Meet Commissioner Cava
Greetings, Petworth! I am honored to be your new ANC Commissioner for SMD 4D04. The boundaries of this single member district are Decatur St NW to Hamilton St NW, between Georgia Ave and 7th St NW. I am excited to get to know you. I ran a short, write-in campaign so didn't get a chance to meet as many neighbors as I might have in a longer campaign. Therefore I am using this newsletter to share a little bit about me:
I have lived on the 800 block of Delafield Pl NW since 2012, and in DC since 2011. In that time, I have gotten to know my neighbors of all walks of life and I am excited that I now have the time and opportunity to serve. I have two kids who attend Barnard Elementary School, where I am the current vice president of the PTA. I also serve on the Executive Committee (Board) of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. I have worked for the past 13 years in environmental organizations, including learning about and advocating for local issues such as keeping Beach Drive safe for cyclists and bikers and pushing the city to develop more green Stormwater infrastructure. I have extensive experience advocating before local government and partnering with officials and decision-makers in the Legislative and Executive branches to get things done.
As an ANC, it will be important to me to ensure that meetings are accessible to the community via Spanish announcements and interpretation, as well as regular newsletters to my constituents, all things I have worked hard on in my PTA role. I also want to help make sure that residents can reach the right people throughout DC government to meet their needs.
Inclusion and getting EVERYONE to the table, old residents and new, of all races and language needs, is very important to me as our neighborhood has undergone and continues to undergo so many demographic changes.
Some of the things I care about personally and hope to prioritize in my time on the ANC include:
-
Communication & Connectivity
- Regular newsletters and bilingual English/Spanish communications. Connecting neighbors with city services.
-
A Green Neighborhood
- More shade trees and green stormwater management. Fewer lead water pipes.
-
Safer Streets, Faster Buses
- Safer streets for people walking & biking around Petworth and Brightwood Park. Fast, frequent service in the coming-soon Georgia Ave Bus Priority Lane.
-
Affordable & Stable Housing
- A neighborhood with room for all: long-term renters and homeowners as well as newcomers.
-
Public Education
- Supporting our neighborhood schools.
-
Clean Alleyways
- Rat & mosquito control without toxins.
You'll hear more from me about these issues and others the ANC takes on, including our important basic duties of reviewing alcohol & cannabis licenses and zoning variance requests, over time in this newsletter.
I want to extend a special thanks to my two predecessors, Crysanthe "CC" Courniotes and Zach Israel, for their excellent work over the past four years and for sharing their insights with me as I get started in this new role. I'm also very excited to work as a team with my fellow 4D Commissioners, as well as Commissioners and DC government workers across the city. ANC is an amazing civic institution that brings residents closer to government, and I'm honored to be able to serve.
Me on the right, with my wife and kids on a walk in West Virginia
|
