An Open Memorandum to District Residents

THE WARD SEVEN STORY

Kevin P. Chavous, Councilmember, 1992 - Present

I. Preview

Tuesday, September 15th is Primary Day in the District of Columbia. It is critical that our City choose wisely in the selection of new leadership to assume the position of Mayor. Because, this is an important period in the District's history, concerned citizens who reside in Ward 7 and know its true story have undertaken the unpleasant, but necessary task of informing DC residents about the pathetic, sorry, deplorable plight of Ward 7 neighborhoods — once a proud community. The fact that the Councilmember, Kevin P. Chavous, according to The Common Denominator, July 13, 1998 acknowledges “quality of life in his ward has declined” is a sad but true commentary.

Visitors to the area have variously described parts of the Ward as looking like a “wasteland”, “worse than a Third World country,” and worse than “Appalachia” and “The City Dump”.

II. Process

During the month of July 1998, three hundred, seventy-five (375) residents of Ward 7 were contacted by phone or in person and asked the questions on the “Report Card — Kevin P. Chavous” (See Attachment). The responses were recorded and formed the basis for the categories included in the Legend/Fact Sheet. All entries can be documented.

Resources used included:

The Report Card
City Council Records
The Washington Post
The Washington Times
The City Paper
The Common Denominator
A Photo- Journey (Ward 7)
Letters, etc.

III. Report Card Results

All respondents answered “Yes” to Questions #4 and “No” to all other questions. In rating Mr. Chavous on a scale of 1-10 with 10 high, most residents rated him below the scale or zero (0), with one (4) and one -2, which is a summarized grade of less than one (1). In other words, we are unable to grade Mr. Chavous on a scale of 1–10 and so we have developed the following legend:

III. The Record

A.  Effectiveness of Mr. Chavous as Ward 7 Councilmember.

The unanimous agreement that there is widespread dissatisfaction with present conditions in Ward 7 raises serious and indeed devastating questions about the effectiveness of the Councilmember. Long-standing problems in areas of major concern remain unresolved and unattacked.

B. Status of Ward 7 in the City

Many sections of Ward 7 are a jumble of potholes, unpaved streets, unimproved alleys, “open air” drug markets, junkyards, overgrown and unattended lots, boarded-up houses and apartment buildings with broken sidewalks and pavements, trash or unswept streets and other signs of urban neglect and decay.

The following quote from a letter dated 9/July, 1998 to Camille Barnett written by Catherine A. Woods, ANC 7D03 Commissioner aptly expresses the extreme desperation of Ward 7 residents:

“I cannot begin to describe to you the sense of hopelessness and helplessness experienced by myself and my constituents over those years as we have watched the steady deterioration of our community which has been encouraged, we believe, by the erosion of critical city services in our neighborhoods. One might say we have stood by helplessly watching the vitality and life of our community drain away, the flow hastened, we believe, by the city's neglect of basic services.

“Time after time, we have either met, or attempted to meet, with city officials to discuss the problems we have been experiencing. And, whether elected or appointed city official, garbage collector or police officer, our concerns and complaints have received little or no attention and the responses have been barely more than a lip service. ‘Frustration’ does not begin to describe our feelings at this junction”.

C. Attention and Concern, Ward 7 and DC City Council.

According to the City Paper, 5/3/98, “Chavous, who has compiled one of the lowest attendance records among the 13 councilmembers and one of the highest staff turnover rates, would have a tough time convincing those who follow his Council career that he actually practices what he now preaches”.

The Common Denominator, July 13, 1998, p. 6 states, “Council records show Chavous absent at 138 votes in 1993–1994, absent from 241 votes in 1995–1996, and recorded absent at 82 votes since 1997.

A review of Mr. Chavous’ legislative record indicates that from 12/1/95 through 7/96, he introduced sixty (60) pieces of legislation and cosponsored twelve (12) pieces of legislation with other Council members. Of the sixty (60) bills introduced by Mr. Chavous, thirty-five (35) or 58% were ceremonial and the other twenty-five (25) or 41 +% contain little substance.

