A community council can help address such concerns. And while the Capitol Hill Community Council has been inactive for the past three years, many residents see restoring it as a chance to deal with these and other issues.
Efforts at reforming the council have been under way since January. An extension of such efforts, a Meet the Candidates forum took place at the Capitol Hill Arts Center on Thursday, April 24. The forum was an occasion where the community could listen to prospective candidates for various council officer positions, as well as question them on their plans.
Roughly 25 people attended. The evening was mostly devoted to the candidates themselves, though it included a brief overview on the council and the work that needed to be done before it could begin meeting regularly.
Tim Durkan, one of two people running for community council president, works in the city's Office of Policy and Management. He explained to the why he was running and some of his goals if he were to be elected.
"Public safety and human services issues are the things I see as most important on Broadway; the fact that mentally ill people are wandering the streets without homes, there's dope dealing two feet from my home, friends of mine have had to close businesses after being open 15 to 20 years," he said. "We need to sit down with social services providers and the city on how to address those issues, and we need to work with city planners, with community members and with property owners in shaping the physical character of the neighborhood. There are a lot of new projects, town homes and condos, not necessarily the most stellar projects ever. Everyone can benefit from bringing developers to the table to talk."
He also offered his opinion as to why the previous council folded in the first place.
"When I last was involved in it [the council] was under the leadership of Ann Donovan, and she did a great job. But the neighborhood kind of lost track; I just became aware of this a week, 10 days ago. I think it's exciting that people are working to get the council back together, as there have been a lot of changes on Capitol Hill - the Harps murder, for example. I think the community is rallying around itself in trying to address these big issues. People want a chance to voice their opinion and get re-involved in Capitol Hill."
Saunatina Sanchez, who is running for council secretary, is a product tester with Nintendo. At the moment, she's running unopposed. She addressed why she thought a community council is needed.
"As we saw tonight, lots of people have lots of different issues they want to bring up to the government," she said. "It's hard to get a true voice for the neighborhood, and we can be a bridge to the larger city and other neighborhoods, but the most important thing we can do is bring everyone's voices together."
She had a ready answer as to her plans were she to be the revamped council's secretary:
"I would like to make sure that the council has transparency. As a secretary, you must make sure the minutes of all meetings are taken to account, committees are functioning and just make sure the organization's parts are well oiled. I would make sure there is no miscommunication, and I would make sure word gets out regarding important issues, as tonight not a lot of community members likely knew this was going on."
Ryan Shandera, a project specialist at Starbucks, is one of two people running for vice-president. His reasons for running are partly linked to his of family history.
"I think it's really important to be actively involved," he said. "I think Capitol Hill is a great community to live in, and I think we can make it an all-around better place to be. I'm a third-generation Capitol Hiller, and I grew up with the stories of my grandparents and my mom's family being extremely active, knowing how much they loved this community. They wanted it to thrive, and I want to continue that legacy."
The post of treasurer is being sought by Hong Chhuror, who works for a local investment management firm. While stating that he wanted to serve as treasurer because he was, as he put it, "good with numbers," he has larger ideas of what he wants to achieve on the council.
"It comes down to building a real community, as at this point I think Capitol Hill pretty much isn't a community, just a whole bunch of people living in buildings, owners owning stand-alone businesses," he said "It's unfortunate, as Capitol Hill has a long had reputation for cooperation and mutual reliance. In fact, I think some of the violence that has rocked the neighborhood is an example of the fragmentation that has also gone through the community. We need to create an environment where that [community] can once again thrive."
At the meeting's end there was a heated discussion between two other candidates, Justin Carder (running for president) and Charlette Lefevre (running for vice-president), regarding the issue of a 2008 Capitol Hill Pride march.
While Lefevre wished the council to immediately support the march and is hoping to help schedule it, Carder was concerned that doing so would potentially distract from the official Pride parade that moved off Capitol Hill two years ago.
While agreement was not reached on what ought to be done, it is likely this will be a topic of discussion once the revived Capitol Hill Community Council is fully up and running.
The Capitol Hill Community Council will elect new officers on June 5.
Michael Lis-Sette is an intern with the Capitol Hill Times. Reach him at editor@capitolhilltimes.com or 461-1308.
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