It’s “No Contest” in November Election of ANC6B Commissioners

It’s “No Contest” in November Election of ANC6B Commissioners

By Larry Janezich           

Posted October 5, 2022

This is the first in a series of profiles of ANC candidates from Single Member Districts on or near Capitol Hill. 

There is only a single candidate for ANC Commissioner in each ANC6B single member district.

Redistricting changed the boundaries and makeup of every ANC in Ward 6.  In ANC6B, it reduced the number of single member districts from 10 to 9.  Only two ANC6B incumbents are seeking re-election, commissioners Sroufe and Ryder.  Current commissioners not seeking reelection include Samolyk, Ready, Holtzman, Oldenburg and Holman.  Former 6B08 commissioner Peter Wright resigned in August after relocating out of his single member district and his seat is vacant.  The single member districts of Commissioners Krepp and Horn were relocated to Ward 7 by redistricting. 

If you are not sure if redistricting changed which single member district you’re in, go here:  https://bit.ly/3V3002Z

Since there are no contested seats, the list of likely commissioners for ANC6B is as follows, barring a successful write in campaign in the November 8 general election. 

6B01 FRANK AVERY.   Frank Avery and his family were part of the growth of Ward 6 when they joined the community in late 2018, first in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood and today in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Frank is an active neighbor in Ward 6 who has helped to develop new programs and partnerships to better inform, engage, and channel the energy of neighbors to solutions important for the neighborhood.  He combines his past experience in local, state, and national non-profit and government organizations to help solve hyper-local issues.  He currently serves as the 6B01 Resident Member on the Transportation Committee.  He is Director at the Business-Higher Education Forum.

6B02 GERALD “JERRY” SROUFE  Jerry Sroufe is completing his second two-year term as ANC commissioner of 6B02.  He has been Secretary and a member of the ANC6B Executive Committee throughout this time.  His professional experiences are in governance and education. He has been a schoolteacher in Illinois, a professor at Claremont Graduate School, Executive Director of the Committee for Public Education, and Executive Director of the National EdD Program for Educational Leaders.  He most recently served as Director of Government Relations at the American Educational Research Association.  He is now fully retired and is devoting his time to learning how to be a good ANC commissioner – and how to golf.

6B03 DAVID SOBELSOHN David Sobelsohn’s career has combined organizing and activism with teaching and scholarship, both legal and literary. A graduate of the University of Chicago and Boston University Law School he has taught at Stanford Law School and at law schools in Cleveland and Detroit, covered the United States Supreme Court for a news service, and published scholarly articles on constitutional law.  As Chief Legislative Counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, he led the HRC’s work organizing the first-ever congressional hearing on and drafting a gay-rights bill:  the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.  David has also published theater reviews and for eight years led Footlights, DC’s only modern-drama discussion group.  Election as 6B03 commissioner would mark his second stint on an ANC.  From 2005-11, he served as an ANC commissioner in Southwest DC.

6B04 FRANCIS “FRANK” D’ANDREA  Frank D’Andrea is a DC area native and has lived in the DMV for almost his entire life.  Originally from Bethesda/Potomac, Frank moved back to the area after graduate school in 2013 and into the DC proper in 2014.  After two years of living in the H Street Corridor/Stanton Park area, he moved to the Eastern Market/Barracks Row neighborhood where he currently resides.  A licensed architect in the District of Columbia, Frank has held a fascination with the built environment and urbanism for his entire life and has worked on numerous projects across the city.  While he has never held elected office, he has demonstrated leadership in his profession, and was a member of the 2018-2019 Christopher Kelly Leadership Development Program of the AIA (American Institute of Architect’s DC Emerging Architects Committee).

6B05 KASIE DURKIT  Kasie Durkit moved to DC to study law at Georgetown Law after studying History, Political Science, and Women’s Studies at Bowling Green State University.   She moved into an English basement to get “the real Capitol Hill experience.”  After graduation, she started “my dream job” as an attorney for the U.S. Department of the Interior, working on issues related to protecting Federal lands and cultural heritage.  She has lived on Capitol Hill for almost eight years and says, “…walks around Lincoln Park, an iced coffee run to Wine&Butter, and a cool new find at Capitol Hill Books are just some of the things that make living in this neighborhood so special.  For that reason, it would be a great joy and honor of mine to give back to this neighborhood and serve as ANC for a place I really love and among neighbors I call friends.”

6B06 CHANDER JAYARAMAN Chander Jayaraman is currently president of a minority-owned emergency preparedness small business in the District of Columbia.  His company creates emergency response and evacuation plans and evacuation maps for District government agencies, schools, and residential buildings.  Before starting his own company in 2010, he was Project Director at Inclusion Research Institute, a non-profit research organization where he managed projects that increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities, increased voter participation in elections, and improved the preparedness of people nationwide.  His record as a civic activist and an elected official includes having served as an ANC6B Commissioner from 2012-2020 and running for a seat on the DC Council as an At-Large Councilmember. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Jenkins Hill, a child development center, as an Alumni representative and is actively involved in Little League baseball as an umpire and youth mentor.

6B07 VINCE MAREINO Vince Mareino moved to DC in 1998 for college.  Since 2012, he has been living with his wife and daughter on Capitol Hill within sight of the Safeway.  Neighbors might recognize him from the Peabody/Watkins PTA, or from his walks with his two dogs, Pancakes and Squirrel.  Vince bikes daily to work at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

6B08 EDWARD RYDER Edward Ryder was elected to the ANC in 2020 and served his first term representing the residents of ANC 6B07.  After the redistricting process re-drew the single member district lines this past year, he is running for re-election for ANC 6B08.  Edward has lived in the neighborhood since 2018 having moved from the SW-Waterfront area.  As Commissioner, he sought to help improve traffic safety in the area, assist in connecting neighbors with various DC agency services, and to keep neighbors up to date on the overall issues and events central to our neighborhood.  He is most passionate about public transportation and affordable housing.  He believes DC needs to be accessible, safe, and affordable for all residents.  Outside of his role as an ANC Commissioner, he works putting his love of public transit to use for Alexandria City’s bus service, DASH Bus.

6B09 MATT LAFORTUNE Matt LaFortune is currently a resident member of the ANC6B Transportation Committee, where he works with current Commissioners and neighbors to make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers and has provided testimony to inform DDOT’s plans for Pennsylvania Avenue and Southeast Blvd.  He also engages with voters on local elections as a DC Democratic Party committeeman and an officer with the Ward 6 Democrats.  Professionally, LaFortune is a management consultant for strategic planning and public policy communications.