It is a source of embarrassment to Ward 7 citizens that the editorial pages of the major newspapers felt compelled to chastise Mr. Chavous for the rude raucous conduct and the lack of respect exhibited to both the church and the audience by his supporters at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Comforter located in Ward 7. As Jonetta Rose Barras wrote in the Washington Times on July 3, 1998:

“Consider the recent mayoral forums. The editorial page of this paper has admonished the candidates, particularly Jack Evans and Kevin Chavous, for the rowdy atmosphere they have created. These events are supposed to provide residents with an opportunity to hear serious, well-constructed proposals for improving the city's future. Instead, they were treated to GODAWFUL behavior”.

“Our council member is missing-in-action”, said ANC 7B05 Commissioner Vincent Spaulding. “In this part of the ward, we represent ourselves”.

“In the last two years, I’ve only seen him in my community once” said an ANC Commissioner in the northern part of the ward”.

“Some ANC commissioners and civic leaders in Ward 7 say Chavous habitually fails to show up at community meetings, arrives late, leaves early and doesn’t return phone calls. They say he has little to show for six years in office.”

“For a lot of people, Chavous is a blank slate”. He has been on the council for some time, and it’s difficult to point to anything of consequence that he's been responsible for. He can’t point to a series of legislative initiatives or programs. He has been talked about as a council member who doesn’t spend a lot of time in council” are statements from Howard Croft, political observer and UDC professor as cited in The Common Denominator, July 13, 1998.

D. Kevin Chavous, Chairman Education Committee, DC Council.

The following Ward 7 schools are vacant, unattended, overgrown windows boarded-up — a blight and hazard to the community:

Woodson Jr. High School — Closed (4-5 years)
Kelly Miller Jr. High School — Closed, practically over night, December, 1997, with no protest from Councilmember
Richardson Elementary, Closed, June, 1997
Weatherless School has been subjected to fires four times during the 1997/98 school year.
Ward Seven’s only senior high school, H.D. Woodson High School, an eight story tower, has the following very serious problem areas:

• Broken escalators:
• Poorly-operated (on - and - off) elevators
• Faulty lighting in auditorium
• Nonfunctioning swimming pool (students are learning to swim on chairs)
• Windows in need of repair
• Missing partitions in rest rooms
• Leaks in the building and on the patio

To add insult to injury, rusted, worn-out air conditioners were removed from Kelly Miller and placed at Aiton Elementary for summer school; after a week of nonfunctioning, they were removed and replaced with new units.

Schools in Ward 7 are operating with severe and in some cases even dangerous reduction in both custodial and the necessary supervisory staff.

A recent article in The Washington Post, states that “Special Education's in Disarray” and there is presently question about the funding for Charter Schools with the possibility that some of them will not be ready to open on time. Where was the oversight?

Note the following quotation from a communication dated July 21, 1998:

Council of School Officers, Local 4 — AFL-CIO
(American Federation of School Administrators)

“In reference to your survey question re: contributions made” to the DC Public Schools by Councilmember Chavous since becoming Chairman of the Council’s Committee on Education?

The answer is — on a scale of one to ten — his numerical rating would be “one”. Other than a lot of “showboating” while in the Chair, Chavous has contributed “nothing”. This quote was made by Frank P golden, president of the local.

It is significant that Mr. Chavous failed to win the endorsement of The Washington Teacher’s Union which cited “lackluster leadership” and his “record on school issues” as Chair of the Education Committee the past eighteen (18) months. City Paper records that “Union Officials claim Chavous has been as beneficial to the City’s public schools as the tobacco industry has been to teen health”.

E. Kevin Chavous, member, Housing Committee, DC City Council

Housing is in a deplorable state in Ward 7.

During a recent meeting with DC Chief Management Officer, Camille Barnett residents of Ward 7 repeatedly reported vacant, boarded-up houses and apartment buildings used for drug-dealing and other criminal activity, shells of buildings which have been in a state of deterioration for as many as twenty (20) years, abandoned properties in residential areas overgrown with weeds and providing a haven for snakes and other vermin.

The NCHA properties in ward 7 are in acute disrepair — a disgrace to the City.

Eastgate is closed boarded-up except for those buildings immediately fronting Benning Road.

