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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. Quality vocational programs for unemployed and underemployed residence.

    One could start in high school. Implementing quality vocational programs such as Heating/Cooling, Plumbing, Electrician, office assistance/clerical, retail, and a host of other vocations that will earn a living wage upon successful completion and job securement.

    18 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  2. Fill every rooftop in all eight wards with solar panels that create clean, sustainable electricity

    We can cut pollution, respiratory ailments, and pollution while also saving a bundle on electricity costs if we would only use the south-facing roofs and open spaces we have. There are 'power purchase agreements" that pay all the up-front costs, charge less than PEPCO rates for 5-7 years, then deed the panels and all future electricity (at least 20 years) to the property owner. The multiple benefits are almost too good to be true, but we can do it.

    17 votes
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  3. 17 votes
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  4. 17 votes
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  5. Introduce a Congestion Charge (ala London) to Reduce Traffic and Fund Public Transportation and Roads

    To reduce traffic and congestion in DC, introduce a daily congestion charge (similar to what London did) for all vehicles entering downtown DC (area to be defined). The charge would be captured electronically (think EZPass) and the proceeds used to fund public transportation initiatives (including roads) and cover the costs of administration. Vehicles that violate the zone will be ticketed, with repeat offenders subject to impoundment. Residents living with the defined area would be exempt from any fees.

    Taxis (regardless of origin - MD, VA, DC) would be exempt from charges and could pickup/drop off without limitation.

    This systems has…

    17 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  6. Citywide Participatory Budgeting

    Follow cities from Brazil to Canada, from Chicago to NYC, in giving residents a meaningful voice in how city funds are spent to improve neighborhoods. Participatory budgeting creates a process for involving neighborhoods where people come together and discuss local needs and then set priorities for how city funds should be allocated to benefit neighborhoods and the city as a whole. Neighborhood representatives from across the city then come together to agree on citywide priorities. This grassroots process ensures real economic democracy. No backroom deals.

    17 votes
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  7. Conduct a review of hiring decisions at OSSE and DCPS to ensure qualified DC Residents are given preferance.

    The mayor's office should monitor his policy of First Source by periodically reviewing the hiring practices/decisions of DC agencies in particular OSSE and DCPS. We must ensure that city contracts and jobs benefit DC residents first unless egancies can show there are no qualifed residents or contractors to perfom the job.

    16 votes
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  8. 16 votes
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  9. Organized senior programs with seniors as the overseeer of the programs

    I feel that if you put an senior in charge of a senior program , they can inter act with seniors better than a twenty or thirty year old individual. Twenty or thirty year old person doesn't know how it feel to grow old and have some twenty year old person telling them how they should feel about coming back in a working environment ,making them feel worthless. Thank You

    15 votes
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  10. 14 votes
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  11. Establish a DC Green Office and business incubator in each Ward where we can learn about the latest green products, services and policies.

    DC Green Offices could encourage competition among the District's Wards to implement the greenest businesses. DC Green Offices could focus on green businesses incubation and provide the latest information on green buildings, green roofs, energy conservation, weatherizing, renewable energy sources/providers, water resources, rain gardens, local food producers, urban agriculture, community gardens, brownfield reclamation, superfund site cleanups, low impact development, waste reduction/recycling, composting, watershed protection, parkland/watershed reclamation, sustainable transportation, sustainable investing, etc..

    DC Green Offices in every Ward could provide outreach on how to make DC more sustainable to District residents, workers and visitors through websites, lectures and special events for…

    13 votes
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  12. Levy a partial income tax on people who work in DC but do not live here. If NYC can do it, why can't we?

    Of course, I know the reason why is Congress, but the problem with one proposed alternative -- a toll -- is that it will catch tourists as well, while an income tax for people who work in the city but don't live here will give us a better chance of recovering some additional income for the maintenance of services, streets, etc., that these people use on a regular basis.

    12 votes
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  13. Incorporate cognitive development in the workforce/job-readiness/ training programs.

    I believe that soft skills training will help people become job-ready and get the hard skills needed to find and retain work. Creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking all rely on basic cognitive skills. These skills can be developed with the appropriate training, rehearsal and mediation. Soft skills also called people skills and are typically hard to observe, quantify and measure. Hard skills are typically easy to observe, quantify and measure. They are also easy to train, because most of the time the skill sets are brand new to the learner and no unlearning is involved. People skills/interpersonal skills are…

    12 votes
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  14. Hold followup listening and problem solving sessions to identify the barriers from the viewpoint of people who could help grow the economy..

    Hold listening and problem-solving sessions to identify barriers to achieving economic and educational objectives. There are things government can do to allow and encourage more capital investment to be made available for startup and online businesses to create more economic training opportunities and growth. Startups, small and disadvantaged businesses are held back and discouraged by things which can be changed or removed.

    11 votes
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  15. 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
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  16. Bring our incarcerated loved ones back from rural america BOP that are more than 50 miles away from their family!

    DC needs to stop being the funding source for BOP prisons being built to stimulate "Rural America". Our loved ones deserve to be within close proximity to their homes as all other incarcerated persons who reside in USA major cities and states.

    Our neighbors, loved ones and family members have too long been imprisoned and subject to BOP incarceration for LOCAL criminal offenses, most of which are non-violent in nature, simply because we are denied "Our Federal Tax Payer Voting Rights". They even send our most vulnerable Learning Disabled and Mentally Challenged loved ones that distance as well and families…

    11 votes
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  17. 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
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  18. Clean up the Litter!

    Bring back funding for the green team - create jobs and clean up the city. it's a mess!

    10 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  19. Clean up carry-outs in Ward 8

    There are too many dirty, unsanitary carry-outs in Ward 8. Where are the health inspectors? How do these vendors get to stay in our neighborhoods?

    10 votes
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  20. 10 votes
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How can we make the District of Columbia truly “One City?”

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