November 9 Mayoral Forum Audience Questions to the Candidates

*The questions below were taken verbatim from audience members. They do not represent or reflect the views of the D.C. Bar. The questions were edited only for purposes of grammar usage and consistency of style.

Questions to all Candidates

Baseball

1. The overwhelming majority of those who analyzed the terms of the baseball deal have termed it a “bad deal.” How would you “correct” the deal?

2. Do you think the new owner of the baseball team should assume some costs for stadium construction?

3. Should the new owner of the D.C. Nationals pay for some of the cost of the stadium

4. Will you insist that the new owner of the baseball team pay for the cost overruns associated with building the new stadium for the Nationals?

5. Should cost overruns for the construction of the new baseball stadium be assumed by the new owner of the team?

6. Taking into consideration cost overruns, should the new D.C. Nationals owner pay for some of the cost of the stadium?

7. Should the owner of the Nationals pay some of the costs to build the new baseball stadium?

8. Should the new owner of he D.C. Nationals pay for some of the cost of the stadium?

9. What is your opinion on the stadium financial deal?

10. How would you propose financing the stadium for the Nationals baseball team?

11. What argument do you have that justifies building a private baseball stadium with public funds when we already have a functioning, well-situated stadium—RFK with metro and parking?

12. Could it be Mr. DeAngelos in Baltimore doesn’t want a stadium too close to Camden Yards?

13. Why should tax-paying dollars go towards financing a baseball stadium when the educational system here in the District is in a shambles?

14. The need for money for schools, money for job training and other important needs of the people of D.C. Why spend HALF A BILLION DOLLARS for a new baseball stadium? (Andrew Sullivan)

15. With the baseball stadium planned for Southeast Waterfront how do you plan to encourage local owned business development not the big chains i.e.: Benetton, Fuddruckers and Radio Shack that loom large over the MCI Center and Chinatown?

Budget and Tax Police

1. What economic infrastructure do you support to reduce the District, as well as the country’s, budget deficit without eliminating social programs designed to minimize poverty and increase education?

2. There have been a number of comments regarding the budget surplus. When there are so many needs for public funding in D.C., why are these funds being unspent? Education has been a primary issue for each candidate, how would you propose using these surpluses to improve school infrastructure and classroom education of students and ensuring that funds are properly executed by the Board of Education and other influencing entities?

3. How will you address the increasing property taxes in the District? Will you ensure residents are able to afford to stay in D.C.? (Nikki, Ward 4)

4. If Congress gave us a 1% wage tax, would you take or give it back based on home rule?

Business and LSDBE Regulations

1. What will you do as Mayor to stimulate small business, lift the vending license moratorium and native Washingtonian benefit in the city’s growth?

2. Why does Fort Myers Construction have so many contracts with the D.C. Government? Break the cycle.

3. For the last 5-7 years, D.C. has been undergoing an economic development boom, yet the city’s working class and poor have benefited very little, especially the city’s LSDBE program. For instance, the city spent $2.2 billion last year, yet only $74 million went to LSDBE programs. What will each Mayoral candidate do to protect and insure fair economic participation of LSDBE programs?

4. Do you believe it is important to promote the development and growth of minority owned businesses in D.C.? If so, what specific steps would you take toward this end?

5. The proposed smoke free law gives the mayor the ability to grant waivers to allow smoking in certain establishments. How often do you think you’d use this?

Child and Youth Services

1. Will you do your part to fully fund the D.C. Youth Advisory Council that right now is not funded at all?

2. What are the candidates’ plans to address the problem of juvenile violence in the District and to reach out to juvenile offenders and their families?

3. What will you do about children sleeping in offices and underneath social workers desks at CFSA?

4. How will you change the unstable senior management team and administrators at CFSSA? The agency will never stabilize as it is now!

Consumer and Regulatory Affairs

1. With economic development comes both positives and negatives. What is your plan to address the negatives:
--loitering?
--out-of-District tags parked in residential neighborhoods?
--trash?
--run down establishments (insufficient start-up funds)?
--liquor licenses given in neighborhoods slated as both residential and business for multiple establishments?
--establishments that front for other illegal activities?

Crime and Corrections

1. D.C. has gone out of its way to attract high-income residents. We require very few if any city services and pay some of the highest tax rates in the country but what are we getting for our money? We are not even safe in our own neighborhoods. What will you do for us?

