Setting the Record Straight
On October 22, The 51st published a roundup of contested ANC races across the District, including ours in 1A06. The reporter asked Anthony for comment, but he declined to respond. We explain why here.
We knew the story would focus on the typical clickbait ANC election-year drama: anonymous flyers, friction among commissioners, and races described mostly through conflict, with little context or appreciation for the job of an ANC Commissioner, and a news story that reflects that. ANCs matter and deserve better coverage that fully represents the facts. Of course, disagreement is part of how an ANC works. Each commissioner answers to a different set of blocks, and we will not always vote together; that’s the result of the deliberative process we should always undertake to represent our constituents and make the best decision based on the facts. I will never just vote along with others without understanding how a measure represents my constituents’ views, whether it solves a problem (or is a solution in search of a problem), or is clearly thought through. The ANCs are not bodies where groupthink should be the standard operating procedure. I vote the way I vote because it centers my constituents’ views, focuses on solving problems, and emphasizes transparency and accountability.
On the flyer cited in the story. A leaflet attempting to smear my name and misrepresent my record showed up in some neighbors’ mailboxes – and they clearly don’t know our district since they dropped them at homes outside our district lines. I won’t guess who wrote it. I’ll just note that my record represents the opposite of everything called out in that leaflet. When a measure is poorly scoped, duplicates what an agency is already required to do, or isn’t ready for consideration by the ANC, I vote no and say why on the record – those meeting recordings are available on the ANC’s website, which I assume this individual didn’t bother to listen to. I wish they had.
So, let’s focus on Anthony’s actual record:
On the National Guard. In September 2025, WJLA asked commissioners how they were responding to the DC National Guard’s (DCNG) offer to help clean public spaces. I told them I had been asking District agencies for years to repair the Civic Plaza, with no results. I said that if the DCNG was offering help, we should at least listen. I also said this moment should be a wake-up call for the District to better marshal its own resources. That was a statement about the District failing to maintain our plaza and do its part to improve the space. To be clear, state governors should recall their National Guard units deployed to DC and return them to their families, careers, and communities. Yet they are doing nothing meaningful except walking around the District's streets and are expected to do so at least through January 2029, which I hope changes. In the meantime, I’d rather taxpayers’ $1.65 million daily investment go to better uses, like helping communities thrive through clean and green initiatives.
On my votes. The leaflet website lists five votes (out of hundreds I’ve cast), and because it links to minutes with no context, this intentionally distorts my record. My full nearly four-year voting record is available here, with details about my ‘no’ votes on several key measures.
My record on small business is quite clear: I have shown up time and time again to push for small business support. I’ve authored numerous resolutions approved by ANC 1A, joined corridor walks with the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the Department of Small and Local Business Development, and fought for improved funding and oversight of our Main Street Program to ensure Columbia Heights’ commercial corridors can grow and thrive. Those resolutions include:
Here is what I have voted for and built. As Chair of the Special Committee on Public Life and Neighborhood Planning, I wrote the committee report on the Commission’s Columbia Heights cleanup and beautification plan. I introduced Building Blocks, ANC 1A’s neighborhood improvement program, a measure my colleagues voted down. I testified before the Council to hold DC Main Streets and DSLBD accountable for our commercial corridors, reflecting concerns I’ve heard from numerous small business owners. I’m working to make the Columbia Heights–Mount Pleasant Sidewalk Vending Zone work for vendors and storefront businesses alike, trying to resolve tensions that unnecessarily affect residents, businesses, vendors, and agencies. Since 2023, I have sponsored 28 substantive policy resolutions to solve problems in our neighborhood.
On my opponent. Our opponent says Anthony spends too much time “in the weeds of the Wilson Building,” which, importantly, houses the chambers of the DC Council and the Mayor’s offices. That view misunderstands the job, and the fact that my opponent has never been focused on any issues there should tell you what you need to know about their knowledge and preparation for this job. Where else would Anthony be fighting for the change and progress you and your neighbors want? In the weeds, Anthony can help lawmakers and agency officials decide the Civic Plaza repair budget, dog park funding, rat abatement, and trash collection schedules. Knowing how the District works helps Columbia Heights get what it needs and deserves; our opponent clearly doesn’t understand this, and in our view, that is disqualifying. Voters should also know that until early this summer, my opponent had not attended ANC 1A meetings, served on any of our committees, or taken part in community events in our district or the neighborhood. He became involved only after he was recruited to run against Anthony for this seat. The door to this work has been open for years, and yet, he hasn’t shown up for Columbia Heights or 1A06.
Anthony is running to finish what we’ve started together: a clean, safe, and lively Civic Plaza and central civic core; a completed 11th & Bark dog park; a thriving 11th Street and bustling 14th Street with new businesses and a growing neighborhood economy; and District agencies that deliver services at the level Columbia Heights needs.
So, Anthony will keep fighting to deliver a stronger, brighter future for the neighborhood we know and love. He will keep showing up for you and your neighbors and fighting for the progress we need to move our great neighborhood forward.