Kenyan McDuffie - Greater Greater Washington

Little houses on the hillside

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:19:00 EDT

Kenyan McDuffie does not support a development of tiny houses in the Stronghold neighborhood. Is it because some residents were parking in the alley lot where the houses now stand? (City Paper)

Comment

Breakfast links: Get it moving

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:05:00 EDT

by Seymour Rhodes

Rendering by thisisbossi.

This article was posted as an April Fool's joke.

Purple Line gets first sponsor: Maryland has a transportation funding bill, but to help get the Purple Line moving, MDOT has signed a deal with Six Flags Corporation to sponsor the Purple Line. The new roller coaster design will include a loop-the-loop at Columbia Country Club and feature significantly higher speeds, reducing travel time.

New tax plan for Virginia: Governor Bob McDonnell proposes eliminating the state sales tax. He would make up the revenue by a 50% tax on hybrid or electric cars, organic produce, reusable grocery bags, and bicycle inner tube replacements. Observers now consider him a shoo-in for the 2016 GOP Presidential primary.

Congestion solved: The Texas Transportation Institute found that lost jobs from sequestration improved congestion. "Therefore, the logical policy for transportation must be further job loss," said Tim Lomax. Plus, Stockton, "foreclosure capital of the world," has the nation's lowest congestion, making it a clear model to emulate.

Where's the birth certificate?: Donald Trump is offering a reward for anyone who can prove DC Councilmember McDuffie isn't a "native Washingtonian." Stronghold resident McDuffie owns the house he was raised in and says he was born here, but no incontrovertible proof was immediately available after a 5-minute Google search.

Metro becoming more self-service: As part of its efforts to create a more "self-service" system in the Momentum plan, Metro will replaces all escalators with stairs and convert trains and buses to a Flintstone's-style power system.

Examiner will keep going: The Washington Examiner has reversed course and will continue its current publishing format. "Once we saw how upset our editorial style made David Alpert, we figured we were doing our job and had to continue," said editor Stefan Schmitt. The paper will, however, still fire Kytja Weir and Liz Essley, as both sometimes had positive things to say about transit.

Cheh apologizes: After weeks of speculation and inquiries from the local press, Mary Cheh relented and issued a letter of apology for her completely legal campaign fundraising activities. "DC residents have come to expect so much more of their elected officials," said DC voter Amy Zoneger.

28 comments

Learn how not to cheat

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:22:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

Kenyan McDuffie wants all candidates for office, as well as their campaign treasurers, to take a mandated course in campaign finance rules. Would such training help to cut down on campaign finance violations? (Examiner)

Comment

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
Most sitting councilmembers absent on campaign finance (Mar 7, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Sekou Biddle should withdraw and support Peter Shapiro (Feb 1, 2012)

Pick your poison

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:07:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Many industrial areas in DC have vacant areas, particularly in Wards 5 and 7, but Councilmembers McDuffie and Alexander disagree on whether distilleries or marijuana cultivation facilities are better additions to their wards. (City Paper)

Comment

Where to put industrial uses?

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 08:54:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

Ward 5 councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is fighting the many undesirable land uses concentrated in his ward. City officials say DC needs industrial land somewhere, but can some of it be outside the ward? (Post)

Comment

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
McDuffie suggests a Bladensburg Rd MARC or Metro station (Nov 15, 2012)

Buses may still come to Ivy City

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:36:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Mayor Gray still wants to proceed with Ivy City bus parking and will appeal a judge's ruling over Kenyan McDuffie's objections. (City Paper)

Comment

Ward 5 needs a vision beyond "no bus/streetcar parking"

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:40:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Will the Spingarn streetcar barn harm the Benning Road corridor? Would a bus garage on North Capitol damage surrounding neighborhoods? Will mixed use development destroy Brookland? Discussions in DC's Ward 5 often center around what residents oppose, but what's really needed is a plan for what they do want.

Photo by james4765 on Flickr.

Ward 5, mostly in Northeast DC, has the most industrial land, surface railroads and suburban big box stores of any part of the District. In short, it's the farthest away from the kind of walkable mixed-use patterns in highest demand today.

