VOTE

FOR

MARY D. JACKSON

Mary D. Jackson is a native Washingtonian and a life-long resident of Ward 7. The fourth of nine brothers and sisters, her family was part of the urban-removal from old Southwest and relocated to the new Lincoln Heights Public Housing Projects in the late 1940s. I attended Burville, and Merritt, Richardson elementary school and the old Kelly Miller Jr. High school. Graduate of Martha M. Washington Vocational School in Business Education. Married in 1958 to John E. Jackson, we are the parents of four adult children and seven grandchildren and four of them we are presently raising. I have resided at 135 49^th Street, SE. for over 40 years. I retired from the United States Senate Sergeant at Arms Office in January, 2002 after 28 years of dedicated service.

My community activism started at age 10 with the old Junior Police and citizen’s Corp of Far Northeast/Southeast DC. As an adult, I continue to participate in Ward 7 schools and PTAs for many years. In the early 1990s I helped in the fight to prevent the closing of three schools in our community: J.C. Nalle, C.W. Harris, and Fletcher Johnson.

I have walked many miles with the H.D. Woodson Marching Band as a Booster Band Mom (7 years), helped raise funds that builted our Police Boys and Girls Club on Benning Road. As the years go on my activism grows stronger:

• worked to support the Football Program at the club from its beginning;
• served 12 years on the D.C. Drug and Alcohol Abuse Committee under Mayors Barry and Kelly;
• organized Clothing Drives for the House of Ruth through the U.S. Senate Staff Club;
• organized numerous Baby Showers for the Boarder Baby Project at the old D.C. General Hospital;
• served on the Panel at Children’s Hospital for a Study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on Children Related Injuries under Dr. Joseph Wright;
• earned my certification as Court Appointed Advocate for Children (CASA) at D.C. Superior Court,
• help put together the Parent to Parent Hotline for the Metropolitan Police Department under then Chief Isaac Fullwood;
• past member in good standing of the old D.C. Democratic Women’s Club;
• past associate member of the former National Association of Black Women Attorney’s under the watchful eyes of Attorney Mable D. Haden and Wilimena Rolock.

Two of my most rewarding accomplishments were serving as the Community Representative for Ward 7 and the chairperson of on the D.C. Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Communities. The Enterprise Community piece put D.C. on the map of success with HUD through DHCD. I successfully lobbied then HUD Secretary Andrew Como to let working families use the section 8 vouchers to buy a home. This is now a reality for low to moderate income residents. I have successfully organized several tenet associations for the rights to their property. My second accomplishment was founding Grandparents on the Move, a support group for grandparents raising grandchildren. Twenty years ago there was no help for grandparents left with the burden of raising a second family; I put a face to this social dilemma. Through my working with Grandparents on the Move I have helped to bring these issues to the National Preservation to Reserve Social Security and local AARP. I have worked tirelessly in my community giving many, many years and hours to help my neighbors. I continued to serve Ward 7 as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner since 1988.

Memorandum of Understanding

If elected to the position of councilmember for Ward 7, Mrs. Jackson expects a partnership between her and the citizens of the Ward. She believes that there should be equal participation between the elected official and the constituents in the governance of the Ward and the civic responsibilities should be shared.

Mrs. Jackson intends to establish this precedent of shared responsibility by giving back 50% of her salary as council member for a scholarship fund in the name of her late grand-daughter Regina to help Ward 7 student who participate in positive community service and school activities to go to college. In addition, she will seek matching funds from public and private sources to improve education, housing and employment opportunities in Ward 7.

Crime – My number one priority before we develop anything economically, we must first make our neighborhoods safe from the high volume of crime (robberies, drug dealing, car thefts, shootings, etc.). To control and reduce crime, I will work to increase the numbers of officers within the patrol service areas within the first year, and encourage the officers to engage in proactive crime reducing activities with the youth and citizens.

Education – As an outgrowth of my lengthy advocacy for the rights and safety of young people in this city, I intend to take a very aggressive role in creating legislation to ensure that the quality of public education in this city is improved and that funds designated for those purposes be spent equally and efficiently across the entire city.

Housing –If elected I will support legislation that will improve and increase affordable housing. I will work vigorously towards the rehabilitation or removal of abandoned buildings in the neighborhoods and protect our residents from gentrification in Ward 7; the far northeast/southeast parts of Ward 7 is a prime target for Urban Removal of our most vulnerable residents young and old. The Economic Development Plan should include all residents not just the privileged.

Employment – I will utilize the Enterprise Zone designation to bring industry into the ward that will employ the hard core jobless and I will work aggressively toward continued job development. Focus on blue collar jobs with good benefits for youth not going to college.

Seniors – If elected, I will develop a Directory that will keep tract of all seniors in Ward 7 by neighborhood. I will also develop an Intergenerational Consortium to address medical care, nutrition, safety and the upkeep of property for the aging members of the Ward.

BOARD THE TRAIN OF THE PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN

Mrs. Jackson is a candidate of the people, for the people, and is from the people.

The Peoples Campaign
C/o Janice Little, Treasurer
12- 47^th Street, S.E., Apt. D
Washington, DC 20019

Paid for by the Committee of the People’s Campaign