Dear Neighbor,
I'm Markus Batchelor and I'm excited to be a candidate to represent the new District #8C06 on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C! The opportunity energizes me we have in the years to come to build community, bring our diverse voices to the table, and shape Congress Heights into a neighborhood where we can all thrive.
I’m proud of Congress Heights — it’s where I was born, raised, and still call home. I went to school here; got baptized here. It’s where my family still lives and where neighbors feel like family, too. It’s a community with rich history and boundless potential whose time has come.
I’m also proud of the work I’ve been able to lead alongside my neighbors over six years in elected office and a decade in community-driven work — demonstrating how a competent, compassionate government partnered with an engaged and empowered community can change things.
Before being elected the youngest-ever member of the DC State Board of Education representing Ward 8, I served on ANC 8C, where I fought for safe streets, effective city services, responsive government, and the equitable investment we’ve long deserved. We brought neighbors together, took on the big challenges, and got results.
As the Vice President of the State Board, I never forgot about Congress Heights. I consistently advocated for the resources and investments students and families needed to be successful, including successfully advocating for millions of dollars of investments into our most vulnerable students and transformative "community school" models at schools like Ballou High School and Hart Middle School.
I’m eager to use that experience and blueprint for change again to work, build, and fight for our neighbors and those values at such an important time in our community’s story.
I need your support to get this done. As one of the few contested races for Commissioner across DC, reaching every voter will be more important than ever. Please make a financial contribution to help me carry that message of change through November 8th.
Learn more about me and how I'd deliver on Day 1 for Congress Heights at markusbatchelor.com.