Vote for Ted, Cheverly Council

Meet Ted

I moved to Cheverly four years ago after living and working in the Washington, D.C., area for over a decade. I am the vice president of a national non-profit concentrating on improving upward mobility and reducing poverty. I also own a small business and serve as a fellow on Evidence Based Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

I first learned about Cheverly from multiple friends who raved about its friendly community, laid-back culture, and diverse residents. Since we moved to Cheverly, we’ve had two kids and met literally hundreds of amazing neighbors. We’ve done battle with wet basements, commuted with a baby and stroller on the Cheverly Metro, enjoyed the Woodsworth Trail, and alternated Saturday mornings between Cheese Park, Town Park, and Castle Park. Through it all we’ve hosted and gone to countless barbecues at our neighbors’ homes and watched our kids develop friendships with our neighbors’ kids. I’ve also experienced slight headaches on Cheverly Day after discovering yet again that the Cheverly Prom should end at least one hour earlier.

I want to be your councilman because I love this community and feel lucky to live here. I want to continue seeking progress and prosperity for all residents through thoughtful development projects while ensuring our town remains the wonderful community we all know and love.

Previously, I developed the skills and expertise necessary to be your councilman by working at senior levels in Congress including for the House Budget Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and House Leadership. During my time there, I was able to collaborate closely with leaders from across the political spectrum to accomplish objectives such as the passage of landmark criminal justice reform, foster care reform, bipartisan budget solutions, and Nurse-Family Partnerships.

I will bring this ability to work together on difficult issues in a productive manner with people of all persuasions to the Cheverly Town Council. I believe our local government works best when we put aside our differences and dig in to deliver results on bread and butter issues.

Summer 2021 Update

1. Mayor and Council Updates: As you all may know, Mayor Riazi stepped down recently. I was very disappointed to see the Mayor step down, but I am also extremely thankful for her service. The Mayor worked extremely hard for the town and we will miss her and her talents greatly. Due to the way the Charter works, Vice Mayor Munyeneh is now the Mayor, and I look forward to working with now-Mayor Munyeneh. This shift in positions by Mayor Munyeneh will necessitate us filling the Ward 4 Councilmember seat in the August Town Meeting, so if you know of anyone who is interested, have them throw their hat in the ring! Additionally, Ward 5 Councilmember Jenny Garcia resigned, and she was replaced by Charly Garces. I was also sad to see Councilmember Garcia go, but look forward to working with Councilmember Garces.

2. Hospital Hill Redevelopment: The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Hospital Hill redevelopment was released recently. You can review here. Please let me know of any questions or concerns you may have.

3. Calling All Youth for the Pledge of Allegiance: Thanks to the wonderful suggestion of Councilmember Nettles, we are now having the youth of Cheverly recite the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each Town Meeting. If you know of anyone who would have an interest, please let me know!

4. Water Task Force: The Mayor has requested a group of citizens to help collect information from residents, work with the LIDC in terms of triaging issues and provide communications to residents about where issues stand. Please let me know if this is of interest to you.

5. Craftsman Building Update: We have finally gotten agreement on the easement for the Craftsman building. This means that we will be able to begin planning for ways to make the Anacostia River Trail more accessible.

6. Cheverly Day: Cheverly Day will be October 2nd, 2021. One thing to put on your radar screen is that if you would like to organize a group for the parade, feel free. All town organizations and groups welcome!

Spring 2021 Update

1. Spanish Translation of Newsletter: As you may know, one of the issues I ran on was ensuring that Spanish speakers in Cheverly could fully access town communications. Positively, the June newsletter has a QR code that will allow for individuals to access a Spanish translation of the newsletter. While this doesn't address all of the issues, it is a good first step. I expect that Council will continue to act on this issue going forward, with the goal of eventually having a fully translated printed newsletter.

2. Hospital Hill Redevelopment: I received a significant amount of feedback on the Hospital Hill Redevelopment. As we draft our letter to the RDA on the requests that the Town may have, our current deadline is to submit any feedback by today. If you have additional thoughts you'd like to share, or if you haven't submitted anything yet, please reach out with specific questions, concerns or issues you'd like addressed by the town.

3. Special Meeting: There will be a special meeting on Booms and Noxious Odors on June 7th, at 630 pm.

4. Trails and Metro Accessibility: One of the key things I want to work on is access to both the metro and accessibility to the Anacostia River Trail. To that end, we recently submitted an earmark request to Senator Chris Van Hollen to help address those two issues. It is highly unlikely that our request will be accepted, but I wanted to make sure that this was on the radar for our federal policymakers. I will continue to work on identifying unique funding streams to address long-standing issues that face Cheverly.

5. Budget Issues: The Budget has not yet been adopted, but we have gone through 2 readings of it. While I have concerns about the significant budget deficits that we will face this year, a large amount of that will either be covered under ARP funds, or are one-time expenditures that won't be repeated next year. The rest will be covered by our rainy day fund. That said, there still will remain a significant budget deficit next year, which will necessitate more difficult decisions.