WPCA weighs in on CPCA

Dear Anne and other Executive Board Members:

As some of you may be aware the Cleveland Park Citizen’s Association has postponed their election of officers until the fall. The claim by the President of that Association was that the increase of new members constitutes an emergency and thus was their excuse to use their executive powers to postpone their election.

This is wrong.

The Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia is predicated on the concept that citizen activism is good, that democracy is good, and that the rule of law matters. The good people of Cleveland Park are doing the very things that we admire.

The Federation has spoken out and acted on these issues time and time again, be it the deplorable state of the EMT service, the lack of oversight on the mayor’s office, the public health committee you name it. The Federation has always been there to speak out when something is wrong. We must be there to speak again.

In this instance it is not the city government, or the federal government that is abusing the public trust, it is one of our member associations. We, as the premier umbrella organization of community associations, cannot afford to stay quiet on this issue. By staying quiet we are giving tacit consent to what is happening in Cleveland Park. We must act and we most positively affirm that citizens joining citizens’ organizations are good, and that the rule of law must continue and the CPCA is wrong in doing this.

I am writing to you today to inform you that if The Cleveland Park Citizens Association fails to conform to its own bylaws and holds their election as scheduled that I will introduce a resolution at our next assembly meeting calling for the removal of CPCA from membership in the Federation. The presence of an organization that is so Nixon-esque in its abuse of power gives the rest of our associations a bad name.

I remain committed to a better Washington, DC.


Sincerely Yours,


Peter W. Brusoe
Woodley Park Community Association Delegate
The Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia