
# Anthony Lorenzo Green
# Mary Gaffney
# Patricia Stamper
# Antawan Holmes
# Brandon Scott
# Carrie N. Brown

ANC 7D

# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# Artilie Wright
# Mike Davis
# Ebony Payne
# Marc Friend
# Brett Astmann
# Brian Alcorn
# Ashley Schapitl
# Dev Myers

ANC 7E

# Dawn Cook
# Aarron Harris
# Gail Perkins
# Natasha Dupee
# ''Vacant''
# Ravi K. Perry
# ''Vacant''

ANC 7F

# Tyrell M. Holcomb
# Ashley Renee Ruff
# Kimory Kso Orendoff
# Chanettia Nelson
# Brittany N. Hughes
# Frieda Edwards
# Shirley Thompson-Wright
# Shameka Hayes (proxy Danjuma Gaskins)

ANC 8A

# Tom Donohue
# Anthony Foreman
# Andrea Davis
# Fria Moore
# Jamila White
# Robin McKinney
# Tomora Redman

ANC 8B

# Takema Keyes
# Betty Scippio
# Thomas Von Williams, Jr.
# Kimberly Little
# Joseph Johnson
# Marcus Hickman
# Juanita Beltran

ANC 8C

# Georgette Joy Johnson
# Gregory J. White
# Dascha Cleckley
# Kendall Ridley
# Cheryl Moore
# Robbie Woodland
# Salim Adofo
# Rene Neal

ANC 8D

# Dionne Brown
# ''Vacant''
# Cassandra Matthews
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# ''Vacant''
# Randell Strickland

ANC 8E

# Deborah Wells
# ''Vacant''
# Kelly Mikel Williams
# Anita Burrows
# Duane A. Moody
# Dolores "Miracle" Bryant
# Th-Juan McLeese-Lewis
# Saudia Jenkins
# Rhonda K. Holmes

Recent Developments in ANC activities

Sign-on letters on broader issues

In recent years, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners have increasingly used "sign-on" letters to address issues beyond their Single Member Districts (SMDs) or commission areas. This practice has expanded the scope of ANC involvement beyond the traditional "great weight" matters within their immediate jurisdictions.

Commissioners are using sign-on letters ethically when they draft and sign them in a manner that complies with the Code of Conduct. These letters often address citywide concerns or policies that affect multiple neighborhoods, allowing commissioners to collaborate on broader issues affecting the District as a whole.

The Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) has provided guidance on the circumstances under which commissioners can participate in sign-on letters, ensuring that this practice aligns with ethical standards and the intended role of ANCs.

Informal caucuses

Over the past 5-8 years, informal caucuses have emerged among ANC commissioners, focusing on specific issues or representing particular communities. These caucuses allow commissioners from different ANCs to collaborate on shared interests and concerns. These caucuses and committees demonstrate a trend towards more coordinated efforts among commissioners on issues that transcend individual ANC boundaries. They provide a platform for sharing information, developing strategies, and advocating for policies at a broader level than traditional ANC activities. Notable examples include:

* Vision Zero Caucus: Focused on traffic safety and the District's goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The caucus has over 100 ANC Commissioners from around D.C. who collaborate to achieve Vision Zero goals for the District.
* ANC Rainbow Caucus: This caucus represents LGBTQ+ commissioners and advocates for policies affecting the LGBTQ+ community in the District.
* Vacant Buildings Caucus: This group works with the Department of Buildings (DOB) on issues related to abandoned properties, aiming to address the impact of vacant buildings on neighborhoods.
* ANC Vision Zero Committee: While not a citywide caucus, this committee, established by ANC 4B, serves as an example of how individual ANCs are addressing broader city initiatives. The committee focuses on increasing community safety in accordance with Vision Zero goals within their commission area.

The emergence of these informal groups reflects a growing recognition of the interconnected nature of urban issues and the potential for ANCs to play a role in shaping citywide policies. However, it's important to note that these caucuses operate outside the formal ANC structure and their influence on policy decisions may vary.

Controversy and Training Initiatives

Recently, there has been some controversy surrounding attempts by organizations like the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and Greater Greater Washington (GGWash) to provide training for ANC commissioners.

These training initiatives aim to provide commissioners with information and resources related to urban planning, transportation, and community development. However, the controversy indicates that there may be concerns about the potential influence of these organizations on ANC decision-making processes or the appropriateness of such training programs.

The situation highlights the complex relationships between ANCs, advocacy groups, and community organizations in shaping local policies and decisions in Washington, D.C. It also underscores the importance of maintaining transparency and independence in the ANC system while ensuring that commissioners have access to relevant information and expertise.

See also

* Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

DC Board of Elections and Ethics

Run for ANC

ANC Finder

ANC Election Resource
Government of the District of Columbia
Metropolitan planning organizations