Two Georgetown students will represent the University on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. Justin Kopa (COL ’03) and Justin Wagner (COL ’03) were both elected to the 2E ANC Tuesday. Wagner won in an unopposed race and Kopa defeated long-time opponent of student-friendly initiatives Barbara Zartman with substantial help from both students and residents.

In District 2E04, Kopa defeated one-term incumbent Zartman by more than 100 votes. Of the 778 votes cast in the race, he received 440, 57 percent of the total.

Zartman filled Westy Byrd’s vacant seat two years ago, and opposed several university and student initiatives, including Block Party and the 10-Year Campus Plan. Zartman did not return a phone call placed Thursday evening.

Wagner, running unopposed in District 2EO5, received 383 total ballots in his favor or 94 percent support. Wagner will fill Matt Payne’s (COL ’01) seat on the ANC, becoming the third consecutive student to hold this office.

“I was overjoyed by both victories,” Wagner said. “Even more, I was happy with the manner in which it was done. I think we really connected with both students and residents, and got feedback from both.”

Campaign Georgetown registered approximately 750 new voters this year, bringing the total number of registered Georgetown students to about 1,150, according to co-chair Brian McCabe (SFS ’02).

“It was definitely an improvement over previous years. Last school year, approximately 400 students registered to vote,” McCabe said. He partially attributed the high turnout to the presence of important local issues on the ballot and the presidential race.

McCabe said student voters had a substantial role in electing Kopa, but many community members cast votes for him as well. According to Campaign Georgetown, about 80 percent of the 301 students registered in Kopa’s district voted. Since 440 votes were cast for Kopa, approximately 200 to 250 non-student residents opted to elect a student representative.

“The fact that that many residents voted for me shows that I am representative of everything,” Kopa said.

The numbers may indicate that residents played a larger role after special ballots are counted Friday morning, most of which are from registered student voters counted in the 301 figure.

Kopa said he targeted the community with a platform dedicated to equal rights and responsibilities for students, but also focused on traffic and parking issues important to non-student residents. “People weren’t turned off because he was a student. Rather, I think they were very receptive to the idea of a student so eager and ready to improve relations and fix problems in the community,” McCabe said.

Wagner and Kopa continue the trend of Georgetown students holding seats on the commission. In 1995, James Fogarty (COL ’98) and Rebecca Sinderbrand (COL ’99) were elected after a lengthy court battle to allow students to vote in the district despite keeping primary residences elsewhere. Payne was elected to the seat in 1998 after running unopposed.

McCabe attributed Kopa’s victory to the way his campaign was conducted.

“They really thought out the important issues, put together a platform that appealed to community members and students, and made an effort to meet as many people as possible, both on campus and off campus,” McCabe said.

Campaign Georgetown plastered the campus with election reminders to students, chalking the campus early Tuesday. They also called all Georgetown students registered to vote in the district to inform them Campaign Georgetown was running shuttles to and from the polling place, located at Hardy Elementary School. McCabe said the buses were a huge advantage.

“It made voting much quicker and easier because people didn’t have to walk, didn’t have to find the polling place,” he said. “They just hopped on the van and we drove them there. We also drove nuns, Jesuits, older people, etc.”

Kopa said he was excited about the student turnout. “I was thrilled with the amount of enthusiasm, especially when I saw the vans pulling up every five minutes with students pouring out of them like they were clown cars,” he said.

Alumna Regina Demeo (SFS ’94) lost to incumbent ANC Chairman Peter Pulsifer by a slim margin of 30 votes in District 2EO3. Pulsifer received 53 percent of the total 486 votes. “The fact that the chair of the ANC won by only 30 votes sends a message that he needs to update his policy on students,” Wagner said. Many students living in Burleith were registered to vote in Pulsifer’s race.

Other ANC2E winners included 2E01 H. Scott Polk, 2E02 Len Levine, 2E06 Bill Starels, 2E07 Tom Birch and 2E08 Mark P. Ryan. Wagner said he looks forward to working with the new assembly of commissioners. “Voters elected student-supportive people like Starrels, Levine and Ryan. People are saying they want a constructive approach, an open mind,” he said.

Julie Mikuta’s (CAS ’91) race against seven other candidates for District 1 (Ward 2) Board of Education was successful, receiving 46 percent of the total vote.

Tuesday’s election results are the latest developments in a relatively recent initiative to incorporate students into local D.C. politics. Patricia Scolaro, who ran against Sinderbrand for the ANC in Burleith district 2E03, and Beverly Jost, who ran against Fogarty in Georgetown district 2E05, filed a suit after Sinderbrand and Fogarty won the elections in 1996. The suit ended when the D.C. Court of Appeals refused to rehear the case in January 1999. Scolaro and Jost argued that students were unqualified to run for the ANC or vote in local elections because they were not legitimate residents of the district. A court of appeals denied Scolaro and Jost further investigation into the matter.

Nearly 1,000 student voters registered to vote in the 1996 elections following a push by Campaign Georgetown, and Fogarty and Sinderbrand became the first students to sit on the ANC since its inception in 1978.

“The people who came before did such a good job,” Wagner said. “We become walking testaments to good students, proving all students are not property-destroying machines.”

McCabe expressed hope for the future of Campaign Georgetown, saying, “I have no doubt that for the ANC and Campaign Georgetown, this is just another successful chapter in a book that will continue to be written. I bet Campaign Georgetown will be even stronger, even more active in 2002 – building on the current success.”

Related Links

 Local and National Campaigns Create Buzz and Excitement (10/24)

 Campaign Georgetown Helps Increase Registration (10/13)

 Students For Bush Organizes for Fall (9/22)

 Students for Gore Rally (9/12)

 Sophomores Vie For ANC Seats (9/8)