Jim Malec Elected ANC-2A Chair after Joel Causey Resigns the Office

Posted: May 16, 2023.

The leadership of our local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC-2A) took an unexpected turn last month, after Joel Causey resigned the office of chair on April 14, but did not resign from the Commission. He had held the post since March 2022.

There has been friction between Causey and some other commissioners that has hampered the work of the non-partisan and unpaid commission, which advises the District government on neighborhood matters in Foggy Bottom and the West End.

Commissioner Trupti Patel provided an example of the mood at the beginning of its April 19th meeting. "We have a crisis," she said. "We don't like each other, we don't talk to each other, and we don't trust each other."

In a special meeting on May 8, Jim Malec, who represents single-member district 2A02, where Francis Field is located, was elected the new chair, by a vote of 8-0.

“I want to thank you all for your support,” Malec said after the voting. “It’s a big responsibility, I’m going to do my best and try to make you guys proud.”

A first-term member of the Commission, Malec was elected to it in November 2022. His unanimous vote for chair this month was a sign that he may be able to do the neighborhood a real service and lead the commission in a more collegial and collaborative manner.

ANC-2A usually meets monthly, and will meet again on May 17 at the West End Library and virtually by Zoom. See its website, ANC2a.org, for details and the agenda. See also background article on this website on the Causey and Malec seats on ANC-2A as result of boundary redistricting due to 2010 census.