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Need some incentive to vote for your next Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner? Try this guy.
Police arrested and charged Robert Leo Dwyer, a commissioner on Dupont’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B, this week for allegedly attacking a homeless man early Monday morning on the 1600 block of 17th Street NW. Dwyer is accused of spraying the homeless man with a household cleaner, throwing the man’s belongings in the street, and screaming a racial slur at him. Dwyer told police, according to the Post, that he used the cleaning spray because the homeless population created a bad stench in the area. He also admitted to throwing the man’s belongings in the street, but does not think he used a racial epithet.
Dwyer has already picked up his petitions to run for re-election in November, according to the D.C. Board of Elections. Petition signatures to appear on the ballot are due Aug. 6. Dwyer didn’t immediately return call for comment to see if he is still considering a run.
Gottlieb Simon, the executive director of the city’s Office of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, says that Dwyer is eligible to keep his seat and run for re-election so long as he’s not an incarcerated felon. Dwyer’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25, the Post reports.
If Dwyer does opt to run again for his ANC seat, which represents the area east of the circle, it likely won’t be as sleepy as most ANC elections: Two other people have also picked up petitions for the seat.
Even if Dwyer isn’t convicted of any crime, his constituents may want to pay attention to the election if he decides to keep his name in the race. He did, after all, admit to scattering a homeless man’s possessions all over the place.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery.
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