Updated: Nov. 12, 2022 at 11:03 a.m.
Voters decided their neighborhood’s representatives for the next two years in Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission elections Tuesday night, with unofficial results from the D.C. Board of Elections reporting winning candidates in seven races while ballots continue to be counted Wednesday night.
Incumbent Yannik Omictin seems to have secured the 2A01 seat for a second term against challenger Susana Baranano and Jordan Nassar secured victory in the 2A08 single-member district. A DCBOE official said Wednesday morning that some D.C. ballots are still being counted and official election results will be released next Tuesday, but given the smaller voting pool, some candidates have declared victories already. Read more about the races below.
Incumbent Yannik Omictin defeats fellow alum with 70 percent of the vote
Incumbent Commissioner Yannik Omictin appears to have clinched the 2A01 seat with about 70 percent of the vote in the ANC election Tuesday night according to the D.C. Board of Elections, likely defeating his opponent Susana Baranano, a GW alumna and paralegal who brought in about 25 percent of the vote. Omictin, who won with a tally of 59 votes, announced his own victory Tuesday night, tweeting that it looks “likely” he secured the 2A01 seat and thanking his colleagues and mentors for their help during his reelection campaign.
“Now to a new crop of Commissioners in ANC2A, a group of people with whom we can truly dream big about the future of our neighborhood, with whom we can get our ANC affairs in order and aspire to be a model for the city,” Omictin said in the tweet. “Let’s get to work.”
Omictin graduated from GW in 2021 and has represented the southern end of Foggy Bottom, including Mitchell and Thurston halls and apartment buildings like The York and the Statesman on the ANC for the last two years. Baranano, a GW grad with two degrees from 1979 and 1993, lost the election for 2A01 commissioner for the second time, collecting 25 votes, after being defeated in the race for the same seat 24 years ago in 1998.
Omictin said in September he will prioritize ending homelessness and improving transportation in 2A01 during his next two years on the ANC. He said he also wants D.C. officials to offer housing voucher accommodations and equitable income opportunities to unhoused people in the E Street encampment.
Omictin also said he wants to wrap up long-term projects that the commission couldn’t complete within the 10 meetings of his first term, like expanding neighborhood transportation via bike lane implementation and in the future, closing H Street to motorized vehicles.
“It would be an honor to continue serving everyone in Foggy Bottom and standing up for our most vulnerable neighbors,” Omictin said in a text Sunday. “Having served one term, I’m ready to hit the ground running on a number of projects.”
Baranano, his challenger, lost the race with just under 30 percent of the vote and a tally of 25 votes. She earned two master’s degrees from GW in 1979 and 1993, and said in a September interview that if elected, she would draft a bill of rights into the ANC outlining the constituency’s priorities of stronger traffic safety and neighborhood outreach.
“I mean we all live in the same neighborhood, we cross the same streets, we eat at pretty much the same places,” Baranano said.
D.C. resident Jordan Nassar clinches the 2A08 seat after running unopposed
Originally from Texas, resident Nassar won the 2A08 seat with more than 96 percent of the vote and 111 votes tallied after running unopposed. He will cover the area covering District House, Lafayette Hall, Western Market and 2100 Penn, and said he hopes to bridge the gap between students and the neighboring Foggy Bottom and West End community.
6A06 Commissioner Robb Dooling announced Nassar’s and his own victory Wednesday afternoon, tweeting a selfie with the ANC newcomer and congratulating him on the win. Dooling also thanked constituents in his own district for electing him for a third term.
“DC has two Deaf elected officials starting in January 2023!” Dooling said in the tweet. “Congratulations and hands waving to Jordan Nassar!”
Nassar said in an email Wednesday night he accepted his victory after receiving numerous congratulatory messages from ANC commissioners and constituents and that he “appreciates” the ballot counting process in its entirety despite the delayed official results.
Nassar said he plans to control the rat population that makes basic nightly activities uncomfortable during his first term on the ANC and wants to push for a greater student involvement in the local governing body, which he said would be an “asset” to the commission.
“The win seems and feels unreal, but it is one that I inspires me to make it deserving for the rest of my upcoming two-year term for everyone,” Nassar said in an email Wednesday night.
This post has been updated to correct the following:
The Hatchet misspelled Dooling’s last name in an earlier version of this post. The correct spelling is now reflected. We regret this error.
