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How can we make the District of Columbia truly “One City?”

Making genuine progress toward creating “One City” is the Mayor’s highest priority. Mayor Gray has said that One City “is the recognition that all District residents, no matter their differences, are bound together by a common destiny and a shared desire to make the city even better for the people who live here. Regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ward or neighborhood, we all want a vibrant, sustainable city, where all residents have an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families, where every neighborhood is safe, where every student goes to a good school, where every tax dollar is spent wisely on a government that works, and where citizens’ voices really count.” Yet the District government cannot achieve this goal alone.

We’d like your thinking on some of the specific questions that we’ll be wresting with at the summit:

  • How do we grow and diversify the economy?
  • What do DC government, businesses, and non-profits need to do to help people who aren’t currently job-ready get the skills they need to find work, especially in growing sectors of the economy?
  • In order to have healthy, thriving infants and toddlers, what District government services and resources will be most important for our families and communities?

198 results found

  1. Make One City possible by creating real opportunities for people of all income levels to live and work in DC

    Use the City Budget process to:
    • restore funding to preserve or build decent housing that people can afford
    • increase support for adult literacy, job training and child care
    • provide sufficient shelters and stable housing for homeless families and youth
    • help low-income families and residents with disabilities to meet their basic needs
    • restore funding for crime victims’ and domestic violence services
    • maintain health insurance for DC residents
    • protect food assistance for seniors.

    pursue options to increase revenue if needed to preserve or restore funding to critical services

    654 votes
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  2. Designate a day each year for "Guitars Not Guns" day music festival.

    Designate a day each year for "Guitars Not Guns Day" music festival. GnG is a non profit children's music charity providing guitars and lessons to foster care and at-risk youth in the city. The students have an anthem song they play and sing called "Set Me Free". If we create a day to celebrate their achievements, encourage other youth to join, have food and concert can bond all race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ward or neighborhood through music. www.gngnca.org

    204 votes
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  3. Create more transitional living for disconnected youth

    The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates found that the District's rising homeless youth population are coming from failed systems of care with no stable place to live. We must invest in youth throughout their entire development- not stopping at 12, 16, 18, or 20. Let's prove their value in our community by designating affordable housing for homeless and at-risk youth.

    169 votes
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  4. Pay for the Summer Jobs Program should be based on performance and not age.

    Many 15 year olders did a good job in summer 2011 and now they will be only able to make $5.25 an hour just because they are 15, which is a pay cut. Let 14 and 15 year olds compete for Jobs paying $7.25 per hour and working 25 hours per week. There are 14 and 15 year olds who have better attitudes, work skills and commitment than many of the 16 -21 year olds. Or let the 15 year old youth who worked last year maintain their $7.25 pay rate.

    154 votes
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  5. DC needs statehood

    • Lack of a vote in Congress disenfranchises District residents
    • No taxation without representation

    128 votes
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  6. Create ways for Non-profits to share space and resources

    Hello, my name is Louis H. Henderson. I am interested in presenting ideas and ways for non-profit organzations, through Communicating needs and opportunities with one another can help make more efficient use of our buildings and office space. This will ultimately help them build the capacity necessary to serve " One City".

    98 votes
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  7. Maintain and expand programs that ensure that DC is truly "One City" for all who live here, regardless of background and country of origin.

    One of the things that makes DC so unique and special is that it is home to professionals, workers and students from all around the world. In order to ensure that our region's immigrant population not only survive, but thrive and thus make our communities and district an even better place to live and work in, we must continue to have programs that welcome and support these new and potentially new Americans. However, in the past few years, programs such as the Office of Latino Affairs have been cut. We need to make sure that authorities do everything in their…

    95 votes
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  8. to employ individuals who have been incarcerated to have career opportunities once they are released from jail

    To give those who were once incarcerated to get the necessary job training that he or she needs in order to have a much better life where that person can practice recidivism which would result to that person not committing the same crime over and over again.

