One would think that with Democrats in charge of both houses of Congress, there would be less meddling in the local affairs of the District, but that’s not the case.

Recently Senator Tester of Montana and Congressman Travis Childers of Montana introduced legislation that would completely eliminate any locally-enacted regulation of firearms or ammunition in Washington. That’s right – anybody would be free to walk around with a semi-automatic rifle in DC. Talk about a threat to national security!

It’s a slap in the face to local governments everywhere, and was only done to gain cheap political points with the National Rifle Association. It’s clear Tester and Childers don’t give a rip about the people of DC, or the countless families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

We’ve had enough of Congressional meddling with DC, and now we’re fighting back. My PAC, the Free and Equal DC Fund, will be running radio ads in Montana and Mississippi starting this week. We’ll be letting Tester’s and Childers’ constituents know that they don’t have full-time representatives in DC…and that maybe their Senator or Representative should be a DC City Councilmember instead.

You can see a sample of the ad below:

Please make a donation to keep them on the air at:
http://www.actblue.com/page/montanaradio

(Listen to the advertisement)

Washington, DC, June 11, 2010 – The Free Equal DC Fund launched a radio advertising campaign in Montana today urging Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to
focus on representing his constituents instead of meddling in the local affairs of the District of Columbia government.

In recent months, Senator Tester has been actively working to re-write legislation previously passed by DC’s elected city council. His efforts would
drastically modify local laws regarding semiautomatic weapons, ammunition, and firearm registration requirements that were passed by the duly elected
leaders of the city of Washington.

“We wanted to make sure that people in Montana know that Senator Tester isn’t giving his full attention to the state. He seems to be more
interested in getting involved in ‘big city’ politics as opposed to serving his own constituents,” said Mike Panetta, “Shadow” U.S. Representative for the
District of Columbia and Treasurer of the Free and Equal DC Fund.

“I’m sure the Montana families that have lost their jobs or are facing foreclosure are thrilled that their U.S. Senator is meddling in the local affairs of
a city over 2,000 miles away instead of focusing on their needs,” said Panetta.

“If Senator Tester is so interested in writing local laws for the District of Columbia, perhaps he should consider running for mayor,” Panetta added. “There’s still
time to file for the September primary.”

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEPT THESE ADS ON THE AIR. PLEASE DONATE TODAY:   http://www.actblue.com/page/montanaradio/   (Donation Request is $25.51)

]]> http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/free-and-equal-dc-fund-launches-montana-radio-campaign/feed/ 0 http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/05/statement-on-elimination-of-statehood-funding-in-mayors-budget/ http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/05/statement-on-elimination-of-statehood-funding-in-mayors-budget/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 12:38:14 +0000 Mike Panetta http://www.mikepanetta.com/?p=228 The mayor’s proposed budget eliminates what little funding there was for statehood initiatives. You can read more in this Washington Times article. (link)

I’ve released the following statement on this, which I hope you’ll share:

“For many years Congress mandated that the District couldn’t spend our local tax dollars to lobby for statehood or expanded home rule. With those restrictions now removed, it’s painfully ironic that the Mayor’s proposed budget eliminates what modest funding there was for these efforts. If the final budget lacks any resources to fund statehood advocacy efforts, the Mayor and the Council are essentially embracing the status quo and sending a signal that we’ve given up the fight. ”

- Mike Panetta, U.S. “Shadow” Representative (D-DC)

Now, if only the people who got all worked up over proposed taxes on yoga were as passionate about this issue, we’d be the 51st state sometime next week.

We need more help in getting these introduced. If you have contacts in a state house or senate, please email me at mike.panetta@gmail.com and let’s find a way to get it introduced and passed.

RESOLUTION ON STATEHOOD FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Whereas, this nation is founded on the principled belief that all people are endowed with certain inalienable rights and that to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;

Whereas, the rights of the citizens of the District of Columbia are abridged when the U.S. Congress imposes its will on local matters and denies the taxpaying citizens of the District of Columbia voting representation on federal issues in both houses of the U.S. Congress;

Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia pay more than three billion dollars in annual income taxes to the Federal Treasury—more, per capita, than the residents of all but one state;

Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia, per capita, have fought in more wars to protect the liberties and rights of all American people and democracies around the world than any other state;

Whereas, the District of Columbia is the only U.S. jurisdiction not permitted to spend its own local tax dollars without approval by Congress;

Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia serve on federal juries;

Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia are subject to the rule of law of the United States;

Whereas, the people of the District of Columbia are the only Americans who still bear all of the responsibilities of citizenship, but who do not enjoy all of the rights of citizenship, including local sovereignty and representation in both houses of Congress, making the District, in effect, a colony under Congressional jurisdiction; and

Whereas, statehood will ensure that residents of the District of Columbia enjoy full sovereign rights in local matters and voting representation in both houses of the U.S. Congress just as every other citizen of the United States of America, and is a matter of simple justice;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the state legislature of ___________ (name state) support the attainment of statehood for the District of Columbia and will work with our colleagues in their respective states to petition Congress to use its powers under Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution and admit the District of Columbia as the 51st State of the Union.

