By Zsana Hoskins
Special to the AFRO
In the 2022 election, Lisa Gore ran at large for a council seat. But now her focus is on Ward 4, where her family resides, the place she calls home.
“We cannot afford four years of representation that prioritizes broader agendas over our immediate needs,” Gore stated in an open letter to Ward 4. Gore, a Virginia native with a 27-year-long law enforcement career is campaigning for the Ward 4 seat on the D.C. Council.
Running on the platform “Forward 4,” Gore hopes to reduce crime, as the statistics in D.C. have increased by 27 percent in the past year, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department.
“Let me be blunt—public safety and crime tops my list of priorities. The escalating crime rates in our Ward and throughout D.C. are a cause for deep concern,” Gore mentioned in herletter, which can be found on her campaign website, www.goreforD.C..com.
“Public safety and crime tops my list of priorities. The escalating crime rates in our Ward and throughout D.C. are a cause for deep concern.”
Gore’s other key goals are to invest in education, better support for senior citizens and fuel economic development in Ward 4.
“Ward 4 is in a situation where like most wards and communities in D.C., they’re looking at their council members for extra satisfactory leadership. And part of that includes communicating and navigating the complexities of the primary issue that we’re having today, which is public safety,” Gore told the AFRO. “In talking to many people throughout Ward 4 as a commissioner and just as a resident, I know that people are seeking change. I’m very eager to take Ward 4 forward and provide the type of constituent services and leadership that we deserve.”
Ward 4, which is located in the northernmost part of the District, is made up of 87,000 residents in 20 neighborhoods. According to data from D.C. Health Matters, there are over 32,000 households in the area and about 6 percent of families are below the poverty line.
Gore is concerned about housing security and is working towards solutions through improving the Housing Choice Voucher program, which is already effective in Ward 4.
“I still remain concerned about the D.C. Housing Authority and particularly public housing. We do have a program called Housing Choice Voucher. Oversight of the Housing Choice Voucher Program will make sure that we work with people in our community, landlords in our community, to actually accept those vouchers,” Gore shared as it relates to housing discrimination.
Gore plans to create a “collective unification” in her community. One of the ways she plans to help to bring the community together is through implementing office hours for members to express their grievances.
“One of the first things I would immediately establish is office hours. I would immediately have my team out there working with communities. Just basic old fashioned, getting out there, door knocking, coming to know each community to know as many individuals as we can and to reestablish a connection within the ward,” Gore added.
Gore’s understanding of community started at a young age while growing up in Roanoke, Va. with a grandmother who lent her nursing skills to the neighborhood, a mother and stepfather who were educators, and a father who was a contractor.
“In high school going up to college, I’ve always volunteered. I volunteered for things here in D.C. And some of my jobs were social service-oriented, so I’ve always kind of had that mix,” Gore said.
Gore attended the University of Virginia and began working in federal law enforcement after moving to D.C.
She served as a Bilingual Juvenile Probation Officer with D.C. Superior Court and then as a federal special agent with the United States Customs Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She eventually climbed the ranks and became a Special Agent, in the Operations Division. After nearly 30 years in the industry, Gore retired and decided to make the transition to community service. Soon after her retirement in 2020, Gore ran for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC).
“The ANC was really my transition out of federal retirement and back into community service. It was something that I already had kind of started. The transition really came from being involved with the ANC in terms of being just a resident and community member that would attend ANC meetings,” Gore said.
During her time as ANC Commissioner, Gore worked to improve public transportation, racial and social equity, oversight of policy technology and several other issues. She was the chair of the ANC Racism Task Force formed in 2020 which eventually became the Racial and Social Equity committee.
Karrenthya Simmons, who served on the 3/4G ANC’s Racial and Social Equity committee with Gore and volunteered for her at-large campaign, believes Gore’s background in government makes her stand out and highlights Gore’s ability to listen to all constituents of the ANC.
“What makes Lisa stand out is her leadership. Lisa is a great leader as the chair of 3/4G’s ANC. She also has an extensive background in law enforcement, housing, and working with juveniles,” Simmons said. “She has a government background and business acumen that would assist her with moving our city forward.”
Although she has retired, Gore doesn’t shy away from her previous career experiences and believes they make her a unique candidate.
“Coming from a law enforcement background, which includes juvenile probation supervision, working with kids and the justice system and their family, all the way up to working on some of the most pressing crime issues there’s a lot of experience there in terms of management and advisors strategy, about how you best tackle some of those issues. There is no perspective on the council that we’ve ever had that reflected that degree of experience,” Gore said.
Elizabeth Martin, another friend of Gore who initially joined the Racism Task Force in 2020 and volunteered for her at-large campaign, called Lisa an “amazing leader.”
“She became the chair of the ANC 3/4G, so she’s had a very prominent role in the neighborhood because we’ve had some incredibly intense topics that the neighborhood has been focusing on. I’ve seen her in some very difficult situations where she’s had to remain calm and diplomatic.” Martin said. “She’s extremely fair and patient. She’s smart and she’s also got an amazing heart. She really loves people.”
Gore promises to see her goals through and reassures voters that her track record speaks for itself.
“If you ask my constituents, the one thing they’re going to tell you is I’m there when they call me. No one in my district is going to tell you that I’m not accessible. I know how to run operations. I know how to deliver services. And I’ve also done that in my role as ANC Commissioner.”
Both Simmons and Martin emphasized Gore’s efforts in making the Chevy Chase area more inclusive and the development of the Chevy Chase corridor on Connecticut Avenue as an example of some of Gore’s standout work.
“Lisa has given the community many opportunities to voice their opinion on the development despite the attacks she faces from some community members; through it all, she’s been graceful and shown that she’s a leader and has the best interest of the citizens,” Simmons added.
Why Gore believes people should vote for her is simple:
“I don’t just have a platform on paper. I look exceptional on paper, but these are things that I’ve done. As I said, a battle-tested candidate has a life experience in terms of what they’re trying to bring to the ward. I come with a considerable amount of knowledge and background,” said Gore.
The Democratic primary election will take place on June 4, 2024, and the general election will take place on November 5, 2024. To learn more about Gore’s campaign, visit www.goreforD.C..com.