Its new councilmember, Kenyan McDuffie, is trying to figure out the future of Ward 5. He's got a tough uphill climb to bring fractious neighborhood activists together in a vision that could fundamentally reshape the ward, while dealing with old infrastructure and new infrastructure proposals that might or might not fit into a vision.

Ward 5 has a famously-bitter political culture, with ward-wide and neighborhood listservs that draw more nasty, personal backbiting than perhaps any others in the city. In that toxic environment is a very loud chorus of voices shouting down almost any ideAFRHa.

The critics point to a lot of transportation storage facilities being planned or proposed for Ward 5:

Ivy City is getting a parking lot for 65 charter buses displaced from Union Station. Ivy City already has very poor residents with many health problems, and don't need the added pollution. But Mayor Gray says it's also one of the most logical places to locate the buses, because it's along New York Avenue and there's ample city-owned vacant land there today.
After long insisting the streetcar facility could be under the H Street overpass, DDOT suddenly moved it to the Spingarn campus. They said they had no alternative to Spingarn, because it was too late to try to work something out for the RFK parking lots or some other spot, any of which would be more complex and time-consuming.
WMATA is now looking at relocating the Northern Bus Garage on 14th Street to a part of the Armed Forces Retirement Home property on North Capitol Street. WMATA sorely needs a more up-to-date facility, residents of 14th Street want to get rid of the bus garage, and AFRH wants to sell some of its land.
However, WMATA initially wanted to build its garage at Walter Reed, where there was plenty of room to keep it away from surrounding houses. Councilmember Muriel Bowser staunchly opposed the plan, as did Mayor Gray. Was Ward 4 able to wield a lot of clout because it's a wealthier part of the city?
According to sources familiar with the discussions, WMATA officials now think AFRH might work even better, as it's closer to the center of the city and North Capitol and Irving are now configured as high-speed near-freeways. It's not right next to any residential neighborhood, let alone inside one. Still, it will bring more deadheading bus traffic to some streets which don't have the buses now.

McDuffie has taken a firm stance against all of these facilities. He's responding to his constituents, and the fact that all 3 are going to Ward 5 does seem unfair.

But if all or some of them will go there anyway, are there opportunities to design them to be assets to the area?

The buses in Ivy City are pretty hard to make into a plus, but a streetcar barn is really not such a bad thing. If designed well, it could even contribute to the neighborhood.

AFRH might be the best spot for a bus garage that nobody really wants to live near (except people in Friendship Heights, like some who want to landmark the Western Bus Garage on the belief that a mid-rise building would be far worse).

It's hard to be very surprised that the District ends up suggesting locating transportation facilities in a ward that already has many transportation facilities, relatively low densities of residents, and many places without immediate opportunities for other types of development. In places far from Metro or high-frequency bus lines, large-scale residential or office development would be hard to attract and would bring lots of its own new traffic, likely stirring up vociferous opposition on the listservs as well.

That's why it's great that McDuffie is also moving beyond simply saying "hell, no" and trying to jump-start some planning for his ward. He is proposing an industrial land use task force to look at how to plan for the ward's many acres of industrial spaces.

At Wednesday's hearing on the bill, McDuffie suggested a MARC station at New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road. As Dan Malouff discussed, it's not a bad idea. McDuffie also wants to look into the potential for residential development, urban agriculture, and hubs for small businesses and nonprofits in Ward 5, he said.

If McDuffie can shepherd a vision for the future of Ward 5, and more importantly get something his loud neighborhood activists can say yes to, it will do a lot more to improve the quality of life than just blocking a few locally-undesirable transportation facilities. It will also create more reasons to spread those facilities out to other parts of the city as well.

Still, as long as Ward 5 is the most industrial of the wards, it'll attract things that tend to go in industrial places. A vision would also give residents something to ask for in exchange for these proposals.

Maybe, rather than stopping a bus garage on North Capitol, they can insist on money for other priorities for spots that are closer to more residents. Likewise, If a training facility at Spingarn doesn't mitigate the cost of having the car barn, what would residents like instead?

Ward 5 can ask for the city to really invest in what they want, when it also invests in what the rest of the city needs.

