What: Ward 5 Council Candidate Forum at the "Continue Our Legacy - Each One, Teach One" Community Festival
When: Saturday, August 19th, 2006, 10am-1pm
Where: Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 North Capitol St., NE (corner of Riggs Road and North Capitol Street)
Details: The Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ 125th Anniversary Committee, The August Calendar Club, WPFW (89.3), and The Board of Social Action will present the "Continue Our Legacy - Each One, Teach One" Community Festival on Saturday, August 19th from 10am to 4pm followed by a Jazz Concert at 6pm.
The Festival will include a health fair, dancers, drummers, children's activities such as a balloon bounce, hip-hop bands, book signings, vendors, artists, a jazz concert, a literacy van, the HIV-AIDS screening bus, tabling for organizations, and two candidates forums – one for candidates for the president of the D.C. School Board and a second forum for candidates for the Ward 5 DC City Council seat. The Ward 5 forum will be held from 10am-1pm, and will be moderated by Renee Bowser, noted labor union representative, Ward 4 ANC Chair, and former Statehood/Green Party candidate for Ward 4 City Council. The forum for the D.C. School Board President will be held from 1:30-3:30pm and will be moderated by several education activists.
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Wow, your blog has taken steroids since last i looked - sorry it's been so long!!! Looks great!
ReplyDeleteAN OPEN LETTER TO COUNCIL CANDIDATE FRANK WILD
ReplyDeleteRecently, the City Paper, the Common Denominator and DC North have had recent articles addressing the issue of Hatch Act violations by ANC candidates. For example, ANC Commissioner Robert Brannum was a candidate for Council chair who complied with the law and stepped down after consulting with the Office of the Special Counsel. I raised the issue at a recent forum on Channel 8.
Since then, you have done nothing to answer the question. Therefore, I hereby challenge you Frank Wilds to comply with the Hatch Act provisions which prohibit ANC commissioners from running for City Council without first resigning your ANC seat. The Hatch Act is very clear on its face. It prohibits anyone who is part of DC government, including ANC commissioners, from running for elective office. Under 5 USC Sec. 7322 (1)(c), the prohibition applies to everyone except the “Mayor, City Council members and the Recorder of Deeds.” I had to resign my seat as an Assistant Attorney General in DC to run and you should comply with the Hatch Act as well. I followed the law; do you consider yourself above the law. You can’t have it both ways. The paramount question is how you ask the voters to trust you to uphold the laws as a sworn councilmember is required to do, but you won’t uphold the law as a council candidate. That’s a double standard.
This is the perfect example of why the public continues to lose faith in government and confidence in politics. To continue to run against the Hatch Act can only mean that you ethically challenged. Anyone who breaks the law doesn’t deserve to be elected to public office.
Wilds should resign his ANC seat or resign as a council candidate. If you continue to refuse to comply with the law, I challenge you to a public debate so you can explain to the voters of Ward 5 why you feel you aren’t breaking the law, why you are not being disingenuous with the Ward and why you are opposed to ethics in government.
Also, in the spirit of total transparency, a quick review of your financial contributions shows that you and your key sponsor, development lawyer and former city councilman John Ray are beholden to the development community and their special interests. I am running as an advocate of the people. I’m not bought or paid for by special interests and I will fight to restore ethical values to city government. Of course, I don’t expect you to accept my challenge to debate because you are content to try to buy this election with the help of John Ray. Well, I am running to tell you in no uncertain terms that Ward 5 is not for sale.
The stakes in this election are too high to let you sweep your unethical conduct under the rug. I will always speak truth to power with the voters. To do anything less is an insult to the voters and to the integrity of our democratic process. It’s all about good government and the highest ethical standards. I am passionate about this because too many citizens think politics is fixed and that government is crooked. Your actions confirm the worst fears citizens have about their government. I await your response to my public challenge. You can reach me at www.RonMagnusforWard5.com