2. How would you address the increase in crime? The number of criminals that are let out of jail to commit crimes again? Especially juveniles and crimes committed by the homeless.

3. This question comes from representatives of the Younger Women’s Task Force and FAIR Fund. As young women, many of us have had experiences of unsafety and have been threatened on both cabs and metros in D.C. As Mayor, what would you do to address safety concerns of women riding D.C. public transportation and cabs?

4. The D.C. Jail is dangerously overcrowded. Mayor Williams has for 18 months refused to comply with the D.C. Jail Improvements Act of 2003 and set a population cap. Will you continue Mayor Williams’ illegal position? If not, how will you reduce overcrowding in D.C. Jail facilities? (Philip Fornaci, D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project)

5. Will you see that all laws are enforced especially illegal immigration. That is the single greatest problems for D.C. citizens.

6. The fiber of the family has been torn apart due to the crack/drug epidemic. What will you do to rebuild families and get treatment for addicts instead of jail time?

7. Mayor Williams has recently been sued over non-compliance with the D.C. Jail Improvement Act of 2003, which established a population cap on the number of inmates at the jail. How will you bring D.C. into full compliance with the Act and as Mayor, what alternatives are you willing to use to address social problems besides simply locking up the poor, the mentally ill, and the people of color of the city?

8. Can you tell us what you will do to improve the protection of the family planning and abortion clinics in the District?

Economic Development

1. How fair is eminent domain? (Dale Lyons)

2. How can we protect our neighborhoods in the face of the demands of economic development? Can older neighborhoods survive?

3. Eminent domain is a major concern. What will the new mayor do to protect the family history of ones home?

4. What will you do about gentrification in Eastern Market?

5. I’m all for economic development but what incentive is there for me to stay in the District when I’m being priced out of the market as a moderate income resident?

6. Do you have any plans for the 113 acres that occupy Walter Reed now that BRAC is closing it?

7. How would you restructure NCRC and/AWC (if at all)?

8. Will you support communities over predatory developers? How so?

9. What is the status of the development on Georgia Avenue? What businesses are you negotiating with to bring services to the community? How will existing citizens be included?

10. Do you support the goal of retaining and increasing the number of people living in the city? How will you do this?

11. Development issues in upper Northwest D.C. have been very controversial, with many existing residents strenuously objecting to proposals to permit dense and tall buildings along upper Wisconsin Avenue and adding thousands of new residents there. Our roads are already clogged with traffic, we cannot park near our homes, our public schools are overcrowded, we lack adequate fire and EMS protections, ad we lack parks and green space. If elected, will you commit to scraping these development plans and working cooperatively with our ANC’s to arrive at a new plan that would even consider down zoning? (David P. Frankel)

12. Similarly, will you make the same commitment with respect to the proposed revisions to the Comprehensive Plan?

Education

1. Are any of the candidates prepared to share with this assembly a practical concept, (not campaign idealism), on how to force some accountability and execution of DCPS capital improvements? There is always programming but no substantive change in the state of DCPS.

2. My question is what will new mayoral candidates do about the frequent hiring freezes that occur in D.C. public schools? I am a substitute teacher and I find it hard to obtain steady work. (Anita Stewart)

3. In regards to Effective Youth Development: Can you in definitive terms articulate the methods and approach you plan to take to improve the life outcomes of our youth. Specifically what will you do to improve district families and improve the educational capacity of our public schools ensuring that our youth have more to look forward to than prison, death, and unemployment and or underemployment?

4. Many of you have suggested increasing spending for our schools. Isn’t it true that D.C. spends the most per student in the country? Is that suggestion just “throwing money at the problem.” How would you improve the schools without wasting money?

5. Name and discuss one substantive initiative for improving our educational system in the District. What is the role of government in working with parents to accomplish this end?

6. What is your position on full funding for DCPS?

7. What specifically will you do to improve the D.C. Public School System?

8. What do you propose to do about Emery Elementary School’s problem of being physically attached to a facility that houses 175 homeless men?

9. With 25% of our children being educated in public charter schools, how do you respond to the traditional public school’s position that charter schools take money away from traditional public schools? What specific actions need to be taken?

10. If you close 70 schools, what will happen to the cafeteria workers and custodians, engineers who put the children first to see that the school was clean, warm and food prepared to eat?

