A man of the people is how Dion Ashman says he would describe himself, as he aims to take the City Council seat for District 35. Ashman said his work in his community started decades ago when he was growing up in Crown Heights. "I was involved with a lot of programs here in the neighborhood,” said Ashman. “The Crown Heights Service Center, Crown Heights Youth collective, working at the community board as a youth coordinator. So, I had an intimate experience and knowledge that was gained from being involved on a grassroots level right here." Only now does he feel the obligation to step up even further. "I was taught that being an elected official you're supposed to be accountable to your folks – to your constituency,” said Ashman. “I just don't see where we're getting that bang for our tax dollar anymore. That working class, everyday individual, I don't see them being addressed." The District 35 candidate said he wants to see housing actually be affordable, for jobs to be available and for crime to be reduced. "We have too much development going on,” he said. “What you can call overdevelopment, and a lot of the working class people are literally being pushed out of our neighborhood and there's no checks and balances that are being either enforced or in place to help prevent that from happening." To him, the solutions are right in front of everyone. "A community benefit agreement is to be put in place in order to empower neighborhoods,” said Ashman. "The second part would be a housing linkage policy. If you want to come to the neighborhood and you want to develop here and the community feels that we need it, you pay a linkage fee per square foot. “That money is earmarked for a housing trust that helps to build low- and moderate-income housing." He also references programs like Stand Up to Violence, which has worked in other boroughs, to be vital in reducing crime. "I would love to bring the skilled trades back to our neighborhood,” he said. “One of the most efficient ways to lower crime is with a W-2 and a 1099." In his concluding message to the community, Ashman vowed to show up for his constituents through it all – if elected.