Office of the Secretary (OS) announces funds to promote DC Voting Rights and statehood for the District of Columbia.

Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations.

Deadline: February 15, 2010.

Funds: $150,000 is available.

Information: secretary@dc.gov; or go to: http://www.opgs.dc.gov/opgd/cwp/view,a,1316,q,609787.asp.

GrantID: GD3701

Funding Summary (PDF)

Application Packet (PDF)

(The links to documents above are provided as a courtesy and are current as of 1/25/2010 – you may want to download them directly from the source.)

If there ever was a time to move forward on this issue, that time is now. In the last four years we have seen sweeping changes to the national political landscape. Both chambers of Congress and the White House have switched from Republican to Democratic-controlled institutions — which from a tactical perspective give us an opportunity to advance the Statehood issue for the first time since 1993.  We need to move quickly as that majority is already eroding – as demonstrated by the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts.

However, even with Democrats in control, we all know too well that nothing is a given when it comes to the District’s efforts for expanded home rule. As we have been made perfectly aware of during efforts to pass the DC Voting Rights Act, sometimes even our friends don’t always have the same priorities as we do. It’s wonderful that the Statehood cause has been infused with new energy and purpose, yet this passion will not translate into substantial or measurable progress without a tactical approach. We need to get things moving forward on a number of fronts including local awareness, national education campaigns, and a 2010 political strategy. My thoughts on these approaches are listed below.

I would like to commend Councilmember Michael A. Brown for his coordination and leadership on the Statehood issue at the Council level. His efforts have been a tremendous asset in taking this fight to the next level, and I look forward to working with him on this important issue.

The following items are what I see as the important next steps in to take towards DC Statehood in 2010. I encourage feedback and suggestions at feedback@mikepanetta.com or via comments at http://www.mikepanetta.com.

1. The DC Statehood Movement Needs a New “Brand”

The DC Statehood movement lacks any cohesive brand, which is a necessity in today’s media environment. To be successful in raising awareness, especially on a national level, any issue needs to develop a brand that succinctly defines the image of the cause within the marketplace of ideas. A well-crafted brand boils down an issue down to its core message and gives people something to identify with or become part of.

Recent examples of successful issue brands include “LiveStrong” from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the “Where Is Their Vote?” campaign organized by Iranian ex-pats during the election showdown in that country earlier this year. The latter cause was picked up by many people around the world – most of which had no connection to Iran, but identified with the issue because of the strength of the brand, as it was something they could easily identify with.

>>Action Item: The DC Statehood movement needs to develop a new brand that has national appeal and the produce the materials to support it (i.e. a logo, website, social media outposts, etc.)

2. The Statehood Issue Needs a Centralized Message

While I like to think we are all on the same team, we often don’t give that impression in public statements testimony, or media interviews. Any good candidate or political campaign knows how important it is to “stay on message” – as it provides a unified and consistent theme and information to the public about a given issue.

This centralized messaging is a component that is sorely lacking from the DC Statehood efforts. Currently each organization, political leader, and activist has their own messaging around statehood efforts, plans, and desired outcomes. This scattershot approach causes confusion with conflicting information and thus keeps the issue from moving forward. Remember, our opponents will look for any opening to drive a wedge into our efforts, we shouldn’t just hand it to them.

It would, of course, be up to each group as to whether or not to actually use the messaging, but not having it available putting us at a disadvantage from a communications perspective.

>>Action Item: A set of “Statehood talking points” needs to be developed and a number of diverse spokespeople and surrogates should be recruited and given basic media training on how to effectively talk about the issue.

3. The Statehood Issues Needs to Go “Mainstream”

DC Statehood needs be much more than a local, borderline fringe campaign. If we are going to become the 51st state, we’ll need support from diverse groups of people around the country, and need to talk in terms that will motivate them towards action. We need to think about how to appeal to “soccer moms” from Kansas, union workers in North Carolina, technology professionals in Silicon Valley, and other Americans from all walks of life.

For the last several years, most activists, non-profit groups and political leaders (myself included) have put a great deal of their home-rule related efforts into the passage of the DC Voting Rights Act, leaving the Statehood issue to a smaller group of committed activists. If things are going to advance in 2010 on Statehood, that equation needs to change and the political establishment in the District be advocating for Statehood as their default home-rule issue.

It is my opinion that DC Statehood needs be advocated for as single, stand-alone issue and must not be solely associated with the efforts of any single local party. The issue must try to avoid any unnecessary entanglements with other divisive social issues or political figures as they will complicate the issue and distract from our basic messaging. The goal is to make as many people as possible embrace and take action on behalf DC Statehood, and we’ll need all parties to remain singularly focused on that objective.

