Image below is of the UNOFFICIAL RESULTS posted on the DC Board of Elections & Ethics website as of April 27, 2011, http://www.dcboee.us/2011_special/results.asp, which gives Vincent Orage 28.27%, Patrick Mara 25.68%, Sekou Biddle 20.46%, Bryan Weaver 13.11%, Joshua Lopez 7.13%, Tom Brown 2.02%, Dorothy Douglas 1.46%, Alan Page 1.27%, Arkan Haile 0.26%.
DC Democrats,
What is your opinion on the possibility of changing the process used to vote in the District? Council member Mary Cheh, Chairman of the Government Operations and the Environment Committee, hosted a roundtable discussion at 2:00 PM today concerning the upcoming April 26th citywide special election to fill the vacant At-large member to Council seat. http://dccouncil.us/events
Chairman Cheh heard from the D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOEE) on their “readiness” for this special election. Included in the discussion were proposals from the DCBOEE on how exactly our city should implement the special election and which option will best serve the interest of the D.C. electorate. Other citizens also made suggestions. The options were:
Option 1. By eliminating early voting at satellite locations and cutting back on staffing, supplies and printing, we can reduce the cost of administering the special election. The agency will require $829,000 to administer a special election at 143 polling places.
Option 2. Conduct voting over a three-day voting period at 16 Vote Centers where any voter could cast their ballot. Conducting the special election using Vote Centers will reduce the funding required by the agency to $624,000.
Option 3. Reducing the number of precincts in half would only reduce the cost of the election from $829,000 to $779,000
Option 4. The cost of administering the election entirely by mail would be approximately $1.6 million
The DCBOEE has determined that options 3 and 4 are not cost-effective. Click here to see the estimated expenses of the election options. http://www.dcboee.org/popup.asp?url=/pdf_files/nr_673.pdf
The DC Democratic Party has great concerns about disenfranchising the voter and limiting their ability to participate but also shares concerns about the cost of the special election during these fiscally challenging times. Obtaining greater voter turnout must also be a factor in changing the manner in which District voters cast their ballots. We also have to question how the special elections for the vacant Ward 4 and Ward 8 State Board of Education seats will be affected.
Which option do you prefer? Do you have an alternative suggestion? Please post your ideas and comments below on the DCDSC blog and be advised that your opinions do matter and will help to craft a response from the Party. You may share your opinion with us until January 28, 2011 and we will forward them to Chairman Cheh.
Thanks,
Anita Bonds
DC Party Chair
Funeral arrangements for School Board member William Lockridge, who passed away on Tuesday, January 11 at George Washington University Hospital are as follows:
Services will be held Thursday, January 20, 2011 at Temple of Praise, 700 Southern Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20032, (202) 561-0100; Viewing: 10:00 AM; Memorial Service: 11:00 AM.
Funeral: Noon. Interment: Resurrection Cemetery, 8000 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD 20735; Repass: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1600 Morris Road, S.E., Washington, D.C.
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The members of the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee (DCDSC) extend their most heartfelt condolences to current member and former DCDSC Chairman Wanda Lockridge, children Joy and Stefan, extended family members, and friends on the passing of the city’s beloved State Board of Education representative William Lockridge. For decades, William was a fixture in D.C. Democratic politics having served as President and officer of the Ward Eight Democratic Committee.
In these days of mourning know that William was truly loved, respected and shall be missed for all the positive changes he did on behalf of our city, especially for our youth.
We call on the residents of the District of Columbia to join us in expressing sympathies for this great loss.
Sincerely,Anita Bonds
DC State Party Chair
William Lockridge
Lockridge had over 20 years of service with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). He worked as an issues and policies researcher, teacher, teacher coordinator, wrestling coach and an elected member to the District of Columbia State Board of Education.
As a school board member, Lockridge developed a performance-based budgeting policy and helped to develop and approve a Master Facilities Plan, a blueprint to rebuild or renovate DC Public Schools. He developed a Public/Private Development Partnership policy to facilitate the building of new schools and devised a policy that ensures DCPS’s compliance with Local, Small, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (LSDBE) goals.
Lockridge served as the Board’s Vice President and has co-chaired the Board’s Finance and Facilities Committee. He served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Charter School Oversight and the Head Start Governing Body.
Mr. Lockridge received a bachelor’s degree in education from Tennessee State University, and was a member of the NAACP, the National School Boards Association, the Council of Urban Boards of Education and the Council of Black School Administrators.
Mr. Lockridge is married to Wanda Lockridge, the Director of Business Development and Special Events at the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation. He has one daughter, Joy, and a son, Stefan, who attends Middle Tennessee State University.