14 comments

Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
"Trolleys" are good for Ward 5, if we can get them (Jun 28, 2012)
New residents and arts spaces could spark Ward 4's 14th St. (Jan 11, 2012)
DDOT unveils vision for eight streetcar lines (Oct 23, 2009)
Landmark nomination, or DDOT snafus, may delay streetcar (Oct 9, 2012)

McDuffie suggests a Bladensburg Rd MARC or Metro station

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:38:00 EDT

by Dan Malouff

DC Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie tweeted yesterday that he wants the city to look into either a Metro or MARC station at the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road. MARC could work, though streetcar might do more to bring transit-oriented development to the area.

Photo by the author.

That corner is easily the most suburban place west of the Anacostia River in DC, and maybe in the entire District, so it could certainly use a transit investment to help it develop a more urban character. But what sort of transit would make sense?

Metrorail is not a sensible solution, because there's not a Metro line anywhere nearby. WMATA's Brentwood rail yard is very close, so adding a new station at Bladensburg and NY Ave wouldn't require all that much new track construction. But that would result in a 1-station spur of the Red Line, which would have limited usefulness.

A bigger problem is that a new spur would decrease the capacity of the Red Line's existing Silver Spring leg. Operationally it just wouldn't make sense. And even if it did, a new Metro station would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

MARC could be a good solution, because MARC's Penn Line (the best one) does pass by just 1 block north of New York Avenue. An infill station there would be easy to build, and would provide about 60 trains per day. MARC stations are extremely simple, so this is something that could be accomplished relatively easily.

But 60 trains a day isn't actually very many, if your goal is to induce transit-oriented development. The relative simplicity of a MARC station makes it an attractive short-term goal, but in the long term a better solution may be needed.

One mode McDuffie didn't mention, but that maybe should be considered, is streetcar. None of DDOT's proposed streetcar lines pass through here, but the H Street line and the Florida Avenue / 8th Street line are both close. It wouldn't cost very much to add a spur from those lines that goes up West Virginia Avenue and ends at New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road, like this:

Potential new streetcar route, using portions of the H Street and 8th Street lines, with a spur up West Virginia Avenue.

Another option for a streetcar spur would be to go up Bladensburg Road itself, breaking off from H Street at the Starburst intersection. That would better serve the Carver Langston neighborhood and National Arboretum, but wouldn't be as good for Ivy City.

A third permutation could spur off of the Rhode Island Avenue streetcar, using Montana Avenue to cut south to New York Avenue. This might be the cheapest streetcar option, but it would also probably be the least useful, since it wouldn't go to many new places.

DC has so many great transit projects in the works that anything will likely be hard to budget. Metro is probably not realistic at all, and a MARC station is the best bet for something soon. But a streetcar on West Virginia Avenue, Bladensburg Road, or Montana Avenue may well be something to shoot for.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

52 comments

Ward 5 needs a vision beyond "no bus/streetcar parking" (Nov 16, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
DDOT suggests cutting 395 to Mass Ave (Jun 26, 2008)
Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)

Councilmembers for business

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:29:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A bill by Tommy Wells would make it easier to create pop-up businesses by reducing permit requirements. Meanwhile, Kenyan McDuffie wants a task force to look at how to better use industrial land; most is in Ward 5. (DCist)

Comment

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
Without balance, parking bills will hurt business (May 19, 2009)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
Labor successfully waters down noise bill (Jun 3, 2008)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)

More people for McMillan

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:22:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Momentum is building for McMillan, with Kenyan McDuffie and Michael Brown supporting the plan. Aaron Wiener has some positive words for it too, showing he's not going to skip having opinions. (Housing Complex)

Comment

At McMillan site, compromise could be beautiful (Oct 29, 2010)
New McMillan plan blends growth and preservation (May 7, 2012)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
On the calendar: Lockwood, Gray, Walter Reed, McMillan Sand, Lincoln Park CaBi, retro bikes and much more (Oct 14, 2010)
McMillan visions take shape (Nov 22, 2010)

Flooding problems

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:36:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

In the wake of flooding in LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale on Sunday night, Kenyan McDuffie called for the DC government to establish a relief fund to help these neighborhoods with frequent flooding problems. (Post)

