Reply to Cheh's Ward 3 ANC Gerrymandering

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Reply to "Cheh's Ward 3 ANC Gerrymandering"

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[quote=Anonymous]How to explain the fact that all three appointed members from one Advisory Neighborhood Commission on the official Ward 3 Redistricting Task Force are connected to a single group, “Cleveland Park Smart Growth”?

Task force member Bob Ward identifies himself as CP Smart Growth's chairman.   Mr. Ward's group backed task force member Jimmy Dubois when he was elected to the ANC, and Mr. Dubois’ spouse is on CP Smart Growth’s steering committee.  The third task force member, Kamolika Das, has ties to CP Smart Growth as well.  Mr. Ward and Ms. Das unsuccessfully ran for ANC commissioner in the past.  Mr. Ward, who has authored the gerrymandering plan to break up ANC 3C, is a veteran political consultant whose business, Fabrizio Ward, uses data to advise campaigns and private clients on issue strategies, tests messaging and creates advocacy groups for its clients.  The plan pushed by Mr. Ward and his partners violates one of the basic guiding principles of ANC redistricting set by the DC Council, that identifiable neighborhoods should stay intact and not be divided among ANC districts. Instead, he and his Smart Growth members on the task force advocate that ANCs should be redistricted around commercial corridors and artificial planning areas.  Why bring aggressive national gerrymandering strategies down even to the neighborhood level of volunteer ANCs?  Because ANC views are given “great weight” in decisions reached by DC agencies like the Zoning Commission, the BZA and the DC historic preservation board that affect zoning, density, and mega-development projects.  Carving out large parts of neighborhoods from ANCs that consider the critical issues that impact those neighborhoods can result in single member districts that are more likely to elect pro-Smart Growth commissioners.  Whose client interests is Mr. Ward advancing with his ANC gerrymandering plan?   Per public records, Fabrizio Ward has worked with corporations, campaigns and interest groups, but also for Donald Trump, JUUL, and Paul Manafort (even polling on behalf of ousted Ukraine president and Putin ally V. Yanukovych to stage a political comeback in Ukraine).  Who are the clients now who stand to benefit from the ANC gerrymandering plan?[/quote]

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