The CurrenT
The CurrenT
Wednesday, OCTOber 19, 2016
VOTers Guide
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NOVEMBER 8, 2016 ■ GENERAL ELECTION About the Voters Guide The Current’s Voters Guide for D.C.’s local offices in the Nov. 8 election is available online at issuu.com/currentnewspapers. Information on the advisory neighborhood commission races in our coverage area, as well as an article on the D.C. statehood referendum, is planned for the Oct. 26 issue. The Current’s staff interviewed the six candidates seeking the two D.C. Council at-large seats on the ballot, as well as the three candidates seeking an at-large State Board of Education seat. Candidate profiles and Q&A charts are included for both races. The guide does not include the candidates running for D.C. delegate to the House of Representatives (listed in ballot order): Natale (Lino) Stracuzzi, Statehood Green Party; Eleanor Holmes Norton, Democrat; and Martin Moulton, Libertarian. The Nov. 8 ballot will also include four U.S. presidential candidates: Gary Johnson, Libertarian; Jill Stein, Statehood Green Party; Donald J. Trump, Republican; and Hillary Clinton, Democratic. Other local races are uncontested: ■ Ward 2 D.C. Council member: Jack Evans, Democrat. ■ Ward 4 D.C. Council member: Brandon Todd, Democrat. ■ U.S. shadow representative: Franklin Garcia, Democrat. ■ Ward 2 member of the State Board of Education: Jack Jacobson. ■ Ward 4 member of the State Board of Education: Lannette Woodruff.
About the election The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. To vote on Election Day, you must go to your assigned polling place; if you have moved and have not updated your address with the Board of Elections, you should go to the polling location serving your old address. Absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. Nov. 8 to be counted. Military and overseas voters have until Saturday, Nov. 5, to request absentee ballots; the deadline for other voters is Tuesday, Nov. 1. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 22, at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th St. NW, and will continue daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 4. Satellite early-voting locations — including the Chevy Chase, Columbia Heights and Takoma community centers — will be open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Friday, Oct. 28, through Friday, Nov. 4. For details, visit dcboee.org or call 202-727-2525.
AT-LARGE SEATS (2) D.C. COUNCIL
G. Lee Aikin Statehood Green
Carolina Celnik Republican
John C. Cheeks
David Grosso
Independent
Independent
Matthew Klokel Libertarian
Robert White Democrat
G. Lee Aikin Statehood Green Party
Carolina Celnik Republican
John C. Cheeks Independent
G. Lee Aikin, 78, is the Statehood Green Party nominee for an at-large D.C. Council seat. If elected, the selfemployed Dupont Circle resident pledged to work for fair housing, tax justice and environmental justice. On housing issues, Aikin said she would investigate reports that the D.C. government was forced to return $140 million in federal funding obtained through one of five programs to improve housing for those in need. “I want to get to the bottom of it, and then get volunteers or pay small stipends to keep track of all five programs,” Aikin said. If elected, she would also verify that builders on District-owned land meet the requirements for low- and moderateincome housing. If it’s legal to do so, Aikin said, she wants to require all builders with a certain number of units to have a specified percentage of lowand moderate-income units. (Such a law, called inclusionary zoning, is in fact already on the books for any new building with more 10 or more units.) See Aikin/Page V7
Carolina Celnik, 23, is a project assistant supporting the government regulatory process at the law firm Hogan Lovells. If elected to an at-large D.C. Council seat, the Republican candidate said she would focus on jobs, education and government accountability. To increase job growth, Celnik would reduce the District’s corporate income tax to encourage more businesses to locate here rather than in the suburbs. Doing so would mitigate businesses’ increased costs from the $15 minimum wage and the proposed paid leave act and, hopefully, encourage more businesses to locate here to offset the tax loss, she said. As yet, she does not have specific numbers. Additionally, Celnik said that obtaining business permits can be a lengthy process and should be simplified. Celnik also faulted the council for regulations that she said discouraged Walmart from opening a widely desired Ward 7 store. To improve education, meanwhile, Celnik believes the District should supSee Celnik/Page V7
John C. Cheeks is an independent candidate for an at-large D.C. Council seat. Cheeks, 54, chairs two special committees: the local and national chapters of Public Accountability Safety Standards, which pushes for drug and alcohol standards for government officials, voter protection and government safety organizations; and the United States Citizens Recovery Initiative, a committee pushing for reparations for living descendents of American slaves that plans a future ballot question on the subject. If elected, Cheeks said the three issues he would concentrate on most are affordable housing, jobs and improving police-community relations. Regarding housing affordability, Cheeks’ leading proposal calls for the privatization of public housing. He would offer current occupants ownership rights for up to 30 years. If they live beyond the 30 years, they would be rotated into a different structure; otherwise, their heirs would have the right to See Cheeks/Page V7
David Grosso Independent
Matthew Klokel Libertarian
Robert White Democrat
David Grosso, 46, is the incumbent at-large D.C. Council member in one of two seats reserved for a non-Democrat. Grosso, an independent, said he would prioritize education; health and mental health issues; and criminal justice reform, if re-elected. Grosso, who currently chairs the council’s Committee on Education, said he hopes to retain that post and use his influence to reduce expulsions and implement new methods to track school modernization projects. Regarding expulsions, Grosso said his goal is to help every child succeed in school and end the so-called school-toprison pipeline. He said D.C. must work on alternatives to expelling children and offer teachers more help with difficult pupils. He successfully advocated for a law banning the suspension of 3- and 4-year-olds in D.C. public schools. The previous year, there were 181 such suspensions, he said. Grosso said he would also push for See Grosso/Page V6
Matthew Klokel, 39, is the Libertarian candidate for an at-large D.C. Council seat. Klokel lives near Capitol Hill and owns the Fantom Comics comic book shop in Dupont. If elected, Klokel said his priorities would be to limit the scope of the D.C. government, make government efficient and affordable, and rework opportunities for struggling residents. As a Libertarian, Klokel feels “people should be free to live as they see fit so long as they don’t hurt others.” Government, he said, “should be the last option to resolve issues needing to be fixed.” He called for liberalizing marijuana laws, which could produce more taxes; says the police shouldn’t issue fines for minor infractions, such as bicycling on downtown sidewalks; would eliminate the agency dedicated to taxicab regulation (while retaining regulatory authority over taxis); and favors lower barriers for entry of new businesses, reducing or eliminating many fees, although he was not specific on which ones. See Klokel/Page V6
At-large D.C. Council candidate Robert White, 34, beat incumbent Vincent Orange in June’s Democratic primary, and was appointed last month as Orange’s interim replacement when the council member stepped down early to pursue other employment. If elected to serve a full council term, White told The Current before the primary that he would concentrate on improving schools, creating more affordable housing and creating more jobs. On education, White believes the city needs “a solid turnaround strategy for each underperforming school,” including multi-year budgeting. He favors more investment in early childhood development, improved nutrition for low-income children, and a better program of job retention for good teachers by including them in decision-making processes. White is particularly concerned about improving education for low-income minority children, whom he feels have See White/Page V6