Comment

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
I Wish This Were... in Bloomingdale/Eckington/Truxton Circle (Dec 12, 2010)

Gray backs car barn site

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:17:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Mayor Gray reaffirmed his support of the Spingarn site for the streetcar car barn over the objections of Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. Gray notes that it's likely every ward will eventually have a car barn. (DCist)

Comment

Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
Should urbanists be nervous about Vince Gray? Part 1 (Jul 20, 2010)
"Trolleys" are good for Ward 5, if we can get them (Jun 28, 2012)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)

McDuffie fights car barn

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:17:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie asked Mayor Gray to reconsider Spingarn High School for a streetcar car barn. McDuffie prefers the Hopscotch Bridge as an interim storage site. (Examiner)

Comment

Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn (Jul 11, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
"Trolleys" are good for Ward 5, if we can get them (Jun 28, 2012)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)

Spingarn remains the best option for streetcar barn

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:31:00 EDT

by Geoff Hatchard

A group of residents in the Carver-Langston neighborhood of Ward 5 have successfully lobbied councilmember Kenyan McDuffie to oppose a streetcar maintenance facility in the southeastern corner of the ward. If they succeed in blocking the planned facility at that location, the city is left with few options that aren't very viable.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie released a letter asking the Gray administration to find a location for the facility that's not adjacent to Spingarn High School.

The letter said, "Many residents have indicated that they found the justification for the Spingarn site to be one of expedience, rather than necessity."

Letter makes several specious arguments

McDuffie's letter goes on to say that residents felt "disrespected" because more meetings weren't held in Ward 5. This is a straw man argument: Ward 6 meetings were held within blocks of Ward 5. A streetcar meeting at the Atlas Theater may have been outside of the ward, but it was close enough that anyone from the Trinidad or Carver Langston neighborhoods could walk to it.

A hypothetical meeting in North Michigan Park would be in Ward 5. While that would allow planners to say they held more meetings inside the ward, it wouldn't actually make it easier for neighbors voices to be heard.

The letter further says that residents are "dismayed that a major decision affecting our ward was made without the benefit of a Councilmember at the table to represent the community's interests." While this might be true about the apparent "final" decision to place the bar at Spingarn, Harry Thomas, Jr. was in office for years during the planning and construction along Benning Road. Perhaps he didn't reach out to members of the local neighborhoods for their input because he was busy stealing from them?

McDuffie used the term "dumping ground" as well. While he didn't say whether he feels this is an appropriate term to describe the ward, it's disappointing to see him giving the term credence by perpetuating its use. In debate and discussion during the election season, he distanced himself from the use of that term, but chose not to in this instance. Why?

Push DDOT to address real neighbor concerns

Finally, in his letter, McDuffie laid out five points that he classified as major concerns coming from neighbors. They include:

Lack of material benefits to the Carver Langston neighborhood;
Safety of students during and after the construction phase;
Environmental impact;
Level of noise from repairs and maintenance;
Resources and job opportunities available at the training center for Spingarn students and Ward 5 residents.

On the first point, increased, reliable, safe, affordable transportation towards downtown is already a material benefit to the neighborhood. DC officials have frequently stated that streetcar pricing will be the same as Circulator service. That would be cheaper than taking the X2 bus along Benning Road and H Street.

The safety of students is an important concern. The streetcar project would be subject to the same safety requirements as any construction project in the city. After construction, when operations begin, the concern likely turns to students being hit by streetcars. It's worth noting that students stand a higher risk of being hit by cars speeding down Benning Road or 26th Street, yet neighbors are not seeking a ban on automobile traffic on those roadways.

The environmental impact of the construction can be mitigated with a green roof, solar panels, or other carbon-neutralizing accommodations.

The level of noise is a very valid concern, and DDOT should provide hard data showing the current decibel level at the site, and the expected future level, along with concrete plans to mitigate any increase in noise.

DDOT and DCPS also need to show plans for how a training program run through the school would work, how many spots would be available for students, etc. This is something these agencies should have worked on already, and it's certainly the city's fault for not having this information available by now.

