So let's uh begin with Mr.

Thorpe.

It's nice to see you, and good morning.

Good morning.

Can you hear me?

No, because your microphone is not on.

It's on now?

Yes, actually, I can hear you before, but nobody else.

Before I uh good morning, uh, Mr.

Chairman.

Um, before I begin my testimony, let me just say uh heartfelt thank you uh to your staff, Evans uh for facilitating me.

And also over the years, I think you have the best staff in the Johnny Wilson building.

Every time I call your office with uh issue, it gets resolved.

So I want to uh basically thank your staff for for really representing you very well.

I'm glad to hear that.

Um we're not always able to help in folks call, but we should be responsive, so thank you for that.

I wish my Ward II Councilwoman Brooke Pentu could be as efficient as your staff is.

Good morning, Mr.

Chairman.

My name is Ahaj Monty Leo J.

Thorpe Jr., former Shaw ANC Commissioner, and current president of the Show East Central Civic Association, co-founder of uh and chairman of uh Coke Red Hat's Patrol.

I met Anthony Hood decades ago when I worked in Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly's administration when I ran her community patrol support office out of her constituent service office at the Reese Building on 14th Street Northwest.

Anthony Hood was one of the leaders of the many volunteer red hats, orange hats, red green hats, white hats, and yellow hat patrols fighting crime and drugs in the city at that time, which I had supported them with wonky talkies and other uh type of equipment uh through the Sharon Pratt Kelly administration uh community support office.

Anthony Hood is a role model for black men in DC public service.

He is a heterosexual married man with a family.

He has uh he is a man of his faith.

He has high moral morals, norms, and values that are testimony to his African heritage.

In essence, Anthony affectionately, based on the movie and published book, The Spook That Sat by the Door.

He assimilated to a white only appointed role as chairman of the District of Columbia Zoning Commission, mastered its craft after decades of appointments from former and current mayors, and never did Hood banish his connections, love service to black people in the District of Columbia while dealing justly with white businesses' interest in white citizens in his role as chairman of the DC zoning commission.

I can't say that about contemporary black sellout DC public officials that prior to his other interests and simultaneously ignores black interests to remain in power until they are out of office and must face the wrath of black residents.

I mean, I really mean what I'm saying about Anthony Hood.

Um you're looking at a Southern city, which is liberal.

Recompetent blacks have to work very, very hard while a lot of liberal whites gets a pass.

Uh Hood has maintained uh a very ethical approach in his role as chairman of the zoning commission, allowing all to have a voice at the table when he has a hearing.

Those that are opposing or those that are pro for whatever issues uh that are behind before the uh commission.

So again, uh Mr.

Chairman, um I thank you for allowing me to testify.

This is good to see you.

You and I have been uh friends for decades, and uh always appreciate you.

Thank you.

Uh thank you for your testimony.

I believe Ethanat Sagay is not here.

Uh William Jordan, good morning.

Uh I urge Chairman Hood to voluntarily withdraw his name from consideration, and instead start an entity dedicated to helping DC's few remaining black families, communities, and institutions survive and navigate the city's current company rewrite.

Chairman Hood has given 25 plus years on the zoning commission and has a unique perspective on the use of zoning regulations, public-private partnerships, tax policies, and et cetera, to disrupt and displace the city's black families and institutions in the name of progress at a rate not seen since the 1950s, 60 Southwest urban Negro removal, and maybe the internal slave trade trailer tears era.

Conservatively speaking, over the last 20 years, during Chairman Hoo's tenure, my War I community has seen over 50% of its black population displaced, going from around 34,000 to about 18,000.

Over 14,000 people displaced, according to census data.

This loss is more dramatic given that approximately 75% of the world's black population lived east of 16th Street in the eastern half of the ward.

The eastern half is where most of the zoning actions, mainly via PUDs, city-led private partnerships were concentrated in the ward.

This historic loss of population without the achievement of promised benefits is in large part due to the liberal abuse of the Zoning Commission PUD process, abuses which includes reneging on community benefits agreements around affordable housing and community benefits, effectively engaging in money laundering via public subsidies to support luxury projects, to limit the rights, especially of those black families to give serve their interests, land banking and speculation, and a cover for the use of government power and corruption.

While many voting cases exemplify this abuse of war, I'll point to three.

The first is 07-02, the Highland Park Donatelli development cases, the 1611, 1612, Park Morton, Bruce Monroe cases, in the 610, the 10th, 26, Zuckerman Garley, Georgia Avenue cases.

In all of those cases, you can find abuse of power, land speculation, the leveraging of government entities to do this.

As well, I want to call to the what I see as a poor implementation and understanding of racial equity as it is implemented by the Commission.

Again, I thank Chairman Hood for his services, and as I said to him, I want to win him over from the dark side to our side to fight as we move forward.

Otherwise, soon there will be very little black population.

And it's an example of this is the emergency youth curfew zones.

If we're that desperate, then something is seriously wrong.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.