While incarcerated in the D.C. Jail, a candidate fights for an ANC seat

Joel Caston has filled many roles during his 26 years of incarceration, from youth mentor to published author to financial literacy instructor for his fellow inmates.

Now he’s seeking a new job: elected official…

…Chander Jayaraman, the commissioner in adjacent ANC 6B, believed someone from the jail or the shelter ought to run for the seat, before a brand-new residential complex whose construction is nearly finished opens up and brings an influx of residents.

“It would be the first time that the concerns and issues within the jail would have an official legal elected platform,” said Jayaraman, who was in the midst of his own campaign for D.C. Council when he came up with the idea.