Other options are not practical now, though it's worth pursuing them for the future

If all of these points still do not satisfy the residents of Carver-Langston, what options does the city have for alternate sites for the maintenance facility? Other locations were discussed at an April meeting at Spingarn High School. One of those is the RFK Stadium north parking lot area, across Benning Road from the Spingarn site.

However, the federal government owns this land, and leased it to DC with the limitation that it be used only for recreational purposes. Perhaps McDuffie could initiate a serious discussion with Eleanor Holmes Norton, for whom he interned before attending law school, about relaxing this requirement and allowing a car barn to be built on this land.

Another possibility was the site that is currently home to the Pepco plant just east of the Anacostia River. Unfortunately, that site is not under the control of the DC government either, and is much larger than what a streetcar facility would require.

If the District were able to get control of that site (which may require years of environmental mitigation), there would still likely need to be a small-area plan created for the entire site, which would take even more years of planning and meetings. Even if there were a way to fast track all of that, the line doesn't yet extend that far. DDOT plans to build the line there and beyond, but can't do that before next year, when they hope to open the line.

DC didn't plan adequately

The fact is that the District didn't plan well enough for the streetcar barn. DDOT officials long assumed that a space under the H Street "Hopscotch Bridge" would be available for a maintenance facility, and this never came to be. They should have put more time and effort into making sure that plans for the area under the bridge were solid, and should have planned for an alternate location in case the original plan fell through as it did.

As things stand now, the streetcar maintenance facility can't be built anywhere other than the area south of Spingarn High School without delaying the start of revenue service for at least another 5 years, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars, or both. If that happens, Ward 5 residents will definitely lose out.

49 comments

"Trolleys" are good for Ward 5, if we can get them (Jun 28, 2012)
Barry surprised at streetcar plan from Barry mayoralty (Jul 1, 2010)
DDOT reveals more streetcar details in Trinidad (Apr 21, 2010)
DDOT unveils vision for eight streetcar lines (Oct 23, 2009)
Owner of H Street tunnel not so eager for streetcars (Jun 2, 2010)

McDuffie opposes car barn

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:36:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Kenyan McDuffie has asked DDOT to find another location for the streetcar maintenance facility besides in front of Spingarn High School. DDOT has said no other location would be feasible in time to open the line next year. (DCist)

Comment

Streetcar will move ahead?

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:43:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Marion Barry now won't oppose the streetcar contract after getting some promises, but still stokes divisions by saying the line will "service newcomers." Meanwhile, Kenyan McDuffie has been hearing from some residents opposing the maintenance facility near Spingarn High School. (DCist)

Comment

Council shuffle creates new development committee

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 08:11:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

New member Kenyan McDuffie will oversee employment issues. Michael Brown, whose committee formerly included employment, gets economic development and also keeps housing. (Post)

Comment

Schwartz to run as a write-in; at-large race gets more interesting (Sep 16, 2008)
Future at-large member will sit on important committees (Dec 22, 2010)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
New Council structure announced; Wells joins key committee (Dec 24, 2008)
For District of Columbia Council (Aug 31, 2010)

Time to shuffle committees?

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 08:11:00 EDT

by David Alpert

With Kenyan McDuffie on the council, is it time to recreate an economic development committee or make an education one? Kwame Brown says he has no plans to do this; maybe that means means he doesn't want to punish anyone who's crossed him lately. (Examiner)

Comment

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
Future at-large member will sit on important committees (Dec 22, 2010)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
Live chat: Kwame Brown, DC Councilmember at-large (Mar 27, 2009)

And...

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:43:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

One infographic shows how long commutes are bad for us. (Cube Dweller Fitness, Bossi) ... A mixed use development near Nationals Park cold be coming soon. (JDLand) ... Kenyan McDuffie is sworn in as Ward 5's councilmember. (Post)

Comment

Times are a changin'

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:46:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

While demographics in Ward 5 have not shifted as fast as other parts of the city, that's about to change with new housing going up and several transit accessible plots available for development. Can Kenyan McDuffie prepare the community for this change? (RPUS)

Comment

Councilmember McDuffie

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:50:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Kenyan McDuffie "trounced" other candidates to win the Ward 5 special election with 45% of the vote, at least twice the votes of anyone else. The ward has now replaced its prison-bound former councilmember with a former Justice Department attorney. (Post)

Comment

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
Ward 5 progressives must unite behind one candidate (Jan 9, 2012)
Nonpartisan DC primary would give winners more legitimacy (Apr 19, 2012)

Live in 5? Vote! (McDuffie!)

