mount pleasant neighborhood alliance

B17-0529 Testimony of MPNA on the ABC Reduction Act

by Laurie Collins

My name is Laurie Collins. I am the President of the MPNA, and a former ABC Board member and would like to comment on the proposed amendment to reduce the ABC Board from 7 to 5 members.  We do not support this amendment. 

In my 3-year tenure on the ABC board, I came to appreciate the diverse experience and opinions of those who served on the Board. I also came to know that board members don’t always show up every week, whether for reasons of illness, other commitments, or the very small stipend that is given to them for such a very big job. 

Enacting this amendment would mean that those who come before the Board, whether community groups or businesses, will lose the opportunity to present themselves to a full, more representative, ABC Board.  We should not be expected to rely on just 3 ABC Board members making critical decisions which affect our communities and businesses.  I have been involved in the decision-making process many times in that Board room. There are many different viewpoints, all informed by where people come from and what they have experienced.  It is amazing how the diversity of opinion expressed during the decision-making process can improve and strengthen the ultimate decision.

I strongly believe that everyone deserves to be heard.  My history in Mt. Pleasant cases brought me to the Board. Through experience with cases from Georgia Avenue, Kenilworth Avenue, Alabama Avenue, 7^th Street NE, Benning Road, Adams Morgan, Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, U Street, and Capitol Hill, I learned how to understand and balance different opinions and viewpoints. 

We are a city comprised of 8 Wards, yet there are only 7 ABC board positions.  We need to maintain and encourage maximum participation from the largest cross section of the city that is possible. 

Part of our city’s vision is to expand business opportunities east of the River. With the Fenty administration, that vision will soon become a reality.  Today the ABC Board has representatives from only Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4.  Where is our representation from Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8?  If our stated goal is to expand economic opportunity and development throughout the city, creating new businesses, then why should we reduce the amount of representation on a board that is vital to making that happen in a balanced way? 

Reducing the board’s ability to be representative, will only diminish involvement in economic activity and public participation in underserved, under-developed parts of the city. By reducing the number of members, we only diminish the city’s opportunity of benefiting from the diverse outlooks with which it so blessed.