Greater Greater Washington sends candidates for ANC seats a questionnaire as part of their endorsement process. They warn that Surveymonkey won’t save partial answers, so they recommend drafting responses in a separate document…this is that document, both for my own records and the benefit of anyone else who might be interested… The first several questions are basic contact and what seat are you running for, so this starts at #5.
Do you think there are not enough homes, enough homes, or too many homes in your ANC?
- Not enough homes
- Enough homes
- Too many homes
Which of the following statements most aligns with your beliefs?
It’s more important to preserve the character of our neighborhoods, and the District’s land-use regulations should reflect that.
It’s more important to enable more homes, and more types of homes, in more of our neighborhoods, even if that results in pushback for “changing a neighborhood’s character.”
I consider affordable housing to be (check all that, in your opinion, apply):
- Means-tested or income-restricted
- Built by the government
- Cheap
- Subsidized
- Rent-controlled
- Costing no more than 30 percent of one’s household income
I consider market-rate housing to be (check all that, in your opinion, apply):
- Not means-tested or income-restricted
- Built by private developers
- Expensive
- Unsubsidized
- Not rent-controlled
- Costing more than 30 percent of one’s household income
If you’d like, elaborate on what you believe to be the distinction between affordable housing and market-rate housing. (Max. 1,500 characters.)
Market-rate housing can be affordable, depending on the market and what you can afford; they’re not mutually exclusive. Conversely, housing doesn’t have to be subsidized to be affordable—and even a cheap apartment isn’t necessarily affordable. I once paid $550/month for my half of a 2-bed apartment in Madison, NJ, but since I was making $300/week as a stage electrician, that was still over half my pay….
We can both lower the market rate of housing (for example, by building lots more of it) and make housing more affordable to more people (by subsidizing more of it, or by subsidizing it more, by capping rents, or by raising incomes, or by a myriad of other options) and we should do most if not all of those things.Check any of the below combinations of features that you would consider social housing.
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a District agency and managed by a District agency
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a District agency and managed by a private property-management company
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a private construction company and managed by a District agency
- District-owned housing on District-owned land, built by a private construction company and managed by a private property-management company
What does family-sized housing mean to you? (Max. 1,500 characters.)
This term is meaningless to me. My family is only two people, but my dad is the eldest of eight. I was an only child, so growing up, my family was three people. My mom, like my partner, has one brother, but my mother-in-law has four siblings. I know several couples with three kids and at least one family of three adults and a couple kids.
Childless couples and single-parent households and poly triads are families just as much as “traditional” couples with two or five or eight children. All deserve to be able to find enough space to live comfortably in at a price they can afford—but research shows the actual shortage in DC’s housing stock is at the low end of the space scale: There are so few studios and 1-bedroom apartments that thousands of single adults and couples are living with 1, 2, or 5 others and “taking up” space that could house a single family with multiple kids. We need many more units, all up and down the size scale, but creating more small units at prices recent graduates (and non-graduates!) can afford would allow more young adults to get their own homes and “free up” the larger units that already exist for the larger families that need them.
Are there not enough historic districts, enough historic districts, or too many historic districts in your ANC?
- Not enough historic districts
- Enough historic districts
- Too many historic districts
Do you think inducing residents and visitors to drive less should be an explicit policy goal of the District?
- Yes, inducing residents and visitors to drive less should be an explicit policy goal of the District.
- No, inducing residents and visitors to drive less should not be an explicit policy goal of the District.
Do you think there are not enough cars, enough cars, or too many cars in the District?
- Not enough cars
- Enough cars
- Too many cars
How many vehicles do you think a family of four needs to get by in the District?
Zero
(This obviously depends on where you live in the District, but the 40-some percent of families who don’t have a car in our neighborhood shows here, at least, you can get by without one.)
Do you think there is not enough parking, enough parking, or too much parking in your ANC?
Do you think there are too few bars and restaurants, enough bars and restaurants, or too many bars and restaurants in your ANC?
