Paul Hughes/The Hoya Michael Glick (COL ’05), Eric Lashner (COL ’05) and Mike Griffen (COL ’05) will officially declare their candidacy for the ANC elections this weekend.
Three Georgetown students will run this year for the positions of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for districts 2E02, 2E03 and 2E04. Eric Lashner (COL ’05), Mike Griffin (COL ’05) and Michael Glick (COL ’05) announced their candidacies onday for the advisory group that represents residents of seven districts in the Georgetown area, including Georgetown’s main campus.
Glick is currently running unopposed in District 2E04, which includes most of the main campus and residences farther east up to Wisconsin Avenue, including parts of Q and Volta streets. Lashner will probably face two non-student opponents, Robert King Blair and Jason Hurdle, in District 2E02, an area extending roughly from Volta Place up to Reservoir Road and east to Wisconsin Avenue. It also includes the university residences Henle Village and Darnall Hall. Griffin faces a potential challenge from non-student William Skelsey in District 2E03, which runs south to the north side of N Street, north to the south side of Volta Road, west to the last block of 37th Street and east to Wisconsin Avenue. It also includes Copley and Harbin residence halls.
All ANC candidates must submit paperwork to the Board of Elections and Ethics by Friday to appear on the ballot. Griffin and Lashner will submit their forms Friday morning; Glick will not be submitting paperwork since he will be running as a write-in candidate. Because he was not living on campus 60 days prior to the Sept. 6 filing date, he cannot appear officially on the ballot.
“It’s important to ensure that student representatives continue on the ANC to adequately represent the needs of students,” Lashner said. Of the 14,000 residents in the ANC 2E districts, students number 6,000 of the constituents, he said.
Lashner cited public safety and other quality of life matters as some of the most important in his campaign. “My goal would be to protect the rights of all residents in my district and to be open to potential solutions to problems,” Lashner said.
Griffin similarly expressed the desire to work for improved public safety. “Students have talked to me about how they always see Metro officers patrolling on weekends, but when they’re walking home at 1 a.m. [on weekdays], there isn’t a single Metro car.” If elected, he vowed to “work to have the safest neighborhood possible.”
“I’m interested in working with the MPD and DPS to improve public safety,” Glick said. Another important issue was the “availability of on-campus social options,” he said, such as using the new space in New South for student activities and reinstating the Block Party. Glick added that he would also “work towards students working with community members on different issues.”
Griffin and Lashner expressed interest in establishing “student block captains” as a “resource for students off campus,” Lashner said.
“Student block captains would be a friendly, feasible, easily-accessible alternative to delving through Web sites and searching for phone numbers to look for information,” Griffin added.
The candidates said they felt the importance of Georgetown students serving on the ANC was a significant factor in their decisions to run. Lashner and Griffin have also been active in Campaign Georgetown, a campus group that promotes student rights in the community, since their freshman years.
“I’ve always been involved in local politics,” Griffin said, explaining why he decided to enter the race. “I’ve gotten a good feel for what goes on in the community.”
Lashner, who has served as co-chair of Campaign Georgetown, cited a similar interest in community politics as a motivating factor for his candidacy. “I’ve met with a lot of residents and students and I’ve seen a lot of issues that affect them, seen what their needs are and seen potential solutions to their problems,” he said.
“I’m a very enthusiastic person. I’m very interested in students’ issues,” Glick said. “I want to be a student voice and help their ideas and concerns to be heard.”
The candidates expressed optimism about their chances on Election Day but also admitted concerns about getting students motivated to vote. “It’s very difficult to convince students to register to vote in the District,” Lashner said.
“Too many students have been fooled into thinking `there’s no issue that’s going to affect me,'” Griffin added, noting that a student ANC commissioner cast the deciding vote four years ago to approve the Southwest Quadrangle Project on Georgetown’s main campus. “It’s going to be very important to meet everyone and show our dedication,” he said.
Glick acknowledged that running as a write-in candidate presented certain challenges, but “ANC is about grass-roots politics . I’m really looking forward to meeting students and hearing what they have to say.”
Lashner concurred. “I’m excited to go door to door to meet and interact with Georgetown residents and other potential constituents and hear their needs and concerns,” he said.
The three candidates will be holding a campaign kick-off at the Campaign Georgetown meeting Sunday at 9 p.m.
