D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams praised student involvement in local politics at the Campaign Georgetown meeting Monday night. Williams, who is a candidate in the upcoming November elections, also discussed the progress made during his term as mayor.
Volunteerism is essential to student relations with the community, Williams said.
“There is an enormous amount students can do; and on a service level, student volunteerism gives life to student involvement in politics,” Williams said.
He praised Georgetown for its “town-gown” relationships, especially the University representation on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.
“[Being on the] ANC is the closest an elected official can get to interacting with the people,” Williams said.
Williams outlined some of his achievements as mayor of D.C. over the past four years, including decreased crime, a balanced budget and overall improvements in city services such as afterschool programs.
Approximately $5 billion has come into the city through investment during his term, Williams said.
ANC Commissioner Justin Wagner (CAS ‘03) called Williams’ achievements “Herculean.”
Wagner also emphasized the importance of Campaign Georgetown’s ANC representatives.
“Campaign Georgetown has ensured that students have a voice at the table,” Wagner said. “[We have been] involved in issues such as parking, public safety and social justice.”
This fall, Campaign Georgetown will continue its work as three Georgetown students run in the November ANC elections. Mike Glick (CAS ‘05), Mike Griffin (CAS ‘05) and Eric Lashner (CAS ‘05) are each running in a separate district for ANC 2E.
Campaign Georgetown was formed in response to legislation passed in 1996. That fall, students returned to campus to find that the D.C. City Council had passed legislation to prevent students from obtaining parking passes throughout the District.
James Fogarty (CAS ‘98) and Rebecca Sinderbrand (SFS ‘98) ran for ANC in November 1996 to protest the new legislation and stem other anti-student propositions. Both students won seats.
The students who ran in and helped organize that election formed Campaign Georgetown.
Besides voicing opposition to and working to stop many non-student friendly proposals, Campaign Georgetown has run other student campaigns for the ANC, worked to increase student voter registration and poll turnout on campus, and organized an English as a Second Language tutoring program. This ESL program helps prepare individuals for the U.S. citizenship test.
Campaign Georgetown has also been involved in D.C. Vote, a movement to broaden involvement across campus and the city by registering students to vote within Washington, D.C. and work towards the District’s representation in Congress.