>> Action Item: Reposition DC Statehood to be the main home-rule issue and begin messaging to constituencies outside the District.

4. The Door Needs to Be Shut for Good on Retrocession

We need to nip this in issue in the bud, as it always comes up as a way to derail both DC Statehood and voting representation in Congress. It’s a non-starter as DC doesn’t want to go back to Maryland, and Maryland doesn’t want DC back either. The best way to cut off issue is to get something passed by Maryland Assembly that states something along the lines of the State of Maryland forever gives up the right to the land that currently makes up the District of Columbia and, if possible, that the body supports full Statehood or congressional representation for DC.

Groups in DC that do advocate this position should not be part of any coalitions, hearings, or discussions and should be aggressively relegated to “fringe” status.

>>Action Item: Find possible sponsors of such a resolution – starting with Sen. Jamie Raskin or other friends from the local Maryland suburbs. Also reach to other state legislatures for supportive resolutions.

5. Statehood Stakeholders Need to Be Active in 2010 Elections

Obviously the 2010 elections in the District will generate a lot of activity, but we need to direct some of that energy into the congressional and local elections happening around the country.

We all know that there are certain Members of Congress who take the “in all cases whatsoever” clause of the Constitution very literally. Members such as Rep. Jason Chaffetz from Utah, Rep. Louie Gohmert from Texas, and Senator John Ensign from Nevada interfere will local laws and voting rights efforts because they know that there will be zero push back that affects them. Yes, we can shout all we want about this injustice here in the District, but until we make their meddling an issue back in their home districts they will keep attempting to impose their will on the District.

Every member of the House of Representatives is up for election in 2010, as is 1/3 of the Senate. We need to leverage the political expertise and donor base that exists here in the District and mobilize it for our own good. By using tools such ActBlue.com, we can rally District residents to direct funds to candidates that are challenging “anti-DC” members of Congress. I started a similar effort in 2008 with my PAC, the Free and Equal DC Fund, which funneled modest contributions to Senators Mark Begich (AK), Kay Hagan (NC), as well as candidates in several other states.

The fight for DC Statehood takes place in every election in every congressional district – it’s time started we showing up for these fights.

>> Action Item: Identify key races and candidates to support in 2010 congressional elections. Begin to solicit contributions of funds or in-kind support to bring as many pro-DC members to Congress as possible.

Since many people indicated a desire to serve on more than one subcommittee, the committee has decided to hold the inaugural meetings of the subcommittees in succession on TUESDAY, January 19, 2010 in ROOM 120 of the John A. Wilson Building:

4 – 5 PM Subcommittee on NATIONAL STATEHOOD DAY AND STATE OUTREACH

5 – 6 PM Subcommittee on STATE HALL MEETING

6 – 7 PM Subcommittee on PROMOTIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

These meetings are open and all interested people are welcome to participate.  So there is some idea of the number of people planning to attend, please RSVP by to Amy Bellanca at  abellanca<at>dccouncil.us

Thanks –  I hope I’ll see some of you on the 19^th.

I have three questions for you:

1) Are you still looking for the perfect holiday gift?
2) Do you like snarky T-shirts?
3) Do you want to support the DC Statehood Fund?

If the the answer was “yes” to any of the above, then look no further as the t-shirts below are perfect for anyone who needs to play Santa. I can’t guarantee we’ll get Congressional representation in our stockings this year, but I can promise a few chuckles from these shirts:

Give the gift that shows how much you love Senators from Nevada re-writing our local gun laws, or buy one for yourself to show everyone at the coffee shop that you call your “office” that you are demanding to be represented in Congress with some real votes – and have the t-shirt to prove it.

Proceeds from the sales go to the District of Columbia Statehood Fund.

UPDATE: According to the Office of the Secretary, the details of the grant are not ready for release. Stay tuned for a future update regarding the procedure and timing. In the meantime, get your thinking caps on…

The following grant notice was distributed last week at the Statehood Stakeholders meeting.  I don’t have more details beyond what’s listed below, but I  have messages into the Office of the Secretary to get more specific information regarding the process for submitting proposals, deadline, etc. I’ll be sure to post them as soon as I know more.

You may remember that Mayor Fenty and the  DC Council eliminated many appropriation earmarks in the last budget, and many non-profits, including DC Vote, saw annual allocations from the city dry up. It’s good to see that the Council put some money taxpayer money back into this fight, and even better to open it up to other organizations as opposed to a non-competitive earmark.

Here’s all the information I have so far:

COMPETITIVE GRANT FOR DC VOTING RIGHTS AND STATEHOOD FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

“…The Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia may issue competitive grants to one or more organizations with a history of promoting DC voting rights and statehood in the District in an amount not to exceed $250,000.”

Directly from the Senate Appropriation Committee’s web site:

Removing Special Restrictions