11. D.C. Public Schools did not prepare me for the real world, as Mayor of D.C. what guarantee do you have that will give my children a better chance at life than you offered me?

12. How much income could be produced from renting vacant space in schools?

13. What will you do to reduce the amount of drug use in schools?

14. Everyone says they will improve the DCPS System. We hear it every election cycle. What will you do to avoid continuing doing business as usual as it relates to improving our schools. We need new results.

15. When is the last time you walked the hallway of one of our city schools? What did you see? How would you change this picture?

16. In many ways the Mayor has a very limited role in operating or improving our schools. In fact, it is only through the Mayor’s appointed Board of Education members that he/she has some influence. If the moves to an all-elected board, how then will you really be able to impact public education?

17. I work for a charter school in the District. Enrollment is always high however, we have to turn students away. How do you plan on encouraging the growth of charter schools?

18. What will you do to rebuild higher education in the District? UDC’s budget is less than 10 years ago, and enrollment has declined from 10,000 in 1995 to 5,000 today.

19. Do you feel the need to keep UDC and if not what will you do to get it back to 14,000 students?

20. As a native Washingtonian and a student at UDC, I find the university incredibly underserviced. How would you attempt to right this wrong? Could UDC become comparable to U of Md. or Howard?

21. If you are Mayor, will you provide internship opportunities to the international students? Why or why not? (International student at UDC)

22. Since this is an institute that carry’s the District’s name, what future plans do you have for the school? Also, what future grants and funds are in your plans for UDC’s development? We are a school without dorms and a football team but we are the institute of D.C. Do you believe in the students here and do you have our best interest at heart?

23. Being that you are on UDC’s campus, what plans will you enact to support and improve the University of the District of Columbia?

24. If you are elected mayor, would you threaten UDC as Tony Williams did? Would you try to move UDC to Anacostia?

25. Knowledge is one of the leading products of the District’s second largest employer base—colleges and universities. Yet, compared to national statistics, in its low-income communities the District has among the highest percentage of adult illiteracy and lowest college graduation rates in the country in a city where 40 percent of the jobs require a college degree. How does your platform intend to address the problem of access to higher education for students whose needs are not totally met by the D.C. TAG program and how specifically would you put the knowledge base of the District’s college and universities to work in crafting solutions to the District’s problems?

Labor, Employment and Jobs

1. Our organization, Local 22 (professional stagehands) have represented workers in the District since 1896:
--National Theatre
--Ford’s Theatre
--Washington Convention Center
--Warner Theatre
--Kennedy Center and Others
Would you support a partnership with a labor organization in providing District residents with good paying jobs, healthcare, and retirement benefits (specifically at the Lincoln Theatre)?
Local 22 I.A.T.S.E. provides this and an educational program.

2. The internet lists the District of Columbia as one of the top three places for new employment. Yet, we have one of the highest unemployment rates. How will you change this?

3. What is your vision for improving the quality of the workforce in D.C.?

4. Union employees negotiate raises for their members every year while nonunion and MSS employees have no such leverage. What are you planning to bring parity to this critical issue?

5. Will the new minimum hourly wage be applied to all D.C. employees including D.C. Council staff?

6. Do you support the living wage for D.C. and why or why not?

7. Will you end contracting out? (Shirley Massey, Access to Justice Commission & D.C. E.J.C./Injured Worker Advocates)

8. What will and are you going to do to fix D.C. Government Worker’s Compensation? (Shirley Massey, Access to Justice Commission & D.C. E.J.C./Injured Worker Advocates)

9. It has come to my attention that the new bus line “Downtown Connector” is not run by WMATA, but by a private company whose workers are not unionized. If elected, would you support contracting out public services to anti-union companies?

10. What is going to be done about allowing D.C. Public School teachers to retire with full benefits after 20 or 25 years of service just as the D.C. fire and D.C. police officers?

Environmental Issues

1. Do you know what day your recycling is picked up? Do you know what you can and cannot put in the bin?

2. Why do you think it is important to establish a Department of the Environment while we already have agencies performing duties related to the environment? Do you think that the funds that will be used for that could be better used for our dilapidated schools?

