In response to Greater Greater Washington’s questionnaire, candidates for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) seats across the District indicated where they stand on housing, transportation, and land use, and elaborated on those topics in their own words. As of this writing, GGWash’s Endorsements Committee has reviewed all the ANC questionnaires submitted by September 5, 2022, for the 2022 election, and has made its endorsement decisions for ANC races. These are the endorsements for Ward 3.

Are you a Ward 3 resident, but unsure of what commission or single member district you live in? Search your address in our interactive tool.

Looking for more information about GGWash’s endorsements? Our 2022 Elections Hub is your one-stop shop for questionnaires, candidate forum recordings, endorsements process details, and our endorsements themselves. Access the hub anytime from the “2022 Elections” link in the upper right corner of our homepage.

A few notes on process

Our ANC endorsement process is based on the same values and guidelines as our other endorsements this year, which you can read here. But ANC races are different in a few important ways.

ANCs serve, as the name suggests, in an advisory capacity, with almost no legal power over policy. Candidates for these roles can be newer to local politics and policy matters. At the same time, once in office, motivated, good-faith commissioners will learn a great deal about how change happens, and can quickly become effective advocates for the neighborhoods in which they live.

The role is also unpaid and can be demanding. This year, as in years past, there are a very high number of uncontested races or races with no candidate at all, particularly after the redistricting process this year added more single member districts. For most candidates, if you’d like to be an ANC, getting yourself on the ballot is enough to make it happen.

In light of these patterns, our Endorsements Committee took the following approach to endorsements decision-making:

• As in our previous endorsement processes, only candidates who submitted questionnaires were eligible for endorsement.
• As housing, transportation, and land use issues can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, we took into mind the particulars and patterns of the parts of the District each candidate would represent, and the commissions on which they would serve, to help evaluate what we would consider indicative of constructive progress there. There’s no strict GGWash-endorsement formula or litmus test.
• Even candidates who are not perfectly aligned with all of GGWash’s issue areas can still be great commissioners with whom we look forward to working in good faith. The fact that such candidates responded to our questionnaire in pursuit of our endorsement is itself, in our view, an indication of openness to partnership. As such, in uncontested races in particular, we looked for opportunities for alignment and growth.
• We prioritized endorsing in contested ANC races—reflecting our commitment to endorsing in other contested races this cycle—in order to help voters with the real choices they have to make among the candidates available to them. In some instances, unfortunately, only one candidate in a contested race responded to our questionnaire. If we did not endorse the sole candidate in a contested race who responded to our questionnaire, it was because the candidate proclaimed significantly distinct views from those of GGWash.

With that framing in mind, let’s get to the endorsements!

Ward 3 ANC Endorsements

Key:✅ = endorsement; ❌ = no endorsement

ANC 3A

✅ 3A01: Thaddeus Bradley-Lewis

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, donate
Contested? No, ⛵

Bradley-Lewis gives a fantastic response to our questionnaire regarding the state of transportation choice in his neighborhood: “Unfortunately, I believe the prevailing opinion in my ANC is that car ownership is a must. 3A is located in a part of the city with inadequate infrastructure for safe biking and bus service along Wisconsin is often unreliable. Creating infrastructure for safe travel on a bike is one of many approaches needed so that, as new residents come to our ANC, they will think differently about needing a vehicle. Giving people different transit options not only makes our area more welcoming but also reduces traffic congestion and frees up parking for those who really need it.” We feel he’s more than capable of ensuring “all, new and old, feel safe and happy making a home in 3A01.” Contribute to Bradley-Lewis’ campaign here.

ANC 3B

✅ 3B01: Kevin Lavezzo

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Lavezzo is one of a number of candidates in ANC 3A who, in addition to living in a multi-unit building and and desiring more of them in his neighborhood, is supportive of a protected bike lane along New Mexico Avenue, from American University to Georgetown. Bike-lane fights can get nasty in Ward 3, and Lavezzo’s preference to remove parking or travel lanes for such projects will be crucial.

