Mendo’s Hail Mary
Phil Mendelson was elected to represent McLean Gardens on ANC 3C 43 years ago (a year before the current chair of 3C was born). He left that post nearly a quarter century ago, back when the Cleveland Park Historic District still had acne. He moved out of Ward 3 a long time ago, but in a fit of nostalgia, he’s come back from Capitol Hill to relive his glory days and come to the aid of his old comrades. The fear change in Cleveland Park among a certain set that can still remember Phil’s NIMBY heyday is palpable. This time, change has come not in the form of some brutalist development, not in the form of a private religious school, not in the form of a townhouse development on parkland. No. The fear that has called Phil back to his old stomping grounds is … ANC redistricting.
After a lengthy, open and iterative process, the Task Force, which was appointed by Councilmembers Mary Cheh, Elissa Silverman and Christina Henderson (alas, Mendelson, Anita Bonds and Robert White opted not to appoint anyone) submitted an ANC redistricting map and report to the Redistricting Subcommittee on April 1st.
The feature of the map was the creation of a seventh ANC centered on the massive and growing population center of Wisconsin Ave between Glover Park and Tenleytown. This area had been carved up across four ANCs, and testimony indicated the area was ill-served by most of the them, always playing second fiddle to the other corridors. In the process, a portion of western Cleveland Park residents ended up in that new Wisconsin Ave ANC. The cries of outrage were loud from the Old Guard. Yet Mary Cheh supported the rationale and end product of the Task Force, indeed, calling out some of the absurdity of the complaints.
At the Subcommittee, most of that portion of Cleveland Park was reassigned back the the Connecticut Ave-centered ANC 3C in a compromise worked out by Subcommittee Chair Elissa Silverman. It was a compromise that won the support of the Ward Councilmember, Mary Cheh, and nearly all of the members of Task Force. But it apparently did not win the support of the Old Guard in Cleveland Park, who were in no mood to compromise, and time was running out for them.
Not having read the Ward 3 Redistricting report, nor attended any of the Task Force or Subcommittee hearings, Mendelson is submitting an entirely new Ward 3 ANC map on Monday to suit his whims drawn from his own personal memory lane. Phil knows best. (Hey, what happened to the Old Giant?).
The map below is what Mendelson drew himself and showed to the assembled crowd of complainers at the CP Library on Tuesday evening. Setting aside that three of the SMDs don’t comply with the law because they are either too big or too small, they do a number of things that turn back the clock (which we know he is very fond of!):
Enlarges ANC 3B to 8 districts and extends the ANC to Connecticut Ave, picking up parts of Woodley Park
Enlarges ANC 3D, the Palisades ANC so that it extends up to Tenleytown
Eliminates ANC 3A, which was created to prioritize the interests of the highly populated and growing of Wisconsin Ave between Tenleytown and Glover Park. Mendelson believes they do not deserve to have their own ANC.
Creates three east-west SMDs in Cleveland Park so that three commissioners will be responsible for BOTH issues affecting Wisconsin Ave AND Connecticut Ave. When asked about why he did this his response was “This is the way it was when I was here.” Get your bell bottoms on folks!
For all of the reasons stated in the Task Force report, the Council should reject this for substantive reasons, and should reject it for process reasons.
Below is the letter I sent to Member of the Council. I hope and expect Elissa Silverman and Mary Cheh to stand up for the process and product - which includes many negotiated compromises - of the Task Force and Subcommittee and that they will be supported by at least five other colleagues, and reject this 11th hour Mendelson Hail Mary in a process he has ignored up until now.
Dear Councilmembers,
I am a member of the Ward 3 ANC Redistricting Task Force and I am asking you to respect a process that has been driven by community input, many changes and compromises, and solid principles. No map is perfect, but the Subcommittee print of the Ward 3 ANC map represents the latest in a series of compromises that have produced a more equitable ANC map for Ward 3.
Last evening I attended a hastily called "community meeting" after hours at the Cleveland Park Library. I received notice yesterday, mid-morning. I came to find out that people upset with the Subcommittee print had days prior notice. This was not a community meeting. It was a parade of unresolved grievances. The Chairman did not webcast or record the meeting, but I did. You can watch it here.
As one of my fellow Task Force Members pointed out last evening, people satisfied with the process drop out after a time when they think a process is over. As the Chairman showed a map his staff created, tinkering here and there, the people impacted by his "fixes" were not in the room. They will be blindsided. Addressing the complaints of his long time Cleveland Park comrades, he splits the Woodley Park neighborhood in two. He reassigns the Woodland-Normanstone neighborhood to the Glover Park ANC, part of a change that adds three districts to the five Glover Park wanted. He eliminates the centerpiece of the Task Force's work, a new seventh ANC in the center of the Ward along the major and growing population center of Wisconsin Ave. The Chairman's map creates as many problems as it solves, and makes it less equitable.
As a volunteer in this process, I am insulted that months and hundreds of hours of work spent on the task are being tossed aside at the 11th hour. The Chairman had every right to appoint someone to represent his interests to the Task Force, just as Councilmembers Silverman and Henderson did. He chose not to. He said last night that he did not even read the Task Force report! Despite this disengagement, he feels compelled to rewrite the map based on what he thinks is best and satisfying the complaints of cronies.
I realize Ward 3 is not your primary concern. But I would urge you to respect a process that has travelled a long and iterative road, both at the Task Force and at the Subcommittee. Read the executive summary of the report so you can appreciate our efforts to center Ward 3's ANC around population centers. Lines must be drawn somewhere, and, by design, we drew them where the fewest people live.
I ask you to support the Subcommittee's print and the minor changes Councilmember Cheh will be offering at second reading, and reject this 11th hour rewrite by the Chairman who didn't even care enough to read the report we were required by law to produce.
Thank you for your service,
Bob Ward
Member Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force
If you care to weigh in before June 7th, I encourage you to email the members of the DC Council:
chenderson@dccouncil.us, rwhite@dccouncil.us, abonds@dccouncil.us, bnadeau@dccouncil.us, bpinto@dccouncil.us, jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.us, kmcduffie@dccouncil.us, callen@dccouncil.us, vgray@dccouncil.us, twhite@dccouncil.us, pmendelson@dccouncil.us, mcheh@dccouncil.us, esilverman@dccouncil.us