(Too many bars, not enough restaurants! Also, not enough coffee shops and other places to hang out with people and drink things that aren’t alcohol.)
Housing production and land use
Which statement do you agree with most?
Little or no new housing should be built anywhere in the District.
New housing should be built almost exclusively near transit or on major corridors. Adding new housing is important, but so is protecting neighborhoods from change. Limiting denser development to land near transit or on major corridors is a reasonable compromise.
New housing of all types should be built throughout all neighborhoods. Building more densely near transit is important, but people also deserve the option to live in rowhomes and small apartment buildings, even if those homes are not within a set proximity to a bus stop or train station.
(People who live in apartments also deserve to be able to live on quiet side streets and shouldn’t be forced to tolerate major-road noise and air pollution just to “protect neighborhoods from change.”)
Should apartments—for example, sixplexes—be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods?
- Yes, apartments should be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods.
- Yes, apartments should be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods, and I would introduce a resolution supporting the legalization of sixplexes in the Comprehensive Planrewrite.
- No, apartments should not be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods.
- No, apartments should not be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods, and I would oppose a resolution in support of such a policy.
If you selected, “No,” explain why you think apartments shouldn’t be legal in all parts of all the District’s neighborhoods. Otherwise, write N/A. (Max. 3,000 characters.)
N/A.
Should the District’s historic preservation laws be amended to remove height and mass from the purview of the Historic Preservation Review Board?
- Yes, height and mass should be removed from the purview of the Historic Preservation Review Board.
- Yes, height and mass should be removed from the purview of the Historic Preservation Review Board, and I would introduce a resolution supporting such a policy.
- No, height and mass should not be removed from the purview of the Historic Preservation Review Board.
- No, height and mass should not be removed from the purview of the Historic Preservation Review Board, and I would oppose a resolution in support of such a policy.
Mayor Muriel Bowser failed to meet her 2019 target of achieving “an equitable distribution of no less than 15 percent affordable housing in each planning area by 2050.” Do you agree that 15 percent of all homes in a planning area should be affordable?
- I agree that 15 percent of all homes in a planning area should be affordable.
- I agree that 15 percent of all homes in a planning area should be affordable, and would introduce a resolution in support of such a policy.
- I do not agree that 15 percent of all homes in a planning area should be affordable.
- I do not agree that 15 percent of all homes in a planning area should be affordable, and would introduce a resolution in opposition to such a policy.
Janeese Lewis George, the Democratic nominee for mayor of Washington, D.C., committed to a goal of building 72,000 new homes in five years. That’s equal to about 210 units per single-member district, or 1,565 units per ANC. Hypothetically, where do you think 210 new homes should be built in your SMD or ANC? If you do not think new housing should be built in your SMD or ANC, please write, “I do not think new housing should be built in my SMD or ANC.” (Max. 3,000 characters.)
My SMD includes numerous rowhomes that could be bases for popups or basement apartments like the one in which I myself live; indeed, there are many such projects already underway, though the Department of Buildings needs to do a better job of ensuring those projects are done safely and they don’t harm neighboring properties.
My SMD also includes several properties that could be redeveloped into new homes, such as Howard University’s parking lot on the triangle between Sherman Avenue, Florida Avenue, and Barry Place. Additionally, a substantial section of DCHA’s Garfield Terrace is in poor condition and serving many fewer residents than it could be. I would love to know more about the Howard University Service Center on 10th and 11th Streets south of Florida and whether it might be possible to either use the properly more intensively so it is less of a dead zone, especially at night and on weekends, or incorporate its functions into another campus property and redevelop that site.
Elsewhere in and around ANC 1B, the several District-owned properties that are already under consideration for conversion to residences (Reeves Center, 1619 U) should continue to move forward, as I’ve written previously, and I would support redevelopment of other properties as well, such as the DC Housing Finance office and garage on 9th and Florida or the firehouse on Sherman near Euclid (in 1E, granted). I will also continue to support private developers developing projects on private property, such as the
In the District, planned unit developments “allow developers flexibility to meet objectives such as use, density, site planning, and design” by incorporating “public benefits that exceed those that could have been achieved under the general provisions of the Zoning Regulations.” Not all commissioners will work on a PUD but, if one is proposed, ANCs may be able to negotiate which benefits developers might provide in exchange for greater height and density. Developers rarely propose PUDs because of the time and complexity that the Zoning Commission has added to approvals. Which of the following statements most aligns with your preferences?