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:10:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Ward 5 goes to the polls today to choose a replacement for Harry Thomas, Jr. We have endorsed Kenyan McDuffie. Turnout will likely be light, so votes are critical to shape the future of the ward.

Comment

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Apr 11, 2012)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Ward 5 progressives must unite behind one candidate (Jan 9, 2012)
Election day is here! Vote! (Apr 2, 2012)

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:10:00 EDT

Voters in DC's Ward 5 will vote on May 15th in a special election to select a councilmember after Harry Thomas, Jr. resigned in disgrace earlier this year. They have an opportunity to elect someone who not only sets a higher ethical standard, but has a better vision for Ward 5. That person is Kenyan McDuffie.

Kenyan McDuffie. Photo by mediaslave on Flickr.

We endorsed McDuffie for this seat during the 2010 election, and we are proud to do so again. Since 2010, he has bolstered his resume, is running a stronger campaign, and has emerged as the clear choice for voters looking for someone who they will not only agree with on policy, but who also has a great chance to win.

McDuffie's list of priorities, including economic development, jobs, education, and public safety, reveal a candidate with thoughtful and concrete plans to achieve once in office.

One of McDuffie's simplest promises is to hold community office hours, as Tommy Wells does in neighboring Ward 6. Ward 5 has a large elderly population that may find it difficult to travel downtown to the Wilson Building to discuss concerns, so McDuffie plans to be available to hear those concerns in person in individual neighborhoods.

McDuffie supports Initiative 70, the proposed citizen ballot initiative to ban corporate campaign donations. He's also taken a stand against corporate bundling, while other major Ward 5 campaigns have not.

Former Councilmember Thomas talked about the importance of small business corridors like Bladensburg Road, North Capitol Street, 12th Street, and Rhode Island Avenue, but did not get any funding for Great Streets programs on these corridors. McDuffie will make it a top priority to bring funding to Ward 5's neglected commercial corridors, instead of the recent trend of only focusing on drawing big-box retail to the ward.

McDuffie wants more transportation choices in Ward 5. He is interested in how the Circulator system could be expanded to serve the ward, as it will be many years before a streetcar could come to Michigan and Rhode Island Avenues even under the most optimistic scenarios.

McDuffie has degrees from Howard University and the University of Maryland School of Law. He has worked for Eleanor Holmes Norton, as an assistant state attorney in Prince George's County, a judicial clerk in Maryland's 7th Circuit, a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ, and, since after the 2010 election, as a policy advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice. His background in policy will bring much-needed experience to the table, as the budget process will be well underway when the new councilmember takes the seat.

McDuffie had a very strong performance at the March 3 candidates debate. He proved to be adept at answering detailed questions and clearly had a stronger grasp of issues such as ethics, campaign finance, and public safety than the other candidates on the dais that day.

He stood up for his beliefs, supporting a tax on sugary beverages because of their correlation with negative health outcomes, and refused to pander to the audience even when some audibly jeered his position.

Other candidates commonly discussed as major players for the seat bring questions to the table that raise serious doubts about their ability to lead.

Frank Wilds, who previously ran for the seat in 2006, has not provided serious solutions for Ward 5. One of his priorities, for example, is to bring a major federal government office to the Rhode Island Avenue corridor. Common sense shows that there are no parcels of land that could hold what one would assume would be an enormous building, nor is there the infrastructure to make such an undertaking viable.

Delano Hunter ran for the seat in 2010, and has done nothing to show a firm grasp of the issues that are of importance to all Ward 5 residents. His website includes bland pronouncements such as "issu[ing] annual reports" and working for development "that respects the tradition of our ward."

