Look Over My Shoulder: Total Transparency Is My Goal

If the people elect me to be the next At-Large City Councilperson, I plan to utilize technology and an open door policy to make my office the most transparent office in Council history. I plan to set up a live Ustream weblink from my computer when I work in my office, so constituents can virtually sit in on every meeting where participants agree to be web-streamed. If a citizen wishes to meet anonymously, I will consider the privacy concerns of their personal matter in determining whether to proceed with that meeting without web-streaming, but I plan to webstream meetings with anyone who meets me in my office for a business purpose related to the expenditure of public funds.

For citizens without technological access to ustream.com due to the digital divide or who are unfamiliar with webstreaming, I also plan to offer constituents the opportunity to be a "fly on the wall" for an hour, by pre-registering in advance a time that they would like to come in and observe me at work. Again, I will evaluate where this policy may conflict with privacy concerns of fellow constituents who may be in the office to meet me on official business, but generally constituents will be welcome to sit in for any meeting where parties arrive for a business purpose to discuss the expenditure of public funds.

This is a continuation of the DC Statehood Green Party platform position of keeping the power with the people. I look forward to serving the city in the most open manner possible, in balance with privacy concerns for individual constituents seeking to discuss personal matters. I hope I have your vote on April 26th.

(Photo: Mazi Mutafa, Words Beats & Life)

Leveraging The International Status of Our City For Jobs

The EB5 visa program is designed to provide foreign investors with a visa if they invest in a business that employs at least ten full-time employees, located in a targeted area. What is a targeted area? "A rural area or an area with 150% the national unemployment rate". With unemployment at 25% in Ward 8 (and at 40% when counting those who have given up looking), that area of the city qualifies as a targeted area and this option for job creation should be explored. If the people choose me to be the next At-Large City Councilperson, I plan to aggressively work with embassies throughout the city to encourage foreign investors to seek EB5 visas by investing in businesses in our most challenged neighborhoods. I think it's time we used the international status of our city and the heavy international presence in our region to our advantage. Let's help the poorest neighborhoods in the District join the global economy.

(Flickr photo from afagen)

Join Me at Ras Uptown this Friday!

I would like you all to come out to a fundraiser/volunteer recruitment event I am having this Friday at Ras Restaurant & Lounge (4809 Georgia Ave NW, near Georgia and Decatur), 8:30pm-until. No cover, but part of the proceeds from the food and drink sales will be donated to my campaign.

Providing Opportunities to High Level Learners in DCPS

The Post recently ran an article on a program that would allow students at School Without Walls and Wilson High School to take college courses during their junior and senior year, then attain a bachelors' degree in two years at the University of the District of Columbia. A similar program allows School Without Walls students to earn college credit in their final two years of high school, in order to complete an associates degree at George Washington University concurrently with their high school graduation. These two programs are great options to allow our city's brightest students to acquire college degrees in an accelerated format. The GWU program allows students to earn their associates degree without paying tuition, an exceptional benefit for students from financially challenged backgrounds. The programs both admit only a small pool of elite students (roughly 30, total), but hopefully these programs will be expanded to all DCPS high schools. It might also be advisable to include some component of service to the programs, whereby participating students must work in the community for some period of time with the skills that they have acquired in these programs. Tying service with education through these programs could lay the groundwork for a lifelong love of service to the community among our most academically gifted students (and hopefully will allow them to be role models for others with whom they interact during their period of service).

As we face an increasing budget crunch, it is imperative that DC government partner with local stakeholders such as area universities to pioneer programs such as these.

An additional idea might be allowing for accelerated completion of high school for advanced students. We cannot afford to stick to traditional models as we confront our massive budget shortfall. If students have the desire to complete high school on an accelerated basis, we are not currently in a fiscal position to compel them to remain for a senior year when they can complete the credits for that final year in an accelerated program. Again, this is a time for us to think creatively, as well as the time to present new options to our best and brightest students.

