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 Pate ANC 6B05
I am excited to have the opportunity to campaign for your vote, and to share my agenda and campaign platform with you. I believe an active dialogue will help sharpen the message of all candidates, and will energize the race for ANC6b.
As a Hill resident since 2004 and the father of a young Hill family, we feel fortunate to live in a dynamic and diverse community. As a Marine Corps officer and recently minted combat veteran, I understand first hand the effort required to build a community and the importance of strong, localized democratic institutions. I credit the Marine Corps with imbuing me with the leadership traits of tenacity, compassion, judgment and perseverance. A management consultant with diverse experience, I’ve led large teams focused on technology implementation, improving acquisition processes, electronic health record (EHR) integration and infrastructure master planning. In the past, I’ve volunteered with Miriam’s Kitchen and currently serve on the board of the Veteran’s Education Foundation, a non-profit that gives scholarships to veterans seeking to enter public service. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, jogging, and, with my family, taking advantage of the museums and attractions our city has to offer.
As your ANC representative I will work to implement changes to the character and quality of the ANC. The ANC is chartered to engage in a broad range of issues, and I believe that public safety and education should be part of the ANC agenda. Key neighborhood initiatives should receive public vetting and endorsement at critical phases in the lifecycle of the initiative. The ANC Chair, in recent testimony before the City Council regarding disposition of the Old Naval Hospital, stated that, “further discussion of the Hill Center by the ANC is not a good use of ANC time.” To that sentiment and the attitude it reflects, I say, “Bully!”
Though well intentioned, the current ANC is opaque. Deliberative processes are conducted via e-mail, between official meetings, with no public scrutiny, and decisions are often made in what are effectively ‘closed-door’ executive sessions. As if to prove the point, ANC 6B recently submitted official correspondence to the City Council offering wholesale opposition to pending open meetings legislation. The ANC6B website is rarely up-to-date and lacks records of official correspondence. They fail to harness the possibilities of social media and the energy of grass roots civic organizations. Indeed, though allowable by law, not a single unelected citizen has sat on an ANC sub-committee in almost a decade. Our local democratic institutions can be better, and you deserve better.
Along with these substantive issues, here are additional issues and initiatives I will address as your Commissioner:
- Sustainable, citizen-centered development
o A sustainable usage plan for Lincoln Park, with immediate action to install a Capital Bikeshare site in Lincoln Park or its vicinity
o An inclusive, intelligent Planned Usage Development process for the Eastern Market “town square” and Hine Redevelopment
o Public hearings on programming at the new Hill Center
o Transparency in the application of historic district designations
o Employ my background experience and expertise to help navigate and negotiate a win-win solution for the new barracks at 8th and Eye
- Active support of continued education reform
o Enthusiastic advocacy for middle school improvement
o Work with the school board and administration to entrench and extend current elementary school progress
- Preventative Public Safety
o Work with the police to explore methods of preventing and deterring many of the burglaries and violent crimes that occur in our area.
o Aggressively fight blighted and vacant properties in our district
- Understand and manage the impacts of gentrification
These are a few of my key points and motivations. For more on my thinking and ideas, please visit www.pateforanc.com or contact me at patebc@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing what’s on your mind and appreciate your consideration on November 2nd!
Best,
Brian Pate
