Sekou Biddle and family. Photo from Sekou Biddle.

I am running for the DC Council at-large because I love this city. After growing up in Columbia Heights, I left the District to attend college and work in urban education, in New York and Atlanta, as a classroom teacher and administrator.

I came back because I believe all students who go to school in the District should have the same opportunities that I did when I graduated from Wilson Senior High School.

While I am one of the lucky folks who has the pleasure of being able to say I grew up here, I know that being born here is not a prerequisite for being invested in the long term success of our nation’s capital. It is out of the love and investment in our community that the current frustration with the state of the District government is born.

I know I am not alone when I say I am embarrassed and frustrated by the current state of politics, or more accurately, the current crop of elected officials. I am in this race because I believe that strong leadership, connected to the citizens, can create pride and faith in our local government. But more importantly, I believe that we need strong leadership to address the challenges that face our city and its residents.

Regardless of ward, age, race or income what I hear from people is that we can do better as a city and a government. The conversations I’m having at community meetings, on front stoops, in the grocery store or at my boys’ soccer games are the same ones that my parents were having 20 or 30 years ago about this city.

I am running because I am determined that my children won’t have the same conversations 20 years from now.

Ethics

Continued ethics reform is a necessary part of moving our city forward. After the ethics bill passed in December it was clear that not enough had been done to remove conflicts of interest and potential for abuse. We must ban corporate contributions to prevent owners of multiple interests from skirting donation limits. All campaign contributions need stronger disclosure requirements particularly from individuals with contracts with the DC Government. If we really want to end pay to play we need to end constituent service funds as well.

Until we pass comprehensive ethics reform, we will be distracted from the other pressing issues facing the District. Issues such as education, affordable housing, public safety, and job creation are the keys to success in people’s lives day to day.

This cycle of paying lip service to reform, improvements, and good government has to stop. We need to stop electing politicians who treat every vote like a zero-sum game assuming that we have to pit neighborhoods, income brackets, races, and native Washingtonian status against one another.

We have to start electing leaders who will work for all residents of the District and not their corporate backers hiding behind LLCs. We need proactive leaders who will both listen to the community and work to create a vision of where this city should be.

Education

We cannot lose momentum on education reform. The achievement gap between rich and poor, white and minority students, persists despite overall improvements in test scores. Where you live in this city unfortunately still often dictates the quality of education your child will receive. Education continues to be a major economic issue for the District. Good jobs and good schools go hand in hand.

The high rates of unemployment will not go down until we start to adequately prepare our children for the workforce through solid reading and math skills. Lack of literacy and employable skills continues to be a major impediment to many of our adult residents gaining meaningful employment. Too often we pour money into job training programs without evidence of success. Too many of our residents and neighborhoods are still burdened with chronic unemployment.

Affordable housing

We must ensure affordable housing is available to those who need it in the District. I regularly meet long time residents who face the very real prospect of moving out of the city. This is not just an issue that faces low-income residents, but also retirees and families whose property taxes on family homes have suddenly increased beyond their means.

The District’s population is growing as more people realize what a wonderful place it is to live, and we should make sure that people of all income levels who want to live here can. To make this happen we must make investments in affordable housing, mixed-use communities, and enforce and support inclusionary zoning. This is essential to increasing our tax base as well.

I am running for DC Council at-large because these improvements and more will not happen until we have leaders who are focused on finding and implementing solutions for the challenges we face. I am committed to being one of those leaders.

I know improving our city will take more than just one elected official. I hope you join me on April 3 on this road back to electing a new, more responsive, government. Together, we can do better.

Learn more at www.sekoubiddle.org

Communicate at info@sekoubiddle.org and 202-213-9029

Follow me on Twitter @biddle2012 and @sekoubiddle

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Sekou Biddle is an at-large candidate for the DC Council. The views in this article are his and do not necessarily represent those of Greater Greater Washington. We invite all candidates running for the DC Council to share their views with our community, but reserve the right to edit posts to fit our content and format rules. If you are a candidate and would like to submit an article, please contact elections@ggwash.org.