This is my biennial entreaty to ask decent, respectful neighbors to run for an Advisory Neighborhood Commission seat this November. The deadline to submit petitions is August 5, 2026. To get on the ballot, a candidate needs 25 signatures from voters residing in the same SMD as the candidate. The DC Board of Elections website has all of the information needed to run.

ANC commissioners are hyperlocal, uncompensated nonpartisan elected representatives. Each ANC commissioner represents a single member district (SMD) of roughly 2,000 residents. Each term is two years. Because the position is nonpartisan, government employees usually can serve, but check with ethics officials about individual circumstances that may require recusal or prohibit participation.

Riggs Park sits in Wards 4 and 5, so the neighborhood is covered by seats in ANC 4B and ANC 5A.

On the Ward 4 side, the ANC seats covering Riggs Park (and neighboring Lamond) include ANC 4B07, 4B08, 4B09, and 4B10.

On the Ward 5 side, the neighborhood ANC seats include 5A01, 5A02, and 5A09.

We need neighbors to run in all of the seats covering Riggs Park. There is currently a vacancy in ANC 4B10. I know that Commissioners Danielle Geong (4B09) and Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) do not plan to run again.

I am hoping that Commissioner Keith Sellars (5A01) decides to run again. I think he has done a good job this term. He has done a lot not just in his SMD but also has been leading on things in neighboring ANC 5A02, 5A08, and 5A09.

Outside of Riggs Park, we really need reasonable people to run in ANC 5A05, 5A06, and 5A08. Catholic University usually helps with getting a student to fill the ANC 5A04 seat. And I think that ANC 5A Chair Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07) has done a really good job stewarding the commission this year, so I hope she will run again for the 5A07 seat.

Having an effective ANC is really important. Each commission must hold a certain number of monthly meetings, but otherwise as with any voluntary position, it is as much work as one wants it to be. It would be great to have responsible, respectful representatives who can commit to checking their email regularly, notifying the community of hearings and opportunities to comment on matters affecting the community, and generally being proactive about issues in the community. It would be great if responsible people who were inclined to want to serve as secretary or treasurer would run. Those seats have clearly defined responsibilities that are instrumental to the functioning of an ANC.

Thanks in advance for helping to keep our neighborhood a great place to live.