Commentary: Abstaining from Voting Hurts ANC 5D

I missed last month’s ANC meeting, but I watched it on YouTube, and I wanted to revisit something that happened in advance of next week’s meeting.

Commissioner Stephen Cobb brought up a resolution for a vote that supports the extension of the streetcar running on H Street, through Ward 7 and connecting with the Benning Road Metro Station. Before I get into the details of what this resolution involves, and why people may have voted or not voted for it, the main thing I want to talk about is what happened with the vote:

Three commissioners voted in support of the resolution. Commissioners Sydelle Moore and Zachary Hoffman joined Commissioner Cobb in support. But the other four commissioners — Latoya Moore, Salvador Sauceda-Guzman, Bernice Blacknell and Sebrena Rhodes — all abstained. There was no debate, and no explanations for the abstensions. And because the ANC requires a majority of four votes in support, the measure failed.

This is notable for a few reasons. In this term and the previous ANC term, disagreement is very rare. Almost everything is decided unanimously. Abstentions are typically used if the commissioner has a personal stake in the matter or a professional conflict of interest. Stephen Cobb, for example, abstains from zoning votes because of his job touches on housing policy.

Let me be very clear: I think there are completely valid and understandable reasons to vote against this measure, which I’ll go into detail about below. But the specifics of the resolution are less important than this — it does a disservice to the residents of ANC 5D to abstain without reason or explanation. These positions are supposed to be non-partisan and non-political. If these commissioners decided to dodge voting yes or no because they thought it might be unpopular politically, that’s a real shame and not in the spirit of the ANC system. A resolution failing because the majority abstains is a bad precedent that commissioners should avoid repeating at all costs. I would much rather that if commissioners are against a measure or undecided about it they vote no and explain why.

Extending the streetcar

It’s important to say upfront that this is symbolic: this hypothetical project would not be within the bounds of ANC 5D, and the decision is very much up to other parties, including the mayor, the Council and the District Department of Transportation. However, parts of the existing streetcar run alongside ANC 5D and a resolution like this lends support and solidarity to other ANCs, like 7E and possibly 7F, and might help build political momentum for the project.

But of course, if you’ve ever waited for a car to be towed while riding a streetcar, or ridden on a X2 lapping a streetcar on the same route, you know that the streetcar has its issues. But for many, the dream of the streetcar lives on, and despite the problems, it’s worth extending it to connect to the Metro on the other end. The future of the streetcar is still being debated city-wide, and is subject to future votes and budget allocations.

Commissioner Sauceda-Guzman asked a question about whether an extended streetcar might bring more gentrification. Personally, I think we need to decouple stereotypes about transportation infrastructure, like bike lanes and streetcars, from gentrification. I believe residents in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods deserve equitable transit options and should be able to quickly and safely get where they want to go and live their lives how they like. But I understand fears of rising rents and property taxes, as well as changes that make people feel less welcome in neighborhoods they’ve lived in for generations. These concerns are real, and we should take them seriously.

Which is all to say, again, I think this issue is complicated and I would respect any commissioner who would choose to vote against a resolution like this. I even would prefer that, instead of a silent abstention, a commissioner speak up and admit that they need more time to research the issue and would prefer to table it. The streetcar is not perfect, and it has its baggage. Now, unfortunately, we have no idea what a majority of commissioners think about it. Abstaining, without debate, is the wrong way to handle these messy issues.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Daniel Lobo via Creative Commons license