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
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If you are in DC illegally, you are not entitled to any benefits.
There are people who have made it past border patrol and think just because they got here they are entitled to live free. They keep coming because they know once they get here, DC will feed, clothe, house and educate them. We have to change our immigration policies.
27 votes -
We must diversify the local economy and bridge skill gaps between our available workforce and the jobs available
We need to offer incentives for companies that are not government-centric or related to the federal government to set up shop in the District. We need to target emerging industries and also traditional manufacturing. We must create partnerships with those companies, local educators and workforce development entities to train the workforce to take these jobs.
10 votes -
16 votes
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Do not close DCPS schools in our nieghborhood.
Keep DC schools open.
33 votes -
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 -
Keep all libraries open maximum number of hours!
Sundays are when kids do their homework assignments, special projects, research, etc. And that's when adults can search for better jobs.
32 votes -
My idea is that there be established programs of Motivation that are geared to creating higher esteem in all of district residents.
Throughout the city, there are group discussions able to be attended by all people with the common idea of this is a place where you can feel the motivational speakers messages and affirmations to inspire yourself to explore avenues capable of helping you to achieve greatness within yourself, thus the individuals become an active part of the continued development of the community and their own futures.
7 votes -
Ideas to spur Indigenous Small Businesses...
DC is a metropolitan City, yet the diversity it brings should be helping to nurture some international business profiles whether in the supply side or in the demand side... Such feature needs to be considered when envisaging support to Small businesses... The best approach to Small business then would be a network approach instead of a single lane kind of approach...
2 votes -
Improve parking so that residents will spend their dollars in the city.
Better signage at meters, longer parking (more than two hours), reduced rates for residents in shopping areas and more parking spaces. Shopping in MD and VA is a very enjoyable experience because parking is inexpensive/free and plentiful.
26 votes -
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 -
9 votes
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Create a city-wide movement for federal representation
In the latest census Washington, DC increased their resident base to near 600,000 people. This is more than the entire state population of Wyoming, who gets 2 senators and 1 representative. And yet, DC residents fall in the Constitutional black hole where they are federally taxed but get no representation on the federal level. Some could argue that DC voting rights is one of the oldest civil rights issues to date and lack of substantive change comes from poor leadership and lack of public will to make these changes. To make DC truly "One City" I would like to see…
23 votes -
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 -
Restructure taxes and fees for jobs, affordable housing & smart growth.
Without losing revenues, taxes & fees can be restructured to promote job creation, affordable housing, transportation efficiency and smart growth. Performance-based parking pricing is one approach. Transforming the property tax into a value-capture user fee is another approach.
32 votes -
Use a Wisdom Council (www.WiseDemocracy.org) to create one whole-city conversation that is creative and collaborative
Every 4 months 12 citizens are randomly selected from the voter roles to meet for just 2 days. They are dynamically facilitated to determine unanimous perspectives on the most important issues, which they present in a public gathering . In practice, especially in cities of Austria, this presentation sparks a creative, collaborative conversation on those issues and breakthrough progress. See www.WiseDemocracy.org.
11 votes -
7 votes
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9 votes
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Have a "One City Summit" that brings a wide range of DC residents together every single year.
This seems like a great way to start bridging the divides and generate public policies that reflect the public's priorities. The city should institutionalize this process and make it a regular event, putting one on every year or maybe every other year (no matter who the mayor is).
25 votes