While many students will be busy registering voters and working for campaigns this fall, at least one Georgetown student will be running for a position in this year’s elections.

Brett Clements ( COL ’07) announced on Tuesday his candidacy to succeed sole student commissioner Mike Glick ( COL ’05) on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. Glick’s District, 2E04, includes most of the main campus and is comprised almost entirely of Georgetown students.

Clements expressed interest in improving town-gown relations and concern about the consistency of the Metropolitan Police Department’s law enforcement. He said that he believes, however, that the most important issue facing Georgetown in the next few years is new construction.

“While one vote on the seven member ANC may not sway a decision in the university’s favor, a student on the ANC will be able to voice to the other commissioners the importance of things such as the proposed business school complex, the new crew boathouse and the performing arts center that is now becoming a reality,” Clements said.

He said he hopes to hold a forum within the next few weeks to hear student concerns and also plans to drop literature at every door on campus to inform students about the importance of the ANC and his plans for the next few years.

In addition to reviewing campus projects, the ANC oversees safety issues, police deployment and alcohol licensing. Glick said much of the work accomplished in his two-year term was done through interaction with police and community leaders.

“The student ANC commissioner will have a seat at the table and will have the opportunity to advance student interests on a number of fronts – even if there is no formal ANC resolution or outcome,” he said.

Clements cited an interest in local politics as a motivating factor in his candidacy. He decided to run after attending a Campaign Georgetown discussion and meeting with its leaders in the spring.

The organization was founded in 1996 to protect student rights in the District. That fall Campaign Georgetown led voter registration drives to elect students to the Commission for the first time in ANC history. Students have been elected in every election since.

A redistricting plan was passed by a community task force in 2001 despite opposition by then student ANC 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.

In the 2002 elections, Glick easily won his all-student single member district but Eric Lashner ( COL ’05) and Mike Griffin ( COL ’05) ultimately lost their campaigns to residents Jason Hurdle and Bill Skelsey in districts 2E02 and 2E03 respectively. Griffin is co-chair of Campaign Georgetown and a member of The Hoya’ s Editorial Board.

Griffin said he believes having three students run for three seats in 2002 put a great strain on Campaign Georgetown’s resources. In retrospect, he thinks it would have been wiser to have run fewer student candidates.

“I think it is important to have a student run in the all-student district, and if an issue comes up where more student representation is needed or if a candidate that is very anti-student arises, it will be important to run more students to help defeat these measures,” he said.

Hurdle’s unexpected resignation last spring marked the first time Campaign Georgetown failed to find a student to run for a vacant ANC seat. Georgetown resident John Lever was the only person to file papers for the position and filled the seat this May.

The organization will be actively registering voters in the District this year. But doing so has proven difficult in the past, especially in a presidential election year. Students who decide to change their voter registration from their home state to Washington , D.C. , would no longer be able to vote for a governor or congressman since these offices do not exist in the District.

Nevertheless, many ANC commissioners have shown themselves to be receptive of student concerns. Skelsey, who defeated Griffin in 2002, has helped the university win ANC approval for virtually every building project it proposed in the last two years.

“I work very hard at representing fairly the interests of all my constituents, including students,” he said. “In order to make it easier to meet [students], I have personally organized several on-campus meetings so that I, and the entire ANC, become more accessible.”

Skelsey proposed and organized the first ever on-campus ANC meeting last February, which was held in Gaston Hall. He expressed a desire to continue focusing on street crime, problems with D.C. Public Schools and town-gown relations.

“I feel that overall most residents of Georgetown recognize that the student body and the surrounding neighborhood are feeling a vastly increased amount of goodwill and cooperation toward each other,” Skelsey said. “There have been a few unfortunate and isolated incidents over the past year, but we have come a long way.” 

Glick also expressed optimism about the ongoing dialogue between the two groups. He said the major challenge for the new representative of his district will be to participate in that dialogue and move it forward.

“There may not be a pressing issue out there this cycle, but it’s important that we pay attention, that we support the student candidate, and show that we are interested in the affairs of Georgetown ,” Glick said.