- I would prefer to negotiate a PUD. The delay in the production of new housing is worth the potential for—if not the guarantee of—benefits such as improvements to streets and sidewalks or more income-restricted, subsidized units than are required by District law.
- I would prefer that development in my ANC be by-right. Knowing that what is zoned is all that is possible to build creates predictability for residents and housing providers, which is worth forgoing a negotiation for possible benefits.
Greater Greater Washington is considering submitting to the Zoning Commission a proposal to enable a variety of smaller-scale housing types where they are not currently possible to build. Our proposal would allow one additional home per lot in R and RF zones. It would also decrease minimum lot area and width, and increase minimum lot capacity. You can see what parts of the District those zones cover on our indicator map. Would you support a proposal that enabled the following?
- I would support a zoning text amendment enabling an additional home per lot in R and RF zones.
- I would support enabling an additional home per lot in R and RF zones, and would introduce a resolution in support of such a zoning text amendment.
- I would not support enabling an additional home per lot in R and RF zones.
- I would not support enabling an additional home per lot in R and RF zones, and would introduce a resolution in opposition to such a zoning text amendment.
Transportation
At what point do you no longer consider someone’s home “near transit”?
- If their home is further than a five-minute walk to a bus stop or train station.
- If their home is further than a 10-minute walk to a bus stop or train station.
- If their home is further than a 15-minute walk to a bus stop or train station.
- If their home is further than a 20-minute walk to a bus stop or train station.
- If their home is further than a 30-minute walk or longer to a bus stop or train station.
Do you support removing parking and travel lanes to build dedicated bus lanes? See how many people in your ANC and SMD live near frequent transit on our indicator map.
- Yes, I support removing parking and travel lanes to build dedicated bus lanes.
- Yes, I support removing parking and travel lanes to build dedicated bus lanes, and would introduce a resolution in support of doing so in my ANC.
- No, I do not support removing parking and travel lanes to build dedicated bus lanes.
- No, I do not support removing parking and travel lanes to build dedicated bus lanes, and would introduce a resolution in opposition to doing so in my ANC.
Do you support removing parking and travel lanes to build protected bike lanes? See how many people in your ANC and SMD live near protected bike lanes on our indicator map.
- Yes, I support removing parking and travel lanes to build protected bike lanes.
- Yes, I support removing parking and travel lanes to build protected bike lanes, and would introduce a resolution in support of doing so in my ANC.
- No, I do not support removing parking and travel lanes to build protected bike lanes.
- No, I do not support removing parking and travel lanes to build protected bike lanes, and would introduce a resolution in opposition to doing so in my ANC.
Not only would I support such a resolution, I have supported such a resolution as member of ANC1B’s Transportation Committee.
Do you support the implementation of road pricing (also referred to as congestion pricing) in downtown Washington, D.C.? The “small study area” in the map below shows approximately where a road-pricing charge could apply.
- Yes, I support the implementation of road pricing.
- Yes, I support the implementation of road pricing, and would introduce a resolution in support of the District doing so.
- No, I do not support the implementation of road pricing.
- No, I do not support the implementation of road pricing, and would introduce a resolution in opposition to the District doing so.
Will you participate in the yearly National Week Without Driving?
- Yes, I will participate in the National Week Without Driving every fall.
- No, I will not participate in the National Week Without Driving every fall.
I have participated every year since I became aware of this campaign, and will continue to do so!
The District’s plan to be carbon-free by 2045 requires residents to reduce the trips they take by car. Please describe at least one trip you currently take by car (even if you, yourself, are not driving) that you can commit to taking on foot, by bus, by train, via a mobility device, or by bike instead. (Max. 1,500 characters.)
