Sadly, two of our six commissioners have resigned.  Jim Richardson (SMD 2F-02) leaves the ANC because he will shortly move out of the single member district he represents and loses his eligibility to continue as a commissioner.  Jerome Sikorski (SMD 2F-05), who was elected in a special election to replace Sandra Biasillo, has resigned due to ill health.  Both of these leaders will be missed.  Although Jerome was only recently elected, he willingly took on responsibilities as the Secretary of the ANC and had participated with great verve during the short period of his tenure.  Jim Richardson has served with great distinction, always willing to pitch in where needed and robustly furthering the interests of his constituents and of the community as a whole.

The loss of these two community minded men leaves their respective SMD’s without a voice on the ANC, and it deprives the whole ANC of wise and energetic participation. The ANC has acted quickly to commence the statutory process of filling the two vacancies. Fortunately, the timing is such that fully functioning replacements can be elected in accordance with the DC ANC Act. (While the ANC has a bylaw provision for informal, non-voting delegates, having official representatives is much more desirable.)

So, I urge—as I have often in the past—that those with the interest and aptitude to take on this public service to step up.  Your ANC is important to you and everyone else in this community.  We are the advocates who speak for the community with all elements of the District of Columbia—the Mayor, the City Council the administrative agencies, the police and with the business and other interests which impact our area.  The “job” doesn’t provide an income, but it carries immense rewards, and it is a vital force in building and sustaining our community.

Call me (202.262.5030) or email (creed@kgrmlaw.com) with any questions about being a commissioner or with your suggestions as to who within these two SMDs would make good commissioner.  It benefits us all!

Despite criminal laws which exist to protect the community, often our courts do not punish convicted criminals to the extent the law permits.  Given the crowded jail system and a sense of priority in which the more severe crimes get the closest attention, judges frequently hand down light sentences, particularly in misdemeanor cases.  Equally frequently, however, the misdemeanor defendants are in fact significant criminals who create enormous issues for the community, and who are charged with misdemeanors only because felony cases are more difficult to develop given the perpetual shortage of police and prosecutorial resources..

Today’s action in Superior Court was an exception.  Judge Melvin R. Wright handed a tough misdemeanor sentence on Deandre Kelly’s conviction for cocaine possession.  Kelly has been selling guns and drugs from his base of operations at 916 N Street, NW, for years.   He has terrorized his neighbors, maintained a perpetual nuisance, and added to the overall crime in the Logan Circle area by both arming people who shouldn’t have guns, and feeding drug habits which inundate the area with thefts necessary to feed those habits.

Today’s result came from good police work, the dogged determination of Lt. Mike Smith of MPD, and our own Crime and Public Safety Committee’s efforts in working with Smith to follow the many complaints that Kelly’s activities have engendered.  The haggard and overworked Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case was also helpful in getting the Judge to allow our ANC to allocate—i.e., speak at the sentencing to demonstrate to the Judge why he should not treat this as business as usual, and give Mr. Kelly time in jail.  The ANC had taken formal action at its April meeting to authorize allocution.

So, Deandre Kelly, illegal hand gun and assault rifle merchant, drug dealer and plague in our community received the maximum time allowed for the misdemeanor crime:  180 days in jail.  The judge suspended all but 80 days of the sentence, conditioned on good behavior and one-year’s probation in which Kelly is required to undergo weekly drug tests.  This is, assuredly, not a lot of time.  But it is significant in terms of what defendants typically receive and it basically follows the recommendation of the U.S. Attorney and the MPD.  Most important, it will keep this entrepreneurial criminal off the streets for a bit.

Our community will have a little relief.  Our Crime and Public Safety Committee will turn to expanding this victory.

Charles Reed

Sandra Biasillo, who has served with distinction on our Advisory Neighborhood Commission for the past 30 months, has tendered her resignation, because of a steep increase in the burdens of her professional career. In addition to job related requirements, Sandra is also pursuing an MBA. Her colleagues on ANC 2F wish her the very best, and appreciate the solid contributions she has made to the work of the ANC and to the betterment of the Logan Circle area. While our thanks go to Sandra, the purpose of this letter is to alert the community to the vacancy on the ANC, and to invite those interested in performing a much needed community service to seek to full that vacancy. Sandra, of course, was the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 2F-05.

At the same time, I would like to urge the entire Logan Circle area citizenry to seek out and encourage qualified resident’s of SMD 2F-05 to run for the commission. (see www.ANC2F.org under the Executive Director’s page of the commissioners tab for a map of SMD 2F-05.) Your ANC is important to all of us. The ANC is your interface with the D.C. government, and it is an effective place to deal with the many issues that directly impact the quality of your life and, for many, even your economic interests. While our area has many new residents who may not have witnessed it, we have undergone an incredible and wonderful change in our neighborhood. Those changes have come in a meaningful way from the dedication of those in the community who have worked on the ANC, in the community organizations in the area, and in other community activities. While the issues may change from time to time, the need never ceases to devote the time, energy and skill to advance our community.

Of course, the immediate need is to find a qualified and community minded new commissioner on our ANC. But I hope everyone will consider the broader need for participation in community work. I am very proud of the work of the ANC and of my fellow commissioners. But we can’t do it by ourselves. There are jobs that require the input and interest of a much broader segment of the community. There are many, many issues and problems, and from the standpoint of the ANC it sometimes seems we are armed with spoons trying to keep the tide back. Think about it. Parking, crime, graffiti, management of zoning, development, comprehensive plan, quality of life, allocation of city services, liquor issues, homeless problems, maintaining a community of diversity with a quality of life, encouraging needed amenities in the area…the list is endless.

I invite you all to attend ANC meetings and get active in those institutions in our area that work on community improvement. And, oh yes, please generate interest and help to assure that our entire ANC is represented by commissioners.

Charles Reed

Chairman ANC 2F

Ps. As to the vacancy in SMD 2F-05, D.C. law provides for a public election to fill it. Those seeking to run must meet the requirements set out under the ANC Act, D.C. Code 1-300(5), which are that you must be registered to vote in D.C., have resided continuously for the 60-day period prior to filling your nominating petition in single member district 2F-05, and not hold other elective office in D.C.

Charles Reed