General Issues

1. What are the most pressing issues you see for the city and how will you address them?

2. What is your one favorite thing about D.C.?

2. What is your favorite place in D.C.?
--wilderness, open space
--building (Sierra Club of D.C. member)

3. I want to say thank you to my councilmembers. (Shelina Taylor)

4. What is the candidate’s position on public accountability and integrity? (Ernest and Patricia Hunter)

Government Operations

1. What will and are you going to do to make the Attorney General comply with and enforce all laws timely? Ethically?

2. Can you address the issue of improving frontline city customer service (i.e.: poor attitudes, communications skills, etc?) (Dr. Victor Vandell)

3. How do you propose to ensure accountability of the city services are being met when the key officials refuse to be accountable? Who are leading the city services? (alley paving, bulk pick-up)

4. As Mayor how would you address the fact there is no enforcement policy in this administration? What can you do to correct this problem?

Health Care

1. Will you support the Nov. 7 recommendations of the D.C. Task Force on Long Term Care?

2. Councilmember Catania has recently requested a comprehensive school health plan, and there is increased conversation regarding school health services and school-based health centers. As Mayor, will you continue to support these conversations and further the development of school-based health centers, as it has been proven that they increase access to primary and mental health care for children adolescents, and, if so, how will your administration provide support for these services? (Jennifer Guste-Leonard, Executive Director of the D.C. Assembly on School-Based Health Care)

3. Do you support medical liability reform? What would you recommend as a solution to this growing problem?

4. As a result of increasing malpractice fees, we are losing good doctors. What do you propose be done to retain the ones we have left and to attract new physicians who possess the cutting edge technology we need?

5. Is health care on your agenda?

Housing and Historic Preservation

1. There are many old and many abandoned, but still salvageable historic properties in
the District. (Example—Old Naval Hospital on Capitol Hill) What and how do you
plan to resurrect these properties?

2. Every one of you talked about affordable housing. Many of us make $15 K or less a
year. Affordable to many is $25 K or more. What kind of affordable housing can you promise me?

3. What do you want to do about rent control?

4. What are your plans for affordable housing fund? $53 million!

5. Please discuss the pros and cons of “gentrification” of the District and how you will ensure affordable housing?

6. Everyone up there has talked about making more affordable housing. What will you do about large gentrification movement that is moving long time D.C. residents out of the city?

Human Services and Homeless

1. What is your plan for D.C.’s homeless?

2. How will the candidate’s address the District’s homelessness problem in light of Mayor Anthony Williams’ 10 year plan to eliminate homelessness? Will the Mayor’s plan be carried out? Will the candidates make specific changes?

3. How were we able to give resources to New Orleans and not to those that are already here paying taxes?

4. Our senior citizens are facing increasing financial burdens including having to raise their grandchildren with limited income. What have you done to improve the finances of senior citizens who are raising their grandchildren?

Law Enforcement

1. How will the next mayor deal with and address police brutality?

Politics

1. D.C. is primarily a democratic District. As mayor, would you work with the new Council chair to encourage that mayor (standing committees) are chaired by Democrats?

2. Secondly, do you believe the committees should be chaired by Democrats which is representative of D.C.?

3. How can a citizen learn how to become a candidate for mayor?

4. Do you think the District should hold the first primary in the nation?

5. Campaigning requires a lot of time and effort. How will the elected officials already holding seats be effective in their current job while running for mayor?

Poverty

1. How poor does a resident have to be to get government assistance? I am a single mother of 2 and make a reasonable yearly salary, however, with a mortgage, utilities, etc. . ., $32,000 is not always enough. This being a known fact, I still can’t get financial assistance to add insult to injury I can’t get a dime of child support. What are the candidates take on this issue that not only affects me but many working single parents.

2. You are all concerned about bringing the middle class back to the city, but how will you make a place for low-income families, particularly those earning $25K or less, in terms of housing, education, and jobs?

3. How would you ensure that low income residents benefit from an increase in population and economic growth?

4. How will you see that low income and middle income residents will not have to leave the city?

Qualifications

1. What in your background qualifies you to run the city? Please be specific in your answer.

2. What makes you unique in your position and vision than the other candidates for mayor?

3. What is your greatest accomplishment on behalf of the citizens of the District of Columbia?

4. If you have children where did they attend school?

5. Are/were your children DCPS students? Why/why not?

6. For those candidates who presently have school-age children, do your children attend D.C. public schools? How do you support your child’s local school?

