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THE D.C.WISE GUIDE

Your 1998 D.C. Government Guide and Calendar
Published by The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia

I. REGISTRATION & VOTING INFORMATION

Board of Elections and Ethics — Room 250 441 Fourth Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 — 727-2525

QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS

1. Citizen of the United States
2. 18 years old on or before the next election
3. D.C. resident 30 days prior to election
4. Not incarcerated for conviction of a felony
5. Not adjudged mentally incompetent by a court of law

REGISTERING TO VOTE — D.C. residents may apply for voter registration by mail or when obtaining a driver’s permit. A Mail Registration Application (MRA) may be obtained from the Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE) or from any public library, fire house or police station. Registration closes 30 days before each election and re-opens the day after the election. After registration the BOEE will mail the registrant a Voter Registration Card giving the registrant’s ward, ANC, single-member district, voting precinct, and voting location.

CHANGE OF REGISTRATION — A registrant must notify the BOEE in writing over his or her signature of any change in name, address or party. The law requires that the registrant notify BOEE of name and address changes within 30 days of the changes. All record changes must be made not later than 30 days before an election to be effective for that election.

PARTY AFFILIATION — Voters may choose to register with a political party affiliation or as independent. Under the District's “closed primary” system, voters registered with one of the four political parties qualified to conduct a primary (Democratic, Republican, D.C. Statehood and Umoja) may vote in that party’s primary election. Independents and voters affiliated with a minor party may vote only in general and special elections and on initiative and referendum measures. A change in party affiliation can be made by indicating the change on the back of the voter card and sending it to the BOEE or by writing a letter indicating the change, with name, address, date of birth and signature at least 30 days before an election.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS — Registered voters may vote by absentee ballot if they cannot get to the polls in person for reasons of illness, physical disability or absence from the District. A written request for an absentee ballot must be received by the BOEE no later than seven days before the election, and the completed ballot may be cast in person at the BOEE beginning 15 days before the election from 8:30 AM to 4:45 PM Monday through Saturday, ending the day before the election. In certain emergency cases, an “emergency absentee ballot” is available. Call 727-2525 (BOEE) for details.

ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED — Most voting locations are accessible to these voters. However, where the polling place presents a problem, the voter may request assignment to an alternate site or opt for curbside voting, handicapped parking, wheelchair-accessible booths and large-print election materials.

BECOMING A CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC OFFICE — Candidates must file petitions with the BOEE. Primaries are held by Democratic, Republican, Statehood and Umoja parties for Mayor, D.C. Council and federal elections. Candidates running for Congress, Mayor or D.C. Council at-large seats must collect signatures of 2,000 voters registered in the candidate's party or from one percent of all voters registered in that party (whichever is less). Candidates running for ward seats on the Council must collect signatures of 250 voters or from one percent of voters within the ward who are registered in the candidate’s party (whichever is less). In general elections, independent or minor-party candidates running for Congress, Mayor or for one of the at-large seats on the Council must collect the signatures of 3,000 or 1.5 percent (whichever is less) of the registered voters in the District of Columbia. Independent or minor-party candidates running for a ward seat must collect 500 signatures of the registered voters in that ward. At-large candidates running for election to the non- partisan Board of Education must collect the signatures of 1,000 registered D.C. voters; a candidate for a ward seat must collect the signatures of 200 registered voters in that ward. The BOEE provides detailed information on: candidate qualifications; ballot access; requirements for filing nominating petitions of candidacy; and a calendar of elections. Information on campaign finance filing is available from the BOEE Office of Campaign Financing at 939-8710.

II. GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — BACKGROUND

After decades of detailed governance at the federal level, in December 1973 the District of Columbia gained limited home rule through passage by Congress of the D.C. Self- Government and Governmental Reorganization Act (the D.C. Home Rule Act), which included the Home Rule Charter. Under the Home Rule Act, a locally elected Mayor and 13-member Council began their first term in office on January 1, 1975. They and the pre-existing Board of Education are chosen in even-year general elections to serve four-year terms (staggered terms for Council and Board of Education members). Subsequently, in April 1995, Congress passed legislation creating the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (the Control Board) and granting to it broad budgetary control over the District. The Control Board will exist until such time as the District has produced a balanced budget for four consecutive years. In August 1997 Congress assigned additional responsibilities to the Control Board, transferring to it from the Executive Branch of the D.C. Government the management of nine departments and of four “cross-cutting functions” (finances; information resources management; personnel; procurement). To implement the management reform program required by the “Revitalization Act of 1997,” the Control Board in January 1998 appointed a Chief Management Officer to a five-year term.

