Questionnaires

The 2030 Group is an organization formed to focus business, civic and elected leaders on issues of regional cooperation across the Washington Metropolitan area. As you know, your positions on long range planning for housing, transportation, education, workforce and environmental issues are very important to not only your direct constituents, but those throughout the region.

Here are my responses to the the 2010 DC Council Election Guide on Issues Affecting Women and Girls

To find the answers of other candidates, such as Vince Gray, please go to http://www.wowonline.org/ourprograms/dc/policy_advocacy/agenda.asp and download the 2010 DC Council Election Guide on Issues Affecting Women and Girls

David Schwartzman, DC City Council At-Large Candidate, DC Statehood Green Party

Health Care

David Schwartzman, At-Large City Council Candidate, DC Statehood Green Party
www.davidschwartzman.com

1. If elected, what will you do to ensure that surplus school buildings are made available to all the public charter schools that need them before offering the buildings to D.C. government agencies, developers, or others?

I opposed the closing of neighborhood schools which has created overcrowding in DCPS and hardship for low income families who cannot afford the cost of transporting their children to school as evident by recent reports on the higher numbers of student absences. Therefore I support the reopening of most of the "surplus" school buildings, offering wrap-around services to families in need. Schools whether public or charter should have access to surplus schools, but public neighborhood schools must have priority over any other use.

Sponsored by Empower DC, DC We the People, Protect McMillan Park, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, and DC Open Government Coalition

All registered candidates for the DC Council Chair and At-Large seats are invited to complete this survey. The survey seeks to educate voters about the candidates’ positions on a number of opportunities to make DC government more accountable, open, and responsive to DC residents. The completed surveys will be posted on sponsors’ websites and distributed widely to voters.

Government Responsiveness, Openness & Integrity

1. A recent audit showed that many DC government agencies failed to comply consistently with FOIA requests. Do you support or oppose amending the District’s Freedom of Information Act to strengthen the law and limit the exemptions, such as the Open Government Act of 2010 (Bill 18-077)? Please explain.

1. The District spends $2.2B in healthcare annually, and despite a relatively low uninsured population at 10%, a 2008 Rand report commissioned by the D.C. government showed that one in five district residents has no regular source of healthcare and turns frequently to expensive and unnecessary hospital visits. What solutions do you recommend to insure that health care meets the needs of District residents efficiently and effectively?

Robust studies demonstrate that bad health is strongly linked to income inequality (see documentation at: http://www.statehood4dc.com/schwartzman/dcincomeinequalityhealth). Hence poverty must be eliminated in our community, starting with child poverty. The 30% poverty rate of DC children is a shocking reality, yet our Mayor and the Council have yet to effectively confront this human rights violation against our children. Here’s a start: lets create green jobs for our unemployed, especially our youth with apprenticeship programs in our high schools and community.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

1. Will you oppose any effort to hold an initiative in the District that would take away the civil marriage rights now enjoyed by same-sex couples, and publicly campaign for marriage equality in the event such an initiative is held?

Yes, the human rights of a minority should never be put up for referendum!
This point is the essence of the historic opinion of U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker which overturned Prop 8, a tremendous victory for human rights.

Sponsored by DC Lawyers for Youth (DCLY) and DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA)

Part 1: “An Ounce of Prevention…”
Question 1

Investing early in our youth will make it less likely that they will get arrested. This is the best outcome for our youth and all the system’s stakeholders. Lowering arrest rates will reduce the volume that the courts and social services have to process, freeing up resources and enabling our courts and social service programs to focus on those youth most in need. Communities with varied and viable options for youth in their free time are more stable and see less juvenile crime. Currently, D.C. does not have any guaranteed, dedicated funding for out-of-school time programs. What, if anything, would you do to ensure that the District invests funding in organizations and programs that provide youth with positive outlets after and out of school?

1.BACKGROUND: A bill before the Council requires that meetings of “public bodies” be open to the public when there is “any gathering of a quorum of the members.”

QUESTION: Is that the correct threshold? If you do not think it is, what threshold do you suggest? Please explain the reason for your position.
My answer: This question is somewhat ambiguous. A quorum for City Council meetings is 7 (9 for emergency action). Very commonly public hearings are held with only one or two Councilmembers present. If the bill referred to in this question is designed to close off such meetings then it represents a huge step backwards, making our legislative process even more opaque than it is now. So-called breakfast meetings should be open to public observation even if only two Councilmembers are present.

David Schwartzman’s questionnaire 1) Please provide the following biographical information:

Age 66 Occupation Professor, Howard University Education BS, City College of New York; MS and PhD, geochemistry, Brown University Qualifications for the office you seek DC resident since 1976. My civic activities and elected offices include: Nuclear freeze, Bottle Bill initiatives; Justice for Janitors, Local 25 campaigns; Coalition for Lead Control; Fair Taxes for DC and Tax & Budget and Legislative Agenda Coordinator, DC Statehood Green Party; DC Metro Science for the People; Fair Budget and Poverty Reduction Coalitions; Take Back DC; DC Human Rights People's Movement, SC; DCSGP National Delegate (2008, 2010), Local Station Board, WPFW (2010-2012). Your response to each of the four questions below must be 300 words or less.

Name: David Schwartzman Position You are Running for: At-Large City Council Home Town: I have lived in Washington DC since 1976, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. I have been on the Howard University faculty since 1973. Age: 66 (but a very vigorous “senior citizen” who runs 4 hours a week; I will challenge my opponents, just as in 2008, to a race for DC Statehood and Human Rights from Adams Morgan to Anacostia). Previous/ Current Position(s) Held: None in DC Government DC Statehood; Green National Delegate (2008, 2010); Local Station Board, WPFW (2010-2012), International Committee, Green Party of the United States (since 2004). High School Attended: Stuyvesant H.S. (Manhattan) College(s) Attended: City College of NY (BS, 1964); Brown University (MS, 1966; PhD, 1971).