Anonymous wrote:Republicans and independents should also think about registering as Democrats and voting in the Democratic primaries so they can have an impact on the only election that matters, instead of throwing their votes away.

There need to be VIABLE candidates with different views otherwise the concept of "voting" is meaningless. No opposition gives us Allen. Too much opposition that splits the vote > Nadeau. People need to be strategic. Realistically, MD or NoVA are still safety than DC and DC shows no signs of truly changing.

The Council is an issue, the USAO is an issue, same for AG, and so are DC Superior Court judges. The USAO and judges are appointed and we have no control besides public pressure and visibility. The Congressional hearing may have incentivized the USAO office a bit, time will tell. Bowser and Council knew of the soaring no paper rate since 2017, it was documented in annual reports. They never had hearings or went to press about it. That is why all the blather @ the mayor, mpd, etc, re: crime is a deflection, the real levers in the CJS are prosecution, sentencing and legislation. No papering up to 67% of cases, including violent felonies, fit the ideology of many on the Council, what is Bowser's excuse? Her admin prepared and signed off on those reports to the Council.

Call your CM, Mendelson and at large members and ask if they are supporting Pinto's recent safety bill. I have not had any positive responses so far, maybe with some public pressure they will shift?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

This. I am a right-leaning DC resident and I'm socially liberal. I don't know why the majority of voters in DC are so afraid of anyone who might not be ultra-progressive. I can assure you that I want many of the social safety nets and criminal justice reform programs that liberals crave, but I also want to hold people accountable for their actions and not allow people to constantly abuse these programs to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. It's really not rocket science to find a balance yet we can't manage to elect anyone who wants to.

The reason the majority of voters are afraid of republicans is because they do batshit things like make abortion illegal at 6 weeks. I'm not going to risk voting for that, even if the Democrats suck at crime.

Then vote for an independent or a moderate D. We don't have to keep electing the morons we have now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

This. I am a right-leaning DC resident and I'm socially liberal. I don't know why the majority of voters in DC are so afraid of anyone who might not be ultra-progressive. I can assure you that I want many of the social safety nets and criminal justice reform programs that liberals crave, but I also want to hold people accountable for their actions and not allow people to constantly abuse these programs to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. It's really not rocket science to find a balance yet we can't manage to elect anyone who wants to.

The reason the majority of voters are afraid of republicans is because they do batshit things like make abortion illegal at 6 weeks. I'm not going to risk voting for that, even if the Democrats suck at crime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

While crime is concerning, I have no plans on becoming Independent or Republican.

You can vote for people who don't have a "D" next to their name without becoming Independent or Republican. Use your brain. Maybe you think that nobody with an "R" or "I" next to their name shares your values and maybe you're right, but it's certainly worth a look. Yet many residents of DC can't see past those silly little letters.

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

This. I am a right-leaning DC resident and I'm socially liberal. I don't know why the majority of voters in DC are so afraid of anyone who might not be ultra-progressive. I can assure you that I want many of the social safety nets and criminal justice reform programs that liberals crave, but I also want to hold people accountable for their actions and not allow people to constantly abuse these programs to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. It's really not rocket science to find a balance yet we can't manage to elect anyone who wants to.

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

While crime is concerning, I have no plans on becoming Independent or Republican.

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

Yes. I am Dem except for this type of thing. I voted for Krucoff (sp) because I believe the city council needs some balance. I think a lot of people voted DEM because they had PTSD from DJT era.

DC notoriously cannot manage or maintain their own PUBLIC housing stock, who would have guessed that their foray into owning or renting units in private buildings would go poorly? https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/25/dc-housing-marley-ridge/

Republicans and independents should also think about registering as Democrats and voting in the Democratic primaries so they can have an impact on the only election that matters, instead of throwing their votes away.

I would encourage everyone distressed by all this to be more open to Republican or center Independents/Democrats in the next go-round. Republicans who live in DC (like me!) tend to be socially liberal, but have a different take on giving repeat hall passes on issues like this. I understand there are some bat * crazy Republicans (like hypocritical morality police, or Trumpers), but doubt they would 'slip through' if you did a tiny bit of research. On the other hand, plent of bat * crazy Democrats are on the Council, apparently with residents' blessings.
Anyway, I encourage everyone to be a bit more open-minded to ANYONE who appears centrist when you use the power of your vote next go round if you want change. We also need weighted voting. Thanks for listening to this PSA!

If you look at the DC Sup Ct. website, there are 5 pages of arrests going back to age 18 for Andrew A. Black (juvenile records are sealed). He is a violent felon with charges for weapons possession and domestic violence. He is not "unhoused" living EoTP, so that can't be the "reason" trotted out for his repeated violent behavior (plea deal for felon in possession gun charges in April 2023, shooting in September). He has been incarcerated and received many services and interventions for the past 30+ years from the DC government, yet he is still shooting people in broad daylight. Probably had even more services as a juvenile, so approaching 4 decades worth of "services" provided by the taxpayer and the DC government. Who knows, his housing could be paid for as a "returning citizen" where he lives EoTP. Or he could pay for it from his criminal activities, unclear.

So housing was not the answer, nor was lack of "services." Hmmm, could the answer be that REMOVING him from the community rather than suspending yet more sentences could at least keep the rest of us safe from him? I refuse to genuflect to these vague ideas and slogans that deflect the responsibility from the violent man with a gun. He has dozens of charges for violence, going back decades. He is unlikely to reform. Why should OUR safety and well being be traded for something that is likely never going to happen? Not only did he shoot a man on a busy corner in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, he fled across a playground! This is not someone who should be getting suspended sentences. Other humans deserve to be safe from violent felons.

Matt Frumin appears to feel differently, hopefully enough on the Council will vote for Pinto's bill, largely intact.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can’t get my head around the fact that DC is using the Saratoga for housing homeless people. MANY middle class Ward 3 residents would love to be able to afford to live in a building that nice. What about the rest of us?

Maybe fewer would like to live in The Saratoga these days. That a man with decades of violent felonies and dv would have an electronic key, despite not being a resident, is chilling. That he shot someone just outside at 3 on a Saturday afternoon is becoming the new normal.

Those who do not want to move especially with current interest rates, frame this as a "renters problem." Without stakeholders with clout and large numbers of nearby residents, both renters and homeowners, there is no chance of influencing DC policy. A lot of voucher holders move out of Saratoga, Brandywine and Connecticut House fairly quickly I'm told, they know better than to minimize the safety issues.

It’d be great if these units could be subsidized to house teachers, nurses, firefighters and law enforcement. People who are critical to our city and who can’t always afford to live here.

The thing that concerns me about the voucher program is that it actually creates an incentive to become homeless.