III. THE MAYOR

Marion Barry, Jr.— 441 Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, 727-2980 — Term ends 1998.

IV. CHIEF MANAGEMENT OFFICER

Dr. Camille Barnett — 441 Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, 727-3432 — Term ends 2002.

V. COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

441 Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, 724-8000

From mid-September through mid-July the Council meets in legislative session on the first Tuesday of the month at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chamber, ground floor, 441 Fourth Street, NW. The Committee of the Whole meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 10:00 A.M. Much of the Council work is done in special committees or in standing committees established at the first meeting, in January, of each Council period. Meetings and hearings, open to the public, are televised live on Channel 13. Calendar of the Week — 24-hour update 724-8554.

VI. PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

415 12th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent, 724-4222
Board of Education, 724-4289
Schools — General Information, 724-4044

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Elections 1998

Primary Election — September 15
General Election — November 3

VII. ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONS (Non-partisan)

Thirty-seven ANCs with 299 elected commissioners, each functioning independently in its own neighborhood, provide a line of communication between residents and the D.C. Government on matters such as streets, zoning, licenses, social services, safety, sanitation, recreation and education. For information about your ANC Commissioner or to purchase a map of ANC district boundaries, call the BOEE 727-2525. Candidates in ANC elections must collect signatures of 25 registered voters living within the relevant ANC district. Nominating petitions and election calendars are available from BOEE.

VIII. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND THE U.S. CONGRESS

The D.C. Delegate to the House of Representatives has no vote in the House — either on the floor or in committee.

Delegate to the House of Representatives: Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) Two-year term. Term expires 1998.
Room 1424, Longworth Building, Washington, DC 20515, 225-8050.

HOUSE COMMITTEES

DC Subcommittee of Government Reform and Oversight Committee, 225-6751
Chairman: Thomas M. Davis, III (R,VA)

DC Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, 225-5338
Chairman: Charles H. Taylor (R, NC)

SENATE COMMITTEES

Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia, 224-3682
Chairman: Sam Brownback (R, KS)

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, 224-1526
Chairman: Lauch Faircloth (R,NC)

The District also elects two “shadow” Senators to six-year terms and one “shadow” Representative to a two-year term. Their offices are at 441 Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

IX. D.C. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY (Control Board)

Suite 900, One Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005, 504-3400

The five members of the Control Board are appointed by the President to serve three-year terms. The first term ended June 1, 1998; a new Board has not yet been fully formed. Present members are:

Andrew Brimmer, Chairman (90-day interim appointment)
Stephen Harlan, Vice Chairman (90-day interim appointment)
Constance Newman, reappointed
Alice Rivlin, appointed June 1998

SERVICE DIRECTORY

The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia

The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920, when women won the right to vote. Any United States citizen of voting age, male or female, who accepts the purpose of the League may become a member of a local League. The League’s education and advocacy program includes issues chosen by the membership for study, consensus and action. The current top priority for the D.C. League is to obtain full voting representation in Congress for U.S. citizens residing in the nation’s capital. On a broader level the D.C. League joins with ten other area leagues to work on regional issues, including transportation, water quality, land use and illegal drugs. The Education Fund of the D.C. League provides educational material and services — especially to encourage informed voting. It contributes to the publication of a newsletter, THE DC VOTER, and to FACTS AND ISSUES, highlighting topics of current interest and concern. (Contributions to the Education Fund are tax deductible.) For additional copies of the D.C. WISE GUIDE, or to join the League of Women Voters call (202) 347-3020.

The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, Suite 208, 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, 347-3020, President: Luci Murphy
The League of Women Voters of the United States, 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202-429-1965

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