Brian Flahaven

This afternoon, the Subcommittee on Redistricting released an updated redistricting plan with significant changes.  Most of Hill East and Rosedale will stay in Ward 6, along with Congressional Cemetery and all of the 1800 block of Potomac Ave SE. Unfortunately, Reservation 13 & the DC Jail will go to Ward 7. The DC Council is set to vote on the new plan tomorrow (Tues., June 1) at 1:00 pm. 

New Ward 6 Map

Many thanks to everyone for the calls, e-mails, community meetings, rallies, etc. A special thanks to my 6B colleagues, Commissioners Francis Campbell and Jared Critchfield, for putting so much time and effort into keeping our neighborhood together. While I’m disappointed that Reservation 13 is moving to Ward 7, I’m extremely pleased that our immediate neighborhood (and our collective voice) will remain united in Ward 6!

Thanks again for your help and support!

We are in the final stretch before the DC Council votes on the redistricting plan on Tues., June 7, and I am optimistic that our voices are being heard. But we need to continue the push over the next two days.

Last Friday, ANC 6B Chairman Neil Glick, myself and a few Hill East residents went around to Councilmembers offices at the Wilson Building. During our meeting with Council Chairman Kwame Brown, he said he was well aware of our opposition to the proposed map and said he had watched a good portion of last Wednesday’s public hearing. He also said he had concerns with the proposed map and was aware that the Subcommittee on Redistricting was making some changes.

Councilmember Jack Evans, co-chair of the redistricting subcommittee, also confirmed that the subcommittee was making changes on Friday’s Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU. Evans said a revised map would be released today (Mon., June 6). Kudos to Commissioner Francis Campbell for asking Councilmember Evans why the subcommittee did not just move the DC Jail to make up for the population shortfall in Ward 7. 

Our Friday meetings and Councilmember Evans’ comments confirm that DC Councilmembers are hearing us. We need to continue to call, e-mail and visit all the DC Councilmembers until the vote on Tuesday. In particular, keep calling the three redistricting subcommittee members – Councilmembers Michael Brown, Jack Evans and Phil Mendelson – and our At-Large Councilmembers – Chairman Kwame Brown and Councilmembers David Catania and Vincent Orange. All of these offices were receptive to our message on Friday. My DC Council Contact Information page includes all Councilmember phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Thanks again for all the calls, e-mails, meetings, etc. Keep up the pressure!

It was a looooooong evening at the John A. Wilson Building last night as the DC Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting heard from nearly 100 witnesses on its proposed plan. The hearing adjourned at 1:15 am and I got home around 2:00 am.

The big takeaway: Subcommittee members said that adjustments to the map are likely. This means we still have an opportunity to influence the final map and, hopefully, reduce the damage being done to our neighborhood.

We had a great group of witnesses from Hill East – Amy, Tim, Nikki, Ellen, James, Brynn, Adam, Patrick and others.  I’m especially grateful for the folks who waited 5+ hours to testify. The last panel – which began at 1:00 am – was one of the night’s best. 

Here are a few highlights:

• In addition to Councilmembers Michael Brown, Jack Evans and Phil Mendelson, a number of other Councilmembers participated in the hearing. Kudos to Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells for staying the entire time and for highlighting the inconsistencies in the subcommittee plan. Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham also participated in the hearing.
• I was also impressed that Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander stayed at the hearing until the very end. Unfortunately, she was absent during my panel …I was looking forward to her questions. Councilmember Alexander said numerous times that she wants Eastern High and Eliot-Hine drawn back into Ward 7.
• I was on the fourth panel with my 6B colleague Commissioner Francis Campbell and Hill East resident Brynn Barnett. I was disappointed that Councilmembers Brown, Mendelson and Evans did not ask us any questions. Fortunately, Councilmember Wells helped us highlight how the subcommittee’s plans valued other neighborhoods over Capitol Hill and Hill East.
• Commissioner Campbell, still recovering from surgery, did a great job in his testimony of talking about how residents have worked for years to build a strong community in Hill East. He also elicited an apology from the subcommittee for referring to him as “Ms. Campbell” in their report. I’m also grateful that Commissioner Brian Pate (6B05) stuck around until 1:00 am to testify on behalf of our neighborhood.
• Of the subcommittee members, Councilmembers Evans and Mendelson asked the most questions. Councilmember Michael Brown stayed relatively quiet throughout the night, though he did say that “he takes pride in knowing that the plan represents the largest western expansion of an east of the river ward” on a couple of occasions.
• Not surprisingly, Councilmember Mendelson continued to be the strongest advocate for the 17th Street boundary. Arguments that the boundary cuts through four of the most diverse census tracts on Capitol Hill did not seem to have much sway with him. He also continued to dismiss the argument that redistricting is unnecessary based on the DC Code’s exception for natural geography and neighborhood cohesiveness also did not move him.
• Schools were discussed quite a bit. Councilmember Alexander said more than half of the current students at Eastern High School are Ward 7 residents. Witnesses responded that in the future, most students at Eastern High will live in Ward 6. Councilmember Wells also noted Ward 6 school initiatives and, while acknowledging that school boundaries do not change with ward boundaries, highlighted the collaborative school efforts happening at the ward level (ex. Ward 6 middle schools plan). 
• There were a few witnesses from wards untouched by the plan who asked the subcommittee to make changes so that their neighborhoods could be reunited in one ward. Many made the same arguments we have been making, such as geographic barriers, political isolation and lack of a voice in economic development directly affecting their area.

