Georgetown can rest assured that the tradition of student representation on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission will continue as Brett Clements (COL ’07) won an open seat Tuesday.

Clements ran unopposed in single-member district 2E04, which includes Southwest Quad, Village C, Village A and Alumni Square, and is comprised almost entirely of Georgetown students. Clements, who won by a 77-2 margin, was the only student candidate.

Clements will replace Mike Glick (COL ’05) and begins his term in January.

Clements said he was pleased to have the chance to serve the Georgetown community and is optimistic that he will be able to make a difference in his two-year term.

“Over the past few months I’ve gotten to know the current and future commissioners and am pleased that they are such a great group of people who truly care about the Georgetown-Burleith-Hillendale area,” he said. “Hopefully, the seven of us can work to improve our part of D.C. in the next two years.”

Clements said his main short-term goal was to make Georgetown safer for all of its students and residents.

“With the fire and the increased muggings along Prospect, we need to make sure that all houses are inspected and up to code and that MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] and DPS [Department of Public Safety] work to curb the increase in crime in West Georgetown,” he said.

ANC commissioners represent seven single-member districts in the area, composed of about 2,000 residents each. Glick is the sole student commissioner on the ANC. Clements said he thought Glick had done a “wonderful job” and that he hopes to continue the partnership Glick built with residents in the area.

Glick called it an honor to serve on the commission and share his unique student perspective to community activists and fellow commissioners.

“There are still important issues to address and to have student leadership on,” Glick said. “I am confident that Brett Clements can take the torch and continue the tradition of student representation on the ANC into what will be a fifth term for Georgetown students.”

Students have served on the commission since 1996, when Campaign Georgetown, a grassroots students rights organization, led drives to register Georgetown students in the District. A community task force, however, passed a redistricting plan in 2001 despite opposition by then Commissioners Justin Kopa (COL ’03) and Justin Wagner (COL ’03). The plan created one district in the confines of the university and three other districts of both students and residents.

Many have argued that this redistricting diluted the student voice on the commission. While Glick easily won his all-student district in 2002, Eric Lashner (COL ’05) and Mike Griffin (COL ’05) lost their campaigns to residents Jason Hurdle and Bill Skelsey in districts 2E02 and 2E03 respectively.

But according to Glick, the number of student commissioners on the ANC is not a major consideration.

“The student-populated districts continue to be represented by pragmatic commissioners who are sympathetic to student concerns. It’s important that we hold these representatives accountable to their student constituents on crucial issues,” he said.

Clements also expressed confidence in the ANC to represent student concerns, saying that commissioners such as Skelsey, John Lever (2E02), Bill Starrels (2E05) and commissioner-elect Ed Solomon (2E01) are willing to look at all sides of an issue and vote based on their entire constituency, including students.

Skelsey represents Copley Hall and Harbin while John Lever’s district includes Darnall and Henle. Solomon’s district includes the hospital and Med Center while Starrels represents Nevils, LXR and many houses on Prospect Street.

Starrels also said his primary concern is to ensure the safety of anyone renting a group home.

He has worked to facilitate meetings with D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, community leaders and students to make sure everyone involved knows their rights.

“No landlord should ever be able to intimidate anyone when it comes to picking up the phone on any type of code violation,” he said. “Safety is paramount. If legislation is needed, I will work with the council to do what is needed.”

He said that the Oct. 17 Prospect Street fire, which resulted in the death of Daniel Rigby (MSB ’05), has proven to be the catalyst to help foster ties between residents and the student community.

Many Georgetown officials and D.C. fire inspectors have said that Rigby’s death could have been prevented had the house met fire safety standards.

“I hope town-gown relations will continue to improve,” Starrels said. “This will take continued work at all levels . We can do a lot if we work as a team – it is a two way street.”