✅ 3B02: Aileen Nowlan

Questionnaire, Twitter, website
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Ana Elizabeth Guzman, Jackie Blumenthal)

Nowlan, whose ebike is her primary mode of transportation, correctly notes that the District Department of Transportation’s plans for protected bike lanes in her ANC are “not ambitious enough. It is too little, too slow.” Commissioners’ limited powers of great weight can actually do a good deal to press DDDOT to do more, and faster, and we look forward to Nowlan using her considerable legal, policy, and environmental experience to do so. Contribute to Aileen Nowlan’s campaign here.

✅ 3B06: Ben Bergmann

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

We’ve previously published over 1,700 words about why Ben Bergmann, who we endorsed for ANC in 2020 and for the Ward 3 primary this past spring, is great. He continues to be great—unabashedly standing up for more housing and more affordable housing, and bringing a big imagination for a better-connected Wisconsin Avenue—and we’re glad to continue to support him.

ANC 3C

✅ ANC 3C: Hayden Gise

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, donate
Contested? No, ⛵

Gise is, for the most part, GGWash-y, writing in response to our questionnaire that “Connecticut and Wisconsin Ave are both home to some of the most dense housing in the ANC. We should increase this and also repeal restrictions on housing density that were put in place in the Zoning Regulations of 1958.” Though we’d hope that she could unpack the importance of street parking and why she’d argue to see that it’s preserved, we appreciate her up-front commitment to ensuring that such concerns do not nuke the Connecticut Avenue bike lane. Contribute to Gise’s campaign here.

✅ 3C02: Adam J. Prinzo

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Though Prinzo does not support legalizing apartments District-wide, he is strong enough on our issues—viewing Connecticut Avenue as “ripe for more development” and understanding the benefits of protected bike lanes—that we feel he’ll be a good addition to ANC 3C.

✅ 3C03: Janell Pagats

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Pagats has unflinchingly supported greater density, more housing, and protected bike lanes in ANC 3C. She’s a standout incumbent on a couple of clear quests, writing in response to our questionnaire that density should be increased on “all of Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. Every street off of those where density was permitted prior to the Zoning Ordinance of 1958 - allow it again,” and, of the Connecticut Avenue protected bike lane, “Concept C is the concept selected after what has felt like all the years and zillions of public meetings. The benefit of the project is simply allowing the public to access and use public spaces safely. The weakness is that it is not done yet.”

✅ 3C05: Sauleh A. Siddiqui

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, donate
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Nicholas Ide)

Siddiqui, who we endorsed in 2020, has served as 3C’s treasurer—a useful asset for a commission that will see some change—and, in response to our questionnaire, clearly describes how more types of housing can serve a greater purpose than density for density’s sake: “In addition, our residential streets off Connecticut Ave NW also have plenty of opportunities to increase density. We currently have apartment buildings along these streets that align with the historic district, yet would be illegal if built today. Figuring out how to build even a small number of apartments, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in the residential area of our ANC can help us make our neighborhood more inclusive.” Contribute to Siddiqui’s campaign here.

✅ 3C06: Justin Daniels

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Tammy Gordon)

As of Oct. 18, 2022, Daniels has withdrawn from the race and is supporting Tammy Gordon.

While Daniels supports greater density along Connecticut and Wisconsin avenues, he also includes in his responses to our questionnaire a thoughtful corollary: “In neighborhoods with mostly single-family housing, density can still be increased without compromising neighborhood character by allowing the construction of 2, 3, and 4-unit residences on current single-family lots and small apartment buildings. Housing like this already exists on streets off of Connecticut Avenue, such as Ordway and Porter Streets. I support increasing density to allow these types of units across ANC3C.”

✅ 3C07: Gawain Kripke

Questionnaire, website, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Warren Gorlick)

Kripke and Warren Gorlick are both fabulous candidates. They are strong in their convictions, and ideologically similar, sharing GGWash’s desires for more housing, more affordable housing, frequent and reliable transportation, and fewer single-occupancy vehicle trips. We wish they both could serve on ANC 3C, but we are giving our nod to Kripke, for his more expansive support for greater density and full-throated skepticism of historic preservation. We hope that, with Kripke in the 3C07 seat, Gorlick can devote his considerable talents to his roles on the Bicycle Advisory Committee and the ANC’s transportation committee.

