ANC Election 2020: Salvador Sauceda-Guzman and Stephen Cobb

I’ve interviewed all three candidates running to represent 5D06 on the ANC (Zachary, Marina and Michael), but there are two other Single Member Districts in Trinidad (map below). However, neither race is contested and there is only one candidate in each district. Stephen Cobb (above) is running to replace Commissioner Clarence Lee in 5D07 and Salvador Sauceda-Guzman (below) is running in 5D02, where Keisha Shropshire is Commissioner. I spoke with Sauceda-Guzman on the phone and Cobb answered questions by email. And while they aren’t running against each other, looking at both candidates together is a fascinating study in contrasts. They are very different, but each is worth learning about, as they are bound to affect the dynamics and choices of next term’s ANC.



Cobb identifies as white with Native American tribal affiliation and lives on Penn Street. He attends every ANC meeting and helped create and the Zoning and Development Committee, which he serves on. “I have built a good rapport with our current ANC and gotten a sense of what the day-to-day work is like,” he says. Sauceda-Guzman is Mexican-American and is active on his block. He cites personal experience with being taken advantage of by a landlord. He was influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on the neighborhood. “Miss Rona is the one that pushed me into jumping into the race.” Both moved to Trinidad in 2018.

Cobb’s deep policy knowledge and experience with the ANC are his obvious strengths, while Sauceda-Guzman’s local relationships and professional work in conflict mediation and as a paralegal could be useful on the Commission. 

On some issues, both candidates have similar views but come at them from different perspectives. Both are interested in increasing local access to bike routes and buses. “I want residents to have easy access to get where they want to go,” says Sauceda-Guzman. But he also says that he’s “not for removing parking from locations that can’t afford it.” Cobb sent six paragraphs on transportation and touched on specific projects on Florida Ave, West Virginia Ave and Mt Olivet Road.

Similarly, Sauceda-Guzman admitted that he wants to learn more about affordable housing as an issue. But he prioritizes the vulnerable residents in his District and wants to expand financial literacy and access to credit. Cobb says, “Housing is one of the biggest issues facing my district and our ANC. ANC 5D is facing the same housing shortage that is affecting the entire District, causing rents, home prices, and property taxes to dramatically increase.” Cobb has specific goals related to rent control, inclusionary zoning and affordable housing. He is focused on the opportunities for large-scale construction within the ANC in Union Market, Ivy City and Hechinger Mall. He is intimately acquainted with zoning details and supports the ANC’s proposed changes to the Comprehensive plan. (I will be writing more about this in the future.)

The two differ slightly on policing. Cobb says that “public safety remains a concern,” but that “policing is necessarily reactive and cannot effectively prevent crimes before they’re committed.” Cobb favors an approach supporting violence interrupters and prioritizing “public health and harm reduction.” Sauceda-Guzman is in favor of restructuring the police budget but doesn’t like the word “defund.” He wants to build stronger relationships between officers and residents. “I have a lot of friends who are police officers and they tell me it’s not easy here,” he says. “It’s very important right now.”

Sauceda-Guzman says his biggest priority is rebuilding the dormant Trinidad Neighborhood Association. Cobb wants to use the ANC budget for harm reduction, public, public art, mutual aid and other pandemic relief efforts.

Photos courtesy of the candidates.