Race Relations

1. How about discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics in D.C.? What are you expecting to do about it? Blacks are living in huge poverty in this city and everyday is becoming a worse situation. (Silvia Nehama Ondo, Political Science major, UDC)

2. What will you do about the racial climate of the city to promote racial equality and inclusiveness? There is racial and economic friction here, how will you take D.C. into an era of unity?

3. What are your plans to integrate the Latino community into the D.C. community?

4. My city, Washington, D.C., is known as the Chocolate City because of its historically diverse population. How do you plan to maintain its diversity in the future with our new-found economic development?

5. First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you! Great job! What do you think about immigration in D.C.? Should illegal immigrants no matter the race have the same opportunities as citizens in D.C.? (Silvia Nehama Ondo, UDC student)

Statehood

1. Do you support D.C. statehood as a way to ensure full voting rights and control of our local money (budget autonomy)? Will you get arrested?

2. Would you support putting the words “No Taxation Without Representation on the D.C. flag?

3. Aside from voting representation, how else will you work to ensure that D.C. is controlled by local government and not Congress?

Transportation, Parking and Public Works

1. What about parking considering condos are being built on every block?

2. Can you explain why the parking tax has not been raised since the 1970’s? Since the tax is paid overwhelmingly by commuters, would you pledge tonight to use this tax to fix schools?

3. Will you repair D.C. streets?

4. Whitehurst Freeway? Your solutions.

5. 24-hour Metro?

6. Additional D.C. metro stations?

7. Meters in taxis?

Voting Rights

1. What do you plan to do to help our Congresswoman gain voting rights for the District?

2. What will you do as Mayor to support D.C. voting rights in Congress?

3. What is each candidate’s views on giving voting rights to non-citizens of the District of Columbia?

Ward 8

1. Where is Ward 8 in your plans for this city? (Ivan Ruth, SEIU)

2. What one thing will you do to motivate the citizens in Ward 8 to get involved in the political process of registering to vote, voting and holding elected officials accountable? (Mary Warner)

3. What will your plans be to improve the unemployment rate in Ward 8? (Commissioner Sapp, ANC 8A03)

WASA

1. Are you aware that in recent weeks WASA has lost several cases involving topics ranging from whistleblower protections to violating their own regulations and rules and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consequence? (Ernest and Patricia Hunter)

2. Do you feel that it is in the best interest for WASA to employ unlicensed professionals and inexperienced executives out of cronyism? (Ernest and Patricia Hunter)

3. Do you feel that enough oversight is being applied to D.C. WASA and if not what do you plan doing to address the inadequacies? (Ernest and Patricia Hunter)

Questions to Michael Brown

Education

1. What is your plan to provide youth with a quality education and a job?

2. This UDC has not been funded adequately since Walter Washington and Cleveland Denncind (?). This is a land grant statute school. Menell Act (?). There’s been no fight for matching funds against Department of Agriculture-Levy Act! Why not?

Housing

If you are not a teacher, lawyer, doctor or a firefighter, are you saying these row houses are not for people (citizens) other than professionals?

Qualifications

1. What do you think of the other candidates?

2. No one knows you in the communities; no governmental experience, and a lack of knowledge for city management to be mayor. How do you respond?

Questions to Linda Cropp

Budget

Why did you vote to move voted funds by residents from schools to the general fund?

Business Regulation

How can the small contractor continue to grant and repair houses without permits? If elected, are you going to stop this operation when you are elected?

Children and Youth

What is your plan to address the problems of children in schools, poor families and homeless situations including foster children?

Crime

Describe your plan for safety and security in this city.

Economic Development

You’ve mentioned leasing the air rights over public buildings, with the height restrictions on buildings in the District, isn’t this an absurd proposal? The income would be negligible at best.

Education

1. We know that vocational education is needed back in our schools to keep students from dropping out. Vocational education was in decline during your tenure as Board of Education President. Why did vocational education disappear?

2. You three (Orange and Fenty) have been on the City Council for a time. The infrastructure of our schools is terrible. Why haven’t you done anything?

3. This UDC has not been funded adequately since Walter Washington and Cleveland Denncind (?). This is a land grant statute school. Menell Act (?). There’s been no fight for matching funds against Department of Agriculture-Levy Act! Why not?

4. Our education system is in shambles, and it has occurred during your tenure. What are you going to do as mayor that you didn’t do as a council person?

