WASHINGTON (HUNS) – As Washington, D.C. residents prepare for the November midterm election, Democratic mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George stopped at the Union Wesley AME Zion Church to hear the comments and concerns of Ward 5 residents.
The visit on Thursday, August 10, marked the fifth session of Lewis George’s citywide listening tour, where, over a period of a month, she is visiting all eight wards to hear directly from the community. Lewis George said all the information gathered from these sessions will be turned into a public document released in January. The findings, she said, will be used to help inform what needs to be completed in her first 30-days in office, if elected.
“It also is a checkmate on me,” Lewis George said. “People need to hold you accountable and I’m okay with that; that’s the reason I accepted this.”
The listening tour, the Ward 4 D.C. Councilmember said, is to address how leaders often talk too much and listen too little.
“We don’t have to go far for the solutions to the problems we face,” Lewis George said in her opening remarks. “The solutions to our problems are right here in this room.”
Throughout the course of the night, around 200 attendees from children to the elderly came from neighborhoods across the ward.
Olga Fetisova said she came to the listening session with one goal — to ask if in Lewis George’s administration, there will be a point person combating drug use.
She asked that question directly to Lewis George, who nodded intently when Fetisova spoke.
Her concerns, she said, are not just about her personal experiences.
“I can obtain any drug I want within leaving my house within five minutes, but so can high school students that are half a block away from me,” said Fetisova, who lives in the Truxton Circle neighborhood.
Lewis George described the event as an opportunity to have food and fellowship. Following a free meal provided by the campaign, paired with activities where attendees could share their love for their neighborhood, along with concerns, the listening tour kicked off with breakout sessions.
Event attendees could split a little over an hour of time between six topics: housing, education and childcare, jobs and economic development, transportation and environment, public safety and healthcare.
University of the District of Columbia student Drew Dozier said he came to the session for two reasons — one, for a class, and two because he was raised in Ward 5 and after moving away, returned two years ago.
He said he was interested in hearing perspectives on federal influences and comparing New York City mayor’s democratic socialism to Lewis George’s, given that D.C. does not have statehood.
“I genuinely want to hear answers and brainstorm,” Dozier said.
Each of the sessions had a facilitator and a recorder or notetaker to collect responses from residents. The team encouraged attendees to be as specific as possible by including details such as business and street names.
Toward the end of the transportation session, one participant asked about the “elephant in the room” — the bike lanes.
The room murmured in agreement and the facilitator said the only bike-related question was: Are there places you feel unsafe when walking, biking, waiting for the bus or otherwise moving around?
The man called this a “shortcoming.”
After another collective murmur in agreement, Joya Banerjee was then given the mic and echoed the importance of bike lanes, as her 4-year-old was almost hit by a car and she has personally been in multiple accidents while biking. She is a member of the East-West Low-Stress Coalition, a group that advocates for bike lanes on Q and R Streets.
“If you have a child, like I do, and you have a cargo bike, it’s not safe to go on R Street. I tried once and I was scared,” Banerjee said in an interview.
Even though some attendees said the listening session breakouts did not go as hoped, others, including Lisa Gordon, left the event fulfilled. Her goal of the night was to hear about public safety concerns, specifically from her neighbors.
“This was really great, the opportunity to be heard…her team did a good job at that,” said Gordon.
The night ended with Lewis George encouraging the residents to stay involved by volunteering and filling out her survey.
“What I need y’all to say is,” said Lewis George.
“Now, we’re gonna hold you accountable,” she had the audience repeat back.
Myla S. Roundy is a senior reporter for HUNewsService.com covering Ward 5 and social issues. She is also the managing editor of The Hilltop at Howard University.