In addition, Hunter continues to support a referendum to repeal marriage equality. This stance is not just troubling, but should be an automatic disqualification for office. Anyone who believes that subjecting the civil rights of a minority group to the whims of the electorate is unacceptable.

Some progressive-voting residents of Ward 5 are excited about Drew Hubbard. Hubbard has legislative experience from working on the staffs of Councilmembers Kwame Brown, Marion Barry, and Michael Brown, but questions have been raised regarding his independence. He also remains a virtual unknown to the vast majority of Ward 5 residents.

Hubbard's presence in this campaign is building needed name recognition that could stand him in good stead for future runs for office, but his supporters should be mindful of the strategic realities of the race. Voting without regard for strategy has created problems in several recent elections. Nonetheless, we believe McDuffie will make the best Ward 5 councilmember and hope all voters, including progressives, will unite behind McDuffie.

Many Ward 5 precincts saw low turnout in last week's primary. The May 15 special election is critical to the future of the ward, and voters need to make their voices heard. Apathy is not an option this time.

Kenyan McDuffie's experience, continued leadership, and clearly articulated vision makes him the only choice for the Ward 5 council seat. We urge Ward 5 voters to select him on Tuesday, May 15th.

This is the official endorsement of Greater Greater Washington, written by one or more contributors. Active contributors and editors voted on endorsements, and any endorsement reflects a strong majority or greater in favor of endorsing the candidate.

23 comments

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth (Mar 1, 2012)
For Ward 4 Council: Max Skolnik (Mar 23, 2012)
Ward 5 progressives must unite behind one candidate (Jan 9, 2012)
For Ward 8 Council: Jacque Patterson (Mar 22, 2012)

Kenyan McDuffie talks education and growth

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:36:00 EDT

by Steven Glazerman

With a special election for the Ward 5 seat on the DC Council coming up on May 15, the candidates are hot to deliver their messages and woo voters. Kenyan McDuffie, whom Greater Greater Washington endorsed 2 years ago, is starting to articulate ideas for how he might lead Ward 5.

McDuffie speaks to Ward 5 residents. Image from video by Tom Bridge.

With development opportunities at the McMillan Sand Filtration site, near the Brookland Metro, and along Rhode Island and New York Avenues, there is a lot of change coming to Ward 5 that needs stewardship, oversight, and community input.

McDuffie expressed a commitment to "livable, walkable" communities, nodding his cap to Councilmember Tommy Wells, who uses these words a lot. I hope he, and by extension the residents of Ward 5, do more than use the words.

Ward 5 is home to massive big box development with large surface parking lots, fast-moving commuter roads like Rhode Island and New York Avenues, busy intersections, and has perhaps the least amount of bicycle infrastructure and Capital Bikeshare coverage in the city.

Yet it also has three Red Line Metro stops and the Met Branch trail, and room for new transit-oriented development. McDuffie also mentioned a priority of "solving traffic problems" associated with development. I hope that he, and other candidates in Ward 5, understand the benefits of changes which slow down cars but benefit travel by transit, on foot and by bicycle.

Ward 1 and Capitol Hill provide good examples of residential and retail density with bike infrastucture that create desirable destinations and connections between adjacent communities. The tree-lined streets of residential Ward 5 can have the best of both worlds—good urbanism while preserving a sense of suburban tranquility.

McDuffie has made education a key point of his candidacy, creating an education priorities page on his website. He says he will "tackle truancy," "prepare students for higher education," and "increase vocational programs."

At a recent meet-and-greet, someone asked about the disposition of vacant or underutilized DCPS school buildings. McDuffie gave what I consider the "correct" answer without hesitating: make sure that operators who have shown themselves to be effective at educating kids have a fair crack at the buildings, and if that avenue is exhausted, seek a deal that is good for the city in terms of generating the most revenue.

As with most campaign platforms, the lofty pronouncements may be on the right track but don't delve into as much detail. It's easy to promise to address big problems, but harder to specify exactly how, (or how to pay for any changes). The challenge for voters is to read between the lines and guess what the candidates will do if and when they sit on the council.

