We have offered to post brief statements from all of the ANC candidates running for seats on Capitol Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods that we cover here on The Hill is Home. These statements are not endorsements and have been posted exactly as submitted by the candidates.
Brian Flahaven ANC 6B09
My name is Brian Flahaven, and I’m running to represent ANC 6B09 because we need a new voice for our neighborhood. With so many critical issues facing Hill East – keeping Hill education options viable and accessible, reducing vehicle speed on 17th Street, the future of Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club, public safety, and development of Reservation 13 – we need a commissioner who will proactively reach out, listen to and engage all residents.
If elected, I will:
- Be an active, visible advocate for our neighborhood at ANC 6B meetings, committee meetings and with D.C. government. We need a commissioner who will fight and stand up for our community when important decisions are being made.
- Encourage resident participation by making it easier for residents to get involved with ANC 6B. We need a commissioner who will convene residents and listen to all sides of an issue. We also need an ANC that allows residents to serve and volunteer on ANC committees.
- Keep our neighborhood informed by holding regular community meetings around the neighborhood to get citizen input and providing e-mail recaps of monthly ANC 6B meetings. I view keeping residents informed as an obligation, not an afterthought.
- Broaden the focus of ANC 6B to consider all of the issues that affect our quality of life – public safety, education, environment and traffic – not just planning and zoning reviews and liquor license requests.
- Increase transparency by urging ANC 6B to open up all committee meetings to the public and post all official correspondence and all committee meeting information on the ANC 6B website.
If elected, I will bring energy, experience and a strong commitment to my community to ANC 6B. My wife and I have lived in Washington, DC for six years, three years in Hill East. I work as director of government relations for a nonprofit education association and have experience in local, state and federal government.
I’ve also served on the board and continue to serve on the advisory council of the Washington, DC chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPNdc), a nonprofit association that seeks to train, connect and inspire tomorrow’s nonprofit leaders. I have a masters of public policy from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a bachelors degree in political science, economics and history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I care deeply about our neighborhood and the future of Hill East. My neighbors are intensely interested and passionate about our community and deserve the same in their commissioner. It would be a privilege to represent my neighbors in this important role.
You can learn more about me and the issues I care about on my website www.flahaven4anc.com. I’d love to hear from you. Please e-mail me with your comments, suggestions or concerns at flahaven4anc@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest in our neighborhood and for your support.
