Responses: Sekou Biddle

1.You are elected to the DC Council. Will you be a full-time councilmember and not take any outside employment?

Yes, but I can not ignore my responsibilities to the education non-profit where I have served as executive director for nearly four years. If elected, I will work with them to ensure there is a timeline for a change in leadership and then step down from my position with the organization.

2. Will you introduce legislation establishing an independent Office on Ethics that would vet hires and oversee both the executive and legislative branches of DC government?

I would consider legislation that would establish an independent DC Accountability Office, modeled after the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that would be comprised of the following independent agencies: Office of the DC Auditor, Office of the Inspector General, Office of the CFO, Office of Campaign Finance. I believe the office should also work closely with the new elected Attorney General. I believe that combining these offices would provide the authority and staffing needed to ensure that standards of ethics are properly overseen by an independent entity.

3. You have been named chairman of the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment. Name three initiatives you would introduce to improve oversight of DC government.

• Currently council oversight hearings on recommendations for the previous budget only occur once a year in February. These are reactive hearings focused on preparing for the March series of budget hearings. I would take a proactive approach to oversight and conduct quarterly hearings on overseeing the changes that are needed within our city operations and agencies.
• When I was appointed to Chair the Special Committee on School Safety and Truancy, I arranged for 3 volunteer law students and two non-profit agency volunteers to help the Committee in researching best practices related to school safety and truancy remediation. As Chair of the Government Operations Committee, I would meet with the leadership of our universities to establish a volunteer program to include students in helping the Council to increase capacity to better prepare for oversight hearings and prepare white papers on policy issues.
• The open meeting laws must be updated to require independent boards and commissions to minimize issues discussed in executive session. Some of the most important discussions and decisions take place behind closed doors including hearings about campaign finance violations at the Office of Campaign Finance and critical elections board decisions at the Board of Elections and Ethics.

4. Do you support Wal-Mart opening stores in the District? How will you vote on legislation recently reintroduced in the DC Council that requires stores larger than 75,000 square feet to pay a living wage?

The District is hemorrhaging jobs. In these trying economic times, I am committed to bring jobs to my hometown. But when I say jobs, I don't just mean a paycheck, I mean a paycheck with dignity. I welcome all employers to Washington, DC, and tell them that our talented workforce is ready to work, for the benefits they deserve. I urge Wal-Mart to work with the communities around agreements that include both fair wage and healthcare benefits. These are not items that the District government should be underwriting.

5. DC contributes a sizable taxpayer-funded subsidy to Metro, and many residents depend on Metro for transportation. What role should the DC Council play in shaping Metro policies, such as the bag search policy?

The subsidy that the District pays to Metro was part of a management agreement among the jurisdictions served by Metro.  Each jurisdiction appoints representative to the METRO Board. The role of the representatives is to reflect the policies of the jurisdiction at Metro meetings. That being the case, the role of the Council is not to micromanage Metro but to ensure that our representatives reflect our interest when serving on the Metro Board. Councilmember Wells is the Council’s current representative and I am pleased with his performance on the board.

The recent violent events on Metro have shown that the size of the Metro police force should either be increased or supplemented with police departments throughout the jurisdictions served by Metro.

6. Do you agree with DC’s current income tax structure? Check Yes or No. If No, how would you change it? YES

7. Do you agree with DC’s push to build a streetcar network? Check Yes or No. Explain your answer. YES

I agree with DC's push to build a streetcar network for multiple reasons:

• We had a streetcar system in operation when the District had 800,000 residents and it served our city well. As the population increases the growth of a new streetcar system will help us to meet the transportation needs that will result from our population growth. 
• I am in favor of DC and federal workers having multiple public transportation options to get to work everyday. 
• In terms of the H Street corridor, it will attract more people to the businesses already located on H Street and attract an estimated $5 - 8 billion more in development over the next 10 years. 
• The streetcar system will have an environmental impact on neighborhoods and add its part to having more livable, walkable neighborhoods.

8. DC is facing a $320 million budget shortfall. Name three cuts you would make, the amount, and why.

Prior to making any additional reductions in the FY 2012 budget, I would focus on improving collections operations, per recent legislation introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh, in order to ensure that the District maximizes all possible sources of revenue; this could result in an additional $100 million in uncollected taxes and fines.

With the passage of the SOAR Act, DCPS and DC Charter Schools each will receive an additional $20 million in federal funding for FY 2012. I would propose redirecting local appropriates in the same amount. We would then have $40 million to restore reductions in the Human Services and Public Safety budgets.

DC agencies should also be required to justify not only any increases in their annual budget, but also in order to maintain their existing budget year over year. Agency directors need to be pressed to find efficiencies through serious examination of existing resources. The assumption should not be that the government continues to grow.

9. You win office. How will you use your tickets to Verizon Center and Nationals Park?

I have to admit that tickets will not necessarily be my first priority. I currently provide tickets to principals as rewards for students with excellent attendance. I also provide tickets to my UDC Law interns who have worked on my special Committee on Truancy and School Safety.

10. What are your top three legislative priorities to make D C a more sustainable, energy-efficient city?

• Reduction in the number of vehicles in the government fleet and expansion of utilization of the Capital Bikeshare Program and Zipcar for government employee use. 
• Recover our natural canopy by adding green roofs to government buildings and also increasing the amount of trees that are planted in the city.
• Require the District government to enter into a carbon credits exchange program to help reduce the city's carbon footprint.

FINAL QUESTION: Are you a progressive? Please give us your personal definition of progressive politics.

Yes. I am a supporter of finding solutions to major social problems through a forward-looking, socially evolving political agenda for everyone, especially as it relates to groups who have historically not had a seat at the table.