Kevin Chavous
Washington Interfaith Network questionnaire

Washington Interfaith Network

The District of Columbia is at a crossroads in its history. Over the past ten years, many residents and businesses have left the District. To stem this exodus and to rebuild the city, as Mayor, I will focus policy decisions on stabilizing neighborhoods, improving our schools and the delivery of government services, retaining existing businesses and attracting residential and business development within our neighborhoods. Schools are the heart of a neighborhood. Our neighborhood schools must offer quality educational programming and modernized facilities in order to retain and attract neighborhood families.

EDUCATION:

I would begin improving schools by: 1) reconnecting the DC public schools with District citizens; 2) assuring accountability; and 3) capturing federal and foundation monies. As mayor, I will direct the budget process to ensure that education is the priority. Crisis management will give way to detailed planning and budgeting, stable leadership and school- based management. And we will affirm the roles of parents and neighborhoods in sustaining school reform.

My administration will ensure that:

• Citizens have a voice through the elected Board of Education and through school management teams.
• The school system has multi-year budgets, based on detailed implementation plans vetted through public review.
• Students are prepared to learn by coordinating our youth and family services with the schools to deal with nonacademic issues such as student health and nutrition, family tensions, abuse and neglect, youth violence and truancy.
• Neighborhoods have access to quality childcare, before- and after-school programs, parent education and early childhood development programs.
• A businesslike partnership -- not just good works and donations — is established with the private sector to guide School to Work vocational programs.
• Partnerships are formed with the information industries and cultural, academic and professional institutions to both engage students and to support life-long learning for the larger community.

Before- and after-school programs will be the building blocks of my administration's initiative on school preparedness. Our students must be ready to learn in school - fed, wane, emotionally strong and have many learning opportunities before and after-school.

This initiative will be coordinated with other existing task forces and advisory bodies on. children, youth and families, particularly the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Development. Partnerships will be sought with on-profit organizations, churches, academic institutions and businesses — any group with expertise that will enrich the lives of our children.

I expect to access funding from federal agencies supporting the learning centers concept and from private donors. The learning centers or hubs will be in the schools where appropriate and in other facilitates located in our neighborhoods.

HOUSING:

My administration will committed to District policies and programs support the ability of our low-income families to rent and, in many more cases, buy affordable housing. The District has made some progress in our ability to design, finance and renovate/build affordable housing. Our major challenge is to support affordable housing throughout the District, in many more scattered sites.

The District's experience in public housing should serve as a reminder that communities with a mix of families with various economic levels makes for healthy neighborhoods. My administration will continue to work with non-profit building organization - many of which are affiliated with local churches — to access federal funds available to renovate and/or build. We must do all possible to ensure that our families have safe, desirable affordable housing.

POLICE:

The safety and security of our neighborhoods is essential to the District's economic health and quality of life. Consistent, timely and efficient law enforcement must be balanced by intensive crime prevention efforts and early intervention strategies. Police misconduct can not be tolerated.

My administration will work with the MPD improvements, and training and technology requirements.to support adequate budgets, management.

We will, through properly spending federal funds and local tax dollars, enable the MPD to:

• offer competitive salaries and benefits to both uniform and civilian employees. establish a training relationship with a local university. I encourage reestablishing the cadet program to guide future officers from high school through college and ultimately to service on the MPD.
• get more officers on the street and increase community patrols. My administration will support the expanded hiring of skilled civilian employees for desk jobs.
• adopt up-to-date policing technologies, with training and testing. Our force will have the designated equipment, hardware and software for seamless communication with federal and regional law enforcement agencies, rapid identification of suspects and filing of police reports.
• work with the social services and juvenile justice systems to develop policies for intensive supervision of at-risk youth, especially those in the first phase of delinquent behavior.

JOBS

The District is constantly creating jobs, but most of the new jobs are not going to DC residents. The District continues to have unacceptably high numbers of unemployed job-seekers — a large percentage being minority males — in a regional economy that suffers from a labor shortage.

My administration's response to this situation will be to 1) develop incentives to retain and attract employers in the federal government and the tourism and the information technology industries, and 2) work with employers to identify entry level jobs to be filled with DC job-seekers. We will emphasize:

• skills training for those already employed. Programs like New York's Metro Tech, which connects employers, employees and job training for specific jobs, will be established.
• working with the schools and the University of the District of Columbia to increase the numbers of new job-seekers with the requisite technical preparation.
• economic policy reform to reduce the barriers and frustrations faced by new and established businesses.
• facilitating competition by DC workers for available jobs in near-in suburbs, including transportation, job fairs and other support services such as child care.
• working closely with unions and employers, both to ensure fair treatment of workers and that apprenticeship opportunities are open to new workers.