Developments which are populated look like “abandoned villages”

For Example:

East Capitol Dwellings is run-down, decrepit, and in a general neglected condition.
Benning Stoddard is in serious need of renovations and/or rebuilding. It is an eyesore and a crime-breeder.
Lincoln Heights which was recently cited in an article in The Washington Post, July 13, 1998, as “one of the most problematic of the city's 55 public housing communities, because of violence and drug-dealing” suffered suspension of mail service for forty-five (45) days because of threats to letter carriers.

F. Kevin Chavous, member Public Works and Environment Committee, DC Council

“Residents demand services” headlines in The Common Denominator by Rebecca Charry, states“"DC Chief Management Officer, Camille Barnett rolled up her sleeves...to get street repairs, trash cleanup and police service restored to neighborhoods where city services seem to have ground to a halt years ago”. “She acknowledges that services are broken across the city, but conditions are worse east of the Anacostia River”. “It is not a question of patching the potholes anymore”, Barnett said, We have to rebuild the entire street”.

The fact that Mr. Chavous has plastered every pole in Ward 7 with his posters is indicative of his lack of concern for the environment, and indeed for city laws.

Ward 7 has a proliferation of junkyards abandoned properties, eyesores, unswept streets, abandoned cars and buses, uncollected trash and other signs of urban deterioration and decay.

It was noteworthy in early July that after community complaints, a raid by the Metropolitan Police and the Hazardous Waste Unit uncovered highly dangerous hazardous waste at a junkyard located at 50th and Hayes Streets, NE in Ward 7 across the street from Merritt Elementary School.

G. Mr. Chavous, Economic Development in Ward 7

City Paper, May 29, 1998 states “His Ward 7 constituents knock him for, failing to back economic development projects such as the new Good Hope Road Marketplace on Alabama Avenue, SE and redevelopment of the deteriorating Skyland Shopping Center”.

“Instead of being perceived as proactive, oftentimes he’s seen as reactive”, says Hillcrest Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Vincent Spaulding”.

From The Common Denominator, “When the first new shopping center in 25 years was built east of the Anacostia River at Alabama Avenue and Good Hope Road, the impetus came from community volunteers, civic groups and Safeway officials”, said Ward 7 activist Lucie Murray. “Chavous was not out front leading” she said. “He did not take enough of an active role”.

We have located a copy of a letter dated December 12, 1992, from Preston Leigh, Commissioner Elect for ANC 7B02 to Councilman-Elect, Ward 7, Mr. Kevin Chavous, requesting cooperation and help with the revitalization of the Fort Davis Shopping Center. To date, the letter remains unanswered and the Fort Davis Shopping Center remains as it was.

On Friday, December 3, 1993, The Metropolitan Times, featured Mr. Chavous and his Economic Development Plan for Ward 7, in an article “Crossing Bridge to Respect”, by Jonetta Rose Barras. Revisit the seven (7) areas of Ward 7 that Mr. Chavous targeted almost six years ago as in need of new or expanded economic development. What happened to Mr. Chavous’ Economic Development Plan?

V. Conclusion

There is much more which can be said or written, but the record is clear. Ward 7 and its various neighborhoods are in dire need of help which has not been forthcoming. As we prepare for the September 1 5th Primary Election, a critical turning-point for better or for worse, we will do well to remember that those who have not served in the past are not likely to serve in the future and that as Jonetta Rose Barras wrote in The Washington Times:

“We can continue to grovel and beg and to elect inept people who are all talk We can bury ourselves in an avalanche of excuses and blame others. Or we can look at the unkempt internal landscape of the District, vowing drastic change while forcing ourselves to return to the time-honored traditions that impel us to judge a person by his character, his actions and the friends he keeps. Only then can we improve the quality of our lives and our communities. Only then can we command respect - our own and the nation’s”.

PAID FOR BY INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS OF WARD 7

THE KEVIN CHAVOUS REPORT CARD
Ward 7 Councilmember, 1992 - Present

On a scale of 1–10 with 10 high, how would you rate Mr. Chavous’ six year performance as Ward 7 Councilman? Circle one: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10