    92 votes
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  9. Ideas to improve services and housing for the homeless

    Hello, my name is Vickie Ryan. I am interested in presenting ideas regarding services and housing for the homeless. I would like to present a developed proposal that would address homeless single women and single fathers with children i.e. Homeless Day Program and Homeless Shelter with wrap around services, partnership with hospitals and university internship programs. In addtion utilizing volunteers from the senior citizens community to help implement the program

    88 votes
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  10. Create tolls requiring indivduals to pay to enter the city.

    A very significant portion of the workers come into the city every day from Montgomery, Fairfax, Prince Georges, Loudon counties and other points beyond. Other cities charge, which aids immeasurably to their bottom line with respect to revenue. This does a few positive things for the city. First and foremost it generates revnue. Secondly, individuals faced with the choice of paying tolls or ultilizing public transportaion would probably choose the latter as oppossed to the former. If that was the case then traffic and parking would significantly be affected in a positive way. Lastly, given the choice of the aforementioned,…

    77 votes
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  11. Give more DC residenst district jobs and provide them training; stop giving waivers to people that don't live in the district.

    Allow more DC residents to obtain jobs in the district. Don't make the ranking factors so extreme that people with little college experience can't reach the goal. Provide them training if necessary and stop and/or reduce hiring citizens that don't leave in the district. Just because people may not have a college degree doesn't mean they can't do the job.

    77 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  12. 70 votes
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  13. Increase incentives and infrastructure for people to live and work in the city.

    Foster sustainable neighborhoods which focus on the pedestrian rather than autos. Increase public transport which favor residents, public spaces, playgrounds, mini-parks, traffic calming, dedicated bicycle lanes, diagonal crosswalks where all traffic is stopped so pedestrians can cross at an intersection in all directions even diagonally. Increase mixed use condo and apartment living and increase the availability of 3 bedroom condo/apartments. Similar to parking requirements for large commercial buildings, shower facilities should also be encouraged.

    68 votes
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  14. Create program allowing DC residents to acquire distressed and foreclosure properties

    The DC foreclosure process should be modified to allow residents to prequalify to purhase properties through an auction or lottery before developers and corporate investors come in. Current system is rigged in favor of businesses and the DC OTR has mismanaged the current tax foreclosure process for many years now. Change is needed.

    64 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  15. Save the primary Montessori program at Langdon Education campus

    The toddlers (3,4 and 5 year olds) in Langdon Education campus' primary Montessori classes have been thriving since 1997.   Our three year olds are learning to count, sound letters and work on their motor skills such as writing their names.  By four, these kids are doing simple addition and subtraction, reading easy readers and writing simple sentences.  It's particularly amazing when you find out this is happening at a school where the student body is 95% black and 71% receive free or reduced price lunch.  Instead of strengthening this program, parents received letters indicating the primary program will be…

    61 votes
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  16. Let's put an end to taxation without representation

    Let's show the federal government we as a city are serious about putting and end to taxation without representation by starting right here in our own system and opening up the mayoral primaries to all registered voters. I'm a registered independent and in this last mayoral election I felt like my vote didn't matter. After all can we really claim to be "One City" if everyone doesn't get a chance to get their voice heard.

    57 votes
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  17. Help middle income dc residents get affordable housing

    If you were born and raised in the district all your life. Why can't that be a benefit for affordable housing? You know history of the city and have supported it for generations. Just because you are considered middle income doesn't mean you can afford a house in the district if you are a single parent.

    48 votes
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  18. The government needs to be accountable and transparent.

    Accountability and transparency should be a requirement for each agency, the administration as well as the council.

    47 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  19. Develop Reservation 13 (DC General campus east of 19th Street SE) immediately

    The city and nearby residents worked for years to get a plan in place. Now the plan is stalled. Get moving, DC.

    44 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  20. Green up the district with clean electricity and encourage energy efficiency and home weatherization.

    First, DC should work with Pepco to start a solar rebate program like the City of Fort Collins, CO to help install more solar panels on DC homes and businesses. Second, there should be free home energy audits and a comprehensive list of pre-approved providers for home weather weatherization projects. Third, the city could also host do-it-yourself weatherization classes. Fourth, the city should offer strong rebates on energy efficient applicances and energy efficient windows.

    42 votes
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How can we make the District of Columbia truly “One City?”

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