First, let me say that I was on the Hill today with DC Vote and their organized lobby day. They had a great showing and we fanned out storm the Hill to meet with Congress and their staffs. There were a lot of success stories and a sense of momentum after the event, and we were all full of hope that it might just get done…(sigh)

But word came a little while ago that the House Republicans has chosen not to bring the bill forward in the lame duck session. This from the Post article “GOP House Leaders Choose to Let Bill Die“:

Republican congressional leaders decided yesterday not to bring to the floor a bill giving the District a full voting member of the House, dooming the measure’s chances in this legislative session.”

I hope we can get it done next session…but priorities and agendas change. We all need to keep the momentum going. Stay tune for more info on what’s next in this fight.

According to the Washington Post today, the FAIR Act (aka the Davis Bill) is likely not going to happen this session, but there’s a lot of hope going into 2007. If you can help on December 5th, please do so….let’s keep the momentum going! Here are the details:

This is our strongest push of the year to move this bill that would give Washingtonians a vote in Congress for the first time ever! You can do your part by speaking passionately to Hill staffers about what having a vote in Congress would mean to you.

Below is our Congress Day schedule.

8:30 AM

Meet for a continental breakfast at the United Methodist building,100 Maryland Avenue, NE.

9:00 AM -1:30 PM

Walk to congressional office buildings to meet with members of Congress and staff.Please RSVP to Lateefah Mims at congressday@dcvote.org to let us know that you’ll participate. Please also leave your contact information including a telephone number.

It seems the city is getting ready to start the bidding on the naming rights for the new stadium the Nationals will be playing in a few years. Sources say the Nationals could get up to $10 million a year for the rights, not too shabby. Too bad the city doesn’t get any of it

My question is, are the naming right for RFK still up for grabs? Can we still get “Taxation Without Representation Field at RFK“?

Read more at:

With New Stadium, Name of Game Is Money
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/27/AR2006112701288.html

Last week I had the opportunity to work with local high school students who are participating in the District’s YMCA’s Youth & Government program. The program has the students write their own legislation and then debate in a mock legislature setting. I was very active in this program in high school in Connecticut and it played a big role in shaping who I am today. Youth & Government fostered my interest in policy and politics which led to my decision to attend university and settle here in Washington . . .so it felt good to give back a little.

Also, I have to say that the Program Director (and fellow AU alum) Karyn Cassella does a great job making sure dozens of high school students were where they were supposed to be for the various sessions…no easy task!
It was a great learning experience for me as well to see how the DC program operates and to hear what issues the students cared about. In my role as “shadow-representative-elect” I also had the opportunity to speak to the students about the District’s unique and unjust “taxation without representation” status. Let’s just hope that issue is resolved before this next generation of leadership in the District of Columbia comes of age!

Now that 2006 is over, it’s time to start thinking about the 2008 presidential election and who would be the best President to advance District of Columbia voting rights and home rule. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I’ll tell who it is not - Sam Brownback. That is why I did not like reading this article today in the Post

Kansas Republican Eyes Presidential Bid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/20/AR2006112000876.html

He has been the Chair of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia in the Senate, and according to Congresspedia:

In December 2005, Brownback advocated using Washington, DC as a “laboratory” for a flat tax. His advocated position on this issue was “that making D.C. a test case would, with limited potential for negative impact, provide valuable data about the effects of a flat tax that would prove helpful in determining whether it should be applied nationwide.” This has irked many residents of the District, as the idea of a Senator from Kansas forcing a system of taxation on them would seem to only further the District’s taxation without representation. Mayor Williams chimed in at the time saying, “We continue to resist any efforts on the part of any member of Congress to impose rules and regulations on the people of the District.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a President who sees the District as his personal public policy Petri dish.