Last semester, Vox ran a handful of interviews with members of Georgetown’s local government, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. We’re breathing new life into “Better Know an ANC Commissioner” this Fall, and we’re expanding it to include other local politicos, too.

For this edition, Vox spoke with Jennifer Altemus (COL `88), the East Georgetown resident who succeeded Denise Cunningham as the President of the Citizens’ Association of Georgetown in May. CAG, along with the ANC, is going to try to exercise a strong hand in the formation of the University’s Ten Year Plan in the coming months, and can usually be found backing new noise and trash policies in Georgetown.

Below, Altemus tells us what CAG members want from University administrators and how her time at Georgetown as a student influences her understanding of town-gown issues.

As a private community group, what ability does CAG have to affect issues pertaining to the University and surrounding neighborhood?

I guess it really depends on what the issue is. We write letters, and we can protest liquor licenses. As far as Georgetown goes, and its upcoming Ten Year Plan, I think we do influence the Zoning Board. If we approve something, it makes it that much easier to pass. We will also be working very closely with the [Advisory Neighborhood Commission] on that, and they take our advice pretty seriously. We’ve already had a number of meetings on the [Ten Year Plan].

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In Georgetown’s local government, the people are represented as two separate yet equally important groups: the neighbors’ representatives, who investigate crime, and the student representative, who leave crushed beer cans on their lawns. These are their stories.

Two weeks ago, Vox brought you what we hope was an intriguing interview with ANC Commissioner Ron Lewis. This week, we’ve got Georgetown’s own Aaron Golds (COL `11) talking about GUTS buses, kegs, and the now-infamous saga of the Georgetown Apple Store. He’s represented University students since January, and his little blue kingdom is pictured above.

What do you think about the Old Georgetown Board’s decision to deny Apple a fourth time? Are you worried it will drive Apple to another neighborhood?

My hands are tied, because obviously, I voted to approve the Apple designs. I look forward to seeing what Apple comes up with for [the March ANC meeting]. They’re getting closer.

Apple has shown continued interest in the Georgetown location. They paid over $12 million for the location. I think that means they’ll stay where they are. They don’t want to just sit on that, especially in a recession.

What do you think about the fact that only one of the three architects on the Old Georgetown Board (Ann Lewis, wife of ANC’s Ron Lewis) is actually a Georgetown resident?

I’m OK with it. The architects there are very capable, very competent, they have a good familiarity and idea of Georgetown.

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This is the first of seven installations of  “Better Know an ANC Commissioner,” Vox’s interviews with the representatives that comprise Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E. The ANC is Georgetown residents’ primary voice in local government. When the average student marries a homogenous conception of “the neighbors” with “the Man” that puts him or her down for making noise, he or she is thinking of the ANC.

Ron Lewis’ kingdom (above) sits Northwest of the University in the middle of the Georgetown neighborhood. The former CAG member was reelected to his second two-year term on the ANC in November. Students may know the new ANC chair’s name: last year, he co-sponsored the unpopular off-campus keg ban.

Below, Lewis, an attorney who has moved between government jobs and business ventures discusses changes ‘the neighbors’ would like to see in GUTS bus routes, noise violations, community safety, and said keg ban.

You co-sponsored a controversial off-campus keg ban with [former student ANC commissioner] Jenna Lowenstein [COL '09]. What was the rationale behind that?

Our position was very clear—was that there should be the same rules about kegs on campus or off campus, and that it wasn’t fair for either the students or the community to push parties off campus, which having stricter party rules on campus does. Since the University had decided on a keg policy on campus-what we were saying was that you need to make it fair.

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