By Vida Poyner-Chillious and Anijah Franklin
Howard University News Service
As D.C. residents entered Union Temple Baptist Church, some were greeted by “Hi, are you voting today?” from Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Jamila White.
White said her strategy is to talk to everyone. A few feet away from the church a few tables and fold-out chairs hum with candidates and voters sharing Rita’s Ice and speaking on issues.
The ANC is a neighborhood body of locally elected representatives in D.C. with eight wards in total. White is one of five Ward 8 candidates campaigning to serve as a commissioner to their respective ANC on the first all-Black slate.
The slate, a group of politicians with similar views, consists of Chair Jamila White, Robin McKinney, and first-time ANC candidates Renée Moore, Fria Moore, and Markita Bryant. On Bryant’s website, she expresses a dedication to promoting traditional values and social cohesion in Ward 8.
“The concerns that we have here in Ward 8 are just like other parts of the District [of Columbia], or the country for that matter,” Troy Donté’ Prestwood, president of the Ward 8 Democrat party said. “These are American citizens just like the middle of Iowa right, we care about education, we care about safety, we care about the economy.”
Ward 8 resident of 15 years, Missy Moore said safety is her biggest concern. “I don’t drive so feeling safe while I walk to the bus and riding the train is important to me.”
Other local issues that were hot topics for this election cycle were affordable housing/ housing diversity/ housing justice, gentrification, and Initiative 83—a bill that would change electoral voting in all of D.C.
Initiative 83 would create semi-open primaries and implement ranked choice voting.
Donna Watts, a Ward 8 resident on and off for 40 years, voted in favor of implementing Initiative 83.
“I don’t want to see the same 20 people with their thumb on politics,” she said in hopes that semi-open primaries would lead to more inclusivity and a more frequent preliminary cycle.
As Siji Ketiku, Howard University senior health science major was walking to a polling center on U St. someone walked up to her telling her to vote yes on the initiative.
“I looked at the pros and cons and I feel like it’ll be [Initiative 83] more helpful,” she said.
On the other hand, Jamila White, a current Ward 8A commissioner-candidate voted in opposition to the initiative because she favors rank choice voting “when done right, not confusing” but doesn’t like the idea of grouping two issues—semi-open primaries and rank choice voting.
Another issue White feels strongly about is preventing gentrification. However, she’s already started to see a shift in the socioeconomic and racial demographics in the community, pointing to the five white candidates on the ballot for Ward 8 as an example.
“I know what it’s done to Black people and I know if we don’t organize we’re going to end up like Shaw, like a Southwest Waterfront, like a Barney Circle that used to be predominantly Black and they’re no longer.”
Latasha Gunnels, another current Ward 8A commissioner-candidate wants to bring more businesses and work towards addressing food deserts. But she knows some residents are skeptical that businesses and other changes could lead to gentrification
“Improvements don’t mean you’re going to be displaced or pushed out,” she said.
Though it’s ANC Commissioners’ jobs to reflect the voice of the community, Troy Dante Presswood works to ensure that their voices are elevated and voters get to directly ‘kick the tire of candidates,’ meaning they have the opportunity to actively engage with and question candidates about their platforms before making their decision.
“Once the election is over, there’s still more work to do. We still got legislation, we still got policies, we still have to govern,” he said. “And so we continue to do work even after elections are over because we want to make sure that Ward 8 voice is being considered whenever there’s policy or legislation on the table.”
Vida Poyner-Chillious and Anijah Franklin are reporters for Howard University News Service.