As I wrote last time, I already minimize my driving within the city—I commute, socialize, buy groceries, and run nearly all errands on transit, bike, or foot. Nearly all of my current car use is to go with my partner to visit our families, who live in places that are not (yet) accessible by Amtrak within a reasonable span of time or at a reasonable hour.
I fully support the District’s goals to reduce trips by car, and work professionally to help communities across the Mid-Atlantic become easier to get around on foot and by bike. I look forward to working as a Commissioner to make it easier for neighbors in ANC 1B and across DC to reduce their car use, both by supporting more transit, biking, and walking infrastructure, and by supporting bringing more housing, jobs, groceries and so forth within walking and biking distance of each other.
Other
What do you feel is the biggest issue in your neighborhood, and what is your position on it? Given the limited scope of commissioners’ authority, what would you most realistically do about that issue if elected? (Max. 1,500 characters each.)
While collecting signatures, I heard multiple times about the problems with rats in our rowhouse neighborhoods, and issues with trash collection that contribute to the pest problems. As I wrote last time, I believe a lot of our problems are due to dysfunctional and ill-focused agencies; DPW, in addition to failing to get the garbage in the trucks, also would rather remove “abused” public trash cans than empty them frequently enough (or investigate why residents, particularly of multifamily buildings, put their trash in them rather than their home cans and dumpsters).
I have also heard from many residents that they have found it difficult or impossible to get through to our current Commissioner and to get responses from District staff. I look forward to working with fellow Commissioners and our colleagues across the Ward and around the District to push agencies to be more responsive to our constituents, and — mindful that we will also have several new Councilmembers and a new Mayor next year — to working with our Councilmembers to hold agency leaders responsible, find the systemic issues causing these problems, and create solutions and the oversight to ensure they are implemented, both during Performance Oversight/Budget in the spring and throughout the year.
ANC commissioners represent about 2,000 constituents, on average. With the understanding that you are not going to hear from every single one of them during your term, and that those you do hear from may not represent a majority view of the 2,000 people you represent, describe how you plan to make decisions as an elected representative. (Max. 3,000 characters.)
Like most Commissioners, I already have one full-time job; I intend to invite people to email me, and will consider having a periodic ‘office-hours’ for people to come meet me in person and putting out newsletters, but even those efforts will never reach every single constituent.
I will make decisions based on what I believe is best for the District and its residents, particularly what is most likely to reduce traffic violence, home prices and homelessness, and the impacts of climate change, and to improve transit, walking, and biking and create increased housing and tree canopy.
Why do you think you are the right person to serve as an ANC commissioner for your SMD? (Max. 1,500 characters.)
I already work across ANC 1B, Ward 1, the District, and the region to make life better for our neighbors: I am a member of the ANC’s transportation committee, a precinct representative to the Ward 1 Democrats, the Ward 1 Member of DC’s Pedestrian Advisory Council, as well as a transportation planner, working on projects across the DMV and throughout the Mid-Atlantic. I’ve testified at Council both on behalf of the PAC and for myself, primarily but not only on transportation issues.
I’ve held board positions both in professional organizations (DC chapters of Young Professionals in Transportation, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals) and community organizations (Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association, Better Streets Lawrenceville [Pittsburgh]), have organized DC’s edition of the Ride of Silence memorial bike ride for victims of traffic violence since 2019, and am a Member at Large of the board of Ex Lapide, Virginia Tech’s Society for queer alumni and allies.
I am deeply curious and collaborative, so I have both knowledge of and connections throughout the District and its agencies, and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission, at Council, and across the District, rather than against them
Is there anything else you’d like GGWash to take into consideration about your positions on housing, affordable housing, transportation, and land use? (Max. 3,000 characters.)
Citation
@online{swiderski,
author = {Swiderski, J. I.},
title = {GGW 2026 {Endorsement} {Questionnaire} {Answers}},
url = {https://jski.net/posts/GGWANC2026.html},
langid = {en}
}