Government Operations

1. You have agreed to and allowed out-sourcing of city services. This has cost more than the residents have gained. Why?

2. Transparency in government is not only necessary but you have attempted to have closed Council hearings. Why?

Police

You spoke earlier of your dedication and commitment to a better police department. However, a few years ago, I personally spoke with you and sent you detailed information of the improprieties and discriminatory practices within the department. You did absolutely nothing then. If elected as mayor, how can you assure that you would take action against a department whose practices have worsened!!?
Politics

You voted to overturn a citizens’ mandate to term limits. Now you claim to care what citizens think. What’s up with that?

Qualifications

1. You’ve been there for years, why now should anyone believe you can make a difference?

2. You tout your experience as a leader in this city as your primary qualification; but, during your tenure, the city has endured and sustained its disenfranchised status. Can residents really afford to continue with your kind of experience as a leader?

3. You are not visible and available to the community; rubber stamped everything with the mayor which left our students without proper funding for schools, housing and the poor. What happened to better control your contracting office in designating or making sure equal contracting to minorities? And why would you go along with charter schools since you were on the School Board?

Questions for Adrian Fenty

Business Regulation

How can the small contractor continue to grant and repair houses without permits? If elected, are you going to stop this operation when you are elected?

Crime

Describe your plan for safety and security in this city.

Economic Development

1. How specifically will you improve Georgia Avenue?

Education

1. You three (Orange and Cropp) have been on the City Council for a time. The infrastructure of our schools is terrible. Why haven’t you done anything?

4. Our education system is in shambles, and it has occurred during your tenure. What are you going to do as mayor that you didn’t do as a council person?

5. You have been the only candidate to speak out and for education in D.C. Please tell us what you plan to do as Mayor with regard to education.

6. What will you do to support D.C. public schools?

7. Name and discuss one substantive initiative for improving our educational system in the District. What is the role of government in working with parents to accomplish this end?

Government Operations

What will you do as mayor to increase the role and effectiveness of ANC Commissioners?

Housing

1. What will you do to stop gentrification of our neighborhoods which is hurting seniors and others on fixed income?

2. Please could you be specific about how you would go about addressing the affordable housing crisis in this city?

Legislation

1. What are you doing with the Grandparents Bill before our committee? How will you help these citizens?

2. You voted against the D.C. Emancipation Day amendments which made D.C. Emancipation Day a public holiday. How do you explain your vote to Washingtonians in general and the African Americans community in particular with a vote against a public holiday celebrating the freeing of slaves in Washington, D.C.?

Qualifications

1. In your last four years on the Council, what would you say has been your most significant citywide achievement?

2. You have been a strong Councilmember, but what qualifies you to be mayor?

Questions for Marie Johns
If the polls show that you cannot win, will you consider running for Chair of the Council?

Questions for Vincent Orange

Crime

What are your views on public safety and security?

Economic Development

You have a new town layout. What part of town is it? Are you aware of the new town’s layout at Sursum Corda? What are your views on it?

Education

1. You three (Fenty and Cropp) have been on the City Council for a time. The infrastructure of our schools is terrible. Why haven’t you done anything?

3. Our education system is in shambles, and it has occurred during your tenure. What are you going to do as mayor that you didn’t do as a council person?

4. The city’s school district budget is among the largest per capita student spending in this country, and still our children can’t read or write. Why do you think more money will change this?

5. Knowing the impact of the budget cuts years ago on UDC what would you do to see that this great university receive the adequate funding needed?

Government Operations

Why did you file a law suit against Linda Cropp?

Legislation

Mr. Orange, three bills that would help the working poor are stuck in your committee. Will you move the “Way to Work,” “Injured Worker,” and “Displaced Worker” bills out of your committee for a vote?

Politics

1. If the polls continue to show you in the single digits, will you drop out and run for the Ward 5 seat?

2. If the polls show that you cannot win, will you consider running for Chair of the Council?

Qualifications

1. People in Ward 5 state they are not satisfied with your performance as a councilmember because you are not visible or responsive to Ward 5. How do you respond?

2. As the Ward 5 councilman, what specific things have you personally done to improve the Trinidad Avenue neighborhood? Why have you not campaigned in Trinidad?

3. You were late to the forum and did not apologize or explain your late arrival. How do we know that you will be on time when it counts?