The education priorities page does not address school modernization, school funding, or the equity and adequacy issues raised in the recent DC Public Education Finance Reform Commission report (and covered in the Washington Post). It also does not address any of the various education proposals that Kwame Brown has floated in the past few weeks. Will McDuffie side with Brown or take a different approach? What about the other Ward 5 hopefuls?

I look forward to hearing more about the specifics of McDuffie's views, and what the other Ward 5 candidates and at-large candidates running in the April primary have to say. I hope they will write position papers on their website, post on this blog, and even engage with voters in comments.

14 comments

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie (Sep 10, 2010)
Will the real education candidate please stand up? (Apr 20, 2011)
For District of Columbia Council (Aug 31, 2010)
Schwartz to run as a write-in; at-large race gets more interesting (Sep 16, 2008)
Friday meta-discussion: Education? (Aug 14, 2009)

For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:12:00 EDT

by Jaime Fearer

Harry Thomas Jr. has been an unremarkable and disappointing member of the DC Council, getting little done and having few noteworthy positions. In Ward 5, he has favored big-box and strip mall development over neighborhood commercial corridors.

Kenyan McDuffie. Photo by mediaslave on Flickr.

For those neighborhood corridors, his leadership was primarily reactive in nature. In Brookland, for example, residents pushed for burying power lines during a major streetscape renovation, but despite verbal support, Mr. Thomas was ineffective at actually winning the change for the neighborhood. That project remains in flux two years later.

Mr. Thomas has continued many big box development initiatives begun under former Councilmember Vincent Orange without pushing for immediate improvements neighborhoods need. The Rhode Island Avenue NE Great Streets Initiative looks nice on paper, but some short-term facade improvement funds would be a huge boost right now for the corridor, and Thomas has not fought for that.

A new Aldi is under construction across from an existing, open Safeway in Carver Langston, but Thomas has done little to bring retail investment to Edgewood where another Safeway closed earlier this year. And rumor has it we may get a Wal-Mart where Jim Abdo once envisioned a mixed-use gateway on New York Avenue.

As chair of the Libraries, Parks, and Recreation Committee, Mr. Thomas seems to favor recreation over libraries, perhaps because of his athletic bent. He's directed money to Ward 5 recreation centers, but very little in the way of needed capital improvements have been made to the ward's two libraries.

Kenyan McDuffie represents a promising alternative to Mr. Thomas's lack of leadership.

Mr. McDuffie has a strong background, with degrees from Howard University and the University of Maryland School of Law and work history with Eleanor Holmes Norton, as an assistant state attorney in Prince George's County, a judicial clerk in Maryland's 7th Circuit, and a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ. His background in policy and legislature will bring, according to the City Paper's endorsement, a "wonkier style" to the job, but we believe it will also bring some much needed focus.

Regarding commercial development, Mr. McDuffie understands that continuing to focus on large-scale projects sets a potentially negative precedent for the ward. He told us, "The same $1.5 million allocated to the large, suburban-style development in Ft. Lincoln could go a long way toward revitalizing an existing small business corridor or attracting smaller-scale development to corridors like Bladensburg Road and North Capitol Street."

Related in many ways to commercial development, the improvement of food systems and access is critical to Mr. McDuffie, who supports efforts to bring healthy food to children. Councilmember Thomas was a leader of the charge against the soda tax, but didn't help provide any alternate revenue source for healthier school food.

Crime, particularly juvenile crime, continues to be an important topic throughout the city. Mr. McDuffie's experience as an attorney is evident in his thoughtfulness in addressing the many factors juveniles face before becoming delinquent.

Overall, Mr. McDuffie is able to identify current barriers to progress, including the real and artificial boundaries that divide neighboring communities. He believes in holistic methods to move beyond the status quo the ward has become accustomed to, and we believe he is the right choice for Ward 5 voters on Tuesday.

Cross-posted at The District Curmudgeon.

7 comments

Will Thomas push for local business and good urban design? (Dec 28, 2010)
For District of Columbia Council (Aug 31, 2010)
Ask Kwame Brown to maintain public access in downtown Ward 7 (Oct 1, 2009)
For ANC in Ward 3 (Oct 26, 2010)
Ask the Ward 2 Council candidates (Jul 8, 2008)