✅ 3C08: Keith Mantel

Questionnaire, Twitter, website
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Rick Nash)

Though Mantel’s support for improved pedestrian infrastructure is great, his sense that EVs alone can get us to the District’s carbon-neutral goals runs counter to the District’s findings that mode shift is necessary. However, his pro-housing views and skepticism of historic preservation would be a welcome addition to 3C. Contribute to Keith Mantel’s campaign here.

ANC 3D

✅ 3D01: Chuck Elkins

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Longtime advocate and environmentalist Elkins supports more housing and better bike infrastructure in a part of the District that needs those sorts of champions—and, the 30 hours per week he puts into ANC work is a true public service.

✅ 3D03: Quentin Colón Roosevelt

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, donate
Contested? No, ⛵

Roosevelt, in response to our questionnaire, delivers an elegant criticism of his neighborhood—“It is a shame that more people cannot live in this beautiful and vibrant area of DC, and commissioners should work to increase the number of multi-family homes and affordable units across the ANC”—but still presents real-world solutions, such as “I believe the city needs to focus on increasing density on the major corridors and streets in my ANC, namely Massachusetts Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. These streets have budding commercial areas with restaurants and other small businesses, which are ripe for housing to be built on top of, in addition to surface parking lots that are rarely used and should definitely be considered for the development of new, dense housing.” Roosevelt is a high school student, and we hope that he’s the bellwether of a rising generation of leaders in Ward 3. Contribute to Roosevelt’s campaign here.

ANC 3E

✅ 3E01: Matthew Cohen

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Cohen is in favor of a protected bike lane on Connecticut Avenue, and we’re charmed by his commitment to walking his kids to the playground rather than driving them. He’s also supportive of legalizing apartments District-wide and would encourage developers to maximize the height and density of PUDs to enable more inclusionary zoning units.

✅ 3E02: Amy B. Hall

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Hall has a big pro-housing, pro-transit, pro-bikes, pro-pedestrian vision for the major redevelopments on deck in Friendship Heights and Tenleytown, and possesses the can-do attitude needed to execute it.

✅ 3E04: Tom Quinn

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Earle Douglass)

Quinn, who we endorsed in 2020, packed his responses to our questionnaire full of examples of how he has realistically affected change in his time as a commissioner. We’re partial too, to how he views balancing local issues with the health of the District at-large: “I take seriously the oath that ANC commissioners take to consider the best interests of the District of Columbia but believe that with the right amount of work and due diligence honoring that oath does not have to mean disregarding the interests of our constituents and that by working hard to respond to those concerns we can deliver benefits to the city writ large and our neighborhoods.”

✅ 3E05: Jeffrey Denny

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Denny’s responses to our questionnaire display a desire for thoughtful, solutions-oriented engagement: “For my part, I strongly support smart growth, transit-oriented housing, affordable housing, mixed-use development, denser housing with more inclusionary zoning, and safe, inclusionary transportation options whether people choose — or need to — drive, bike, walk, scooter or take public transit, all of which support a vibrant community and local commerce. Which it seems is what we all want. So I’d like to avoid being pigeonholed and stereotyped as pro- or anti- on any issue we’re grappling with, and risk being misunderstood. Quite the opposite — I hope to be among those who try to bridge the divides and find consensus.” There are many opportunities for commissioners to delicately broker conflict, and we expect Denny to do so with aplomb.

❌ 3E06: Write-ins encouraged

Contested? No, ⛵ (Alexandra Gianinno)

Gianinno’s straightforward opposition to more density is refreshingly honest. We can’t, however, endorse her for it.

✅ 3E08: Rohin Ghosh

Questionnaire, Twitter, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Ghosh, a college student, has a couple of years of organizing under his belt already, and is sensitive to both tenants’ rights and the need for more housing, and more affordable housing, in his ANC and District-wide. We are confident that he can “support maximizing density projects that seek zoning variances, support housing on public sites, advocate for more funding for subsidized housing, and work to activate students as a key constituency concerned with housing issues.”

ANC 3F

✅ 3F01: Ryan Cudemus-Brunoli

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

Cudemus-Brunoli is best on housing, very sensibly writing in response to our questionnaire, “I believe the rezoning of small sections of single family housing adjacent to already existing high-rises would be a good area to accommodate new construction. With the understanding that current owners/residents wouldn’t be kicked out, but if the plot were ever sold it could be used for higher density housing. Additionally, several one-story businesses have ample space above them to accommodate a mixed-use plot.”

❌ 3F02: Write-ins encouraged

Contested? No, ⛵ (Teri Huet)

While we appreciate the directness of Huet’s answers, her stances on housing, transportation, and land use don’t leave much room for the sort of necessary partnership to make housing more affordable, and roads safer, in Ward 3.

❌ 3F03: Write-ins encouraged

Contested? No, ⛵ (Mitchell Baer)

Baer, who responded to our questionnaire, is a bit too enmeshed in 3F’s status quo for us to feel that he would be supportive of the changes necessary to build more housing, more affordable housing, and bus priority and protected bike lanes in Ward 3.

✅ 3F04: James Tandaric

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Andrew Koval)

Both Koval and Tandaric are great on our issues, and ANC 3F could use the energy of each of them. We’re giving an edge to the incumbent, Tandaric, for his stronger support of the Connecticut Avenue protected bike lane, and hope to see Koval stay involved in his neighborhood.

✅ 3F06: Bridget Schwartz

Questionnaire, Twitter, website
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Courtney Carlson, Rona Walters)

Schwartz’s focus on street infrastructure that both protects vulnerable users and reduces trips made by car is right on target. As she writes in response to our questionnaire, “Many residents (of DC and MD suburbs) treat the roads as a commuting corridor, including those around schools, resulting in low traffic safety and high-speed accidents. My position is that we need to create safer streets that support multi-modal transportation with supporting infrastructure that allows everyone using the roads to do so safely and reduce car drivership, especially for local trips.” Contribute to Bridget Schwartz’s campaign here.

ANC 3/4G

✅ 3/4G02: John K. Higgins

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (Bruce Sherman)

Higgins, who identifies “accommodating seniors while attracting younger families” as the biggest issue in his neighborhood, will, we hope, be a reliable support for more housing—which necessitates greater density—in ANC 3/4G.

✅ 3/4G03: James Nash

Questionnaire, no known contribution link
Contested? No, ⛵

“I already do my local shopping and errands on my cargo bike, which is an e-bike powered by my solar panels and my legs. Your question offensively assumes I am a car addict. I am not,” Nash writes in response to our questionnaire. Noted! Nash is also great on housing, having participated in the Way Home campaign, agreeing that apartments should be legal District-wide, and preferring to encourage developers to maximize the height and density of new developments in exchange for more inclusionary zoning units.

✅ 3/4G05: Peter Lynch

Questionnaire, Twitter, website, no known contribution link
Contested? Yes, 🥊 (H. Norman Knickle)

Lynch’s stances on transportation are too steeped in car-culture bias for us: Of the Connecticut Avenue protected bike lane, he writes, “I hope there can be a middle ground to appeal to drivers, bikers, and bus riders in these plans”; we would counter that it’s naive to believe that the politics of a bike-lane project might break down this cleanly. But, in a contested race, he’s the candidate tilted just a bit more toward what we believe, given his support for legalizing apartments District-wide even if he would encourage developers to limit the height and density of planned unit developments.

❌ 3/4G06: Write-ins encouraged

Contested? No, ⛵ (Peter Gosselin)

Gosselin writes, in response to our questionnaire, that “changing a community involves planning and local participation, not simply thumbs up or down to density on a project by project basis.” While reasonable-sounding on paper, in practice this belief has led to Gosselin trying to preemptively limit future height and density increases—sorely needed in his neighborhood—during the Chevy Chase Small Area Plan process.

Paid for by Greater Greater Washington, 80 M St SE, Ste 100, Washington, DC 20003. A copy of our report is filed with the Director of Campaign Finance.