I Swore an Oath.

I, Nancy Groth, having been duly elected as an ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, representing Single Member District 2C02, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the laws of the United States and of the District of Columbia, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, and will faithfully discharge the duties of the office I am about to enter.

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Letter from the Birmingham Jail

Am I willing to live my oath, or will I strategize myself into obeying in advance?

To say the least, this has been a challenging and toxic national political climate in which to enter DC public service. In 2023, I had already been advocating for common sense accountability by DHS for the Green Court Shelter[NG1]  and was discerning whether to seek election for the 2C02 Commissioner role to play a more active role. In 2024, during the June-July timeframe when I had to commit to declaring candidacy, I was disheartened by the Presidential candidates and national-level discourse. I decided to focus my efforts on my hyperlocal neighborhood where I thought I could have more impact and make more of a difference.

I had already experienced the hyperlocal effects of the toxic national political climate in my own neighborhood in the aftermath of the 2020 election, even before January 6, 2021. On November 14, 2020, following initial post-election rallies, Proud Boys then-national leader Enrique Tarrio led members through D.C. streets during the “Million MAGA March.” On December 12, 2020, there were large pro-Trump and Jericho March events and skirmishes and stabbings broke out between the Proud Boys and counter-protesters during evening hours. Proud Boy members tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter banner belonging to the historic Asbury United Methodist Church in Commission 2C, and targeted the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in SMD 2C02. In the aftermath of January 6 and its actual violence and lawlessness, 2C02 experienced weeks of roadblocks and heavy presence of National Guard troops, for which my neighbors were grateful at the time.