Have You Seen the ANC Boundaries Recently?

If you are like me, you have seen maps depicting what are assumed to be final ANC boundaries, but haven't quite committed them to memory yet. A recent conversation with a friend prompted me to take another look. I live in what is currently 5B08. On the new map, I'll be in 5D06. ANC 5B currently has 12 SMDs (Single Member Districts). Under the new boundaries, we will have seven SMDs. That's great news in my opinion. You may remember that I served one term as commissioner for ANC 5B (I chose not to run for re-election, and endorsed someone else instead). One of the major problems with ANC 5B was its size.  Look at the map below to see the current boundaries. My neighborhood concerns are very different that the concerns of people way up in some of those northern SMDs. Plus, there are twelve SMDs on this map. That means twelve different commissioners from very different parts of Ward 5 all voting on the same things, even when many of those commissioners know little about the issue/area, and are not personally impacted by the votes. That's a recipe for disaster. Up until about ten years ago ANC 5B actually had FIFTEEN SMDs. Isn't that incredible?


I'm thrilled that the new ANC 5D is a much smaller area (one that I think will share more common concerns), with only seven commissioners. I would urge people to familiarize themselves with the new map, and to consider what it means for ANC elections this fall. I'm happy to say that I know several people who are transitioning over from focusing on the Ward 5 special election, to looking at what we need to do come November.