(Photo of Washington Math Science Technical High School Class of 2009 by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In Dr. King's memory, Let's Unite And Save This City

I had the honor and the pleasure of marching with DC Jobs With Justice, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, and hundreds of our fair citizens in Dr. King's memory up the street that bears his name: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. I was inspired by the experience to complete the press release below, that outlines my positions for media figures (and fellow citizens) who may be interested in my views, positions and background. Please take a look:

Alan Page brings Three Core Principles to the race to fill the At-Large seat vacated by Kwame Brown:

- We are a Diverse City
- Our Public Schools Are Our Treasure; and
- We Cannot Balance The Budget on the Backs of the Poor

WASHINGTON, DC -- In light of a budget shortfall, longtime Washington DC resident, DCPS parent and attorney Alan Page has decided to jump into the race to fill the seat vacated by Kwame Brown when he moved on to Council Chair.

"I have operated on the periphery of local politics for seven years now, since I became a homeowner and a father, knowing at that point I was then invested more than ever in the city I have called home for almost 20 years, because I need the schools in this city to succeed for my daughter to excel and I need this city to thrive for my home to be a part of a vibrant community," said Mr. Page.

Buying a home on then-blighted Wylie Street NE, Mr. Page worked hard with his neighbors in the Wylie Street Homeowners Association to improve conditions and access to city services for the one-block street. Overcoming an open-air drug market culture, trash, illegal parking (including stolen cars), seven years later the conditions on Wylie Street have changed 180 degrees from its prior state. Through this process, Mr. Page learned first hand that the city and the members of a community can radically improve even the most challenged area if they work together. Mr. Page continued to work with H Street Main Street to help foster the environment that new businesses needed to thrive in the area. As a result, many new businesses have opened on the once-thriving commercial corridor, helping it move closer to its former glory.

Now, as the District faces a crushing budget shortfall, it is time for the whole city to work together to get us past this crisis, without balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, by attempting to solve our crisis with disproportionate cuts to social services. Since we currently have one tax rate for income above $40,000 a year, creating a scenario where a schoolteacher and Bill Gates could share the same tax bracket if they were neighbors in our city, I believe it is also time to create a new tax bracket so our earners in the top 5% bracket can contribute just 1% more of their income above the $200,000 threshold, to help our city stay on the path towards prosperity. Understanding that our most successful citizens will expect more efficiency in government if they are asked to give more to help us all, Mr. Page also advocates a citywide appraisal of where cuts can be made to eliminate waste and duplication of services.

Mr. Page is also concerned about the future of the city, beyond our present budget challenge. In light of that, Mr. Page is a strong supporter of the Promise Neighborhood planned for Ward 7, which will coordinate educational and social services to maximize the chances for academic success for students in the Kenilworth neighborhood, by addressing their challenges in holistic fashion, from the classroom to the home. This program is supported by President Obama and is based on the successful Harlem Children's Zone analyzed in the book "Whatever It Takes". The key success in the Harlem Children's Zone is the elimination of the racial gap in mathematics performance on standardized tests for students who were part of the Zone, by the time they reached middle school. If we can support this effort and bring Promise Neighborhoods to other neighborhoods where students face a range of challenges that hamper their academic performance, we can secure the future of this city. Our public schools are our treasure and it's time to invest in maximizing their success.

Join Alan Page in his quest to turn this budget crisis around and take us over the water to a brighter tomorrow.

Our Public Schools Are Our Treasure

MLK I Have a Dream celebration from jill cashen on Vimeo.

Not long after recent reports that DCPS enrollment has seen a year on year increase for the first time in 39 years, fourth grade students from Watkins Elementary and Peabody Elementary demonstrated today at the Lincoln Memorial why public schools are our treasure, by passionately reciting Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech in the video above. They close the recital with a stirring rendition of "We Shall Overcome". It's powerful to watch and indicative of some of the beautiful things going on in our city's public schools. This is just one of many reasons why I am proud to be a parent of a DCPS student.