The DC Council is scheduled to vote on the map next Tuesday, June 7. Please continue to make calls and send e-mails to all the DC Councilmembers, particularly our At-Large Councilmembers. Let’s continue to fight as hard as we can to keep our neighborhood united in one ward.

Thanks for all of your help!

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend! The fight to keep our neighborhood together continues this week. Here are ways that you can help:

• Attend Community Meeting Tonight (Tues., May 31) with Councilmember Phil Mendelson, 6:30 pm, St. Coletta’s School – This is our last chance for a community discussion with re-districting subcommittee member Phil Mendelson before the hearing and Council vote. Make sure your voice is heard! St. Coletta’s School is located at 1901 Independence Avenue SE, Metro: Stadium-Armory.
• Attend the Rally Before Public Hearing, Wed., June 1, 5:30 pm in front of the John A. Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) – Join the Capitol Hill community for a pre-hearing rally.  Bring signs, friends, neighbors — and your fighting spirit! Let’s tell the Council that Capitol Hill means business! Metro: Federal Triangle.
• Attend and Testify at the Public Hearing on Redistricting, Wed., June 1, 6:00 pm, Room 500, John A. Wilson Building – If you wish to testify, contact Carol Sadler at 202-724-8198 or csadler@dccouncil.us by 5 p.m. on May 31. Bring 20 copies of your written testimony to the hearing.
• Call DC Councilmembers – Keep calling DC Councilmembers with your concerns. You can find contact information for all 13 DC Councilmembers here. Tell them:
• Capitol Hill is a diverse, yet cohesive community that has worked as one to improve every aspect of local life — schools, public safety, economic development — and succeeded. Splitting Capitol Hill would diminish such efforts, divide neighbors, and also remove the most diverse part of the community and place it in another Ward.
• Many of Capitol Hill’s most vital community assets — including the Southeast Waterfront and Rosedale Community Center — would become part of another ward.  No one disputes the need for economic development in Ward 7.  But it should not happen at the expense of citizens who have invested considerable time, labor and equity into these projects over the years, and would be separated from them by an arbitrary political boundary.
• The integrity and objectivity of the process is in question, particularly since re-districting subcommittee co-chair Jack Evans’ ward will become more affluent and less diverse under the proposed map.

Let’s tell the DC Council that dividing our neighborhood is unacceptable. Thanks, in advance, for your help!

• Councilmember Phil Mendelson has asked Commissioner Francis Campbell and I to host a meeting to discuss redistricting on Tuesday, May 31, 6:30 pm at St. Coletta’s School, 1901 Independence Ave. SE. Please join us to share your thoughts with Councilmember Mendelson on the redistricting plan and his decision to divide our neighborhood at 17th Street.
• Also on the redistricting front, the Subcommittee on Redistricting will be holding a public hearing on their redistricting plan on Wed., June 1, 6:00 pm in Room 500 of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (Metro: Federal Triangle). Please contact Carol Sadler at csadler@dccouncil.us if you wish to testify. Note that the DC Council is set to vote on the new map on June 7, so please continue to call DC Councilmembers.  
• The four Metro Stations on Capitol Hill – Capitol South, Eastern Market, Potomac Ave. and Stadium Armory – will be closed for major track work this weekend. The stations will close tonight (Fri., May 27) at 10:00 pm and will re-open on Tues., May 31. Federal Center SW and Benning Road will also be closed. You can learn  more on the WMATA website.
• If you are around this weekend, join the residents on the 1600 block of D Street SE for a block party on Sat., May 28. The block party will run most of the day and all neighbors are welcome. A big thanks to Susan Coleman and her neighbors on 1600 D for putting this together.

Thanks to everyone for all of the hard work on redistricting. The fight continues! Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!