DC Jail

DC Jail Inmate Elected to ANC Ward 7 Seat

NBC Washington

A D.C. Jail inmate has been elected to a government position.

Joel Caston is a new Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Ward 7.

He was one of five inmates in the jail who ran for the position.

"We all wrote down our ideas, our platform, what we were campaigning for,” Caston said.

Caston will represent the residents of the jail in Southeast, and some of the neighboring community.

He told News4 he worked hard to win votes.

Caston says the Department of Corrections is helping him with an e-mail address to get requests from constituents and to help connect with leaders of the District government.

"My number one job is to listen, and, in listening, one of the ideas I have right of the bat is to put together a survey that I can distribute throughout the facilities … because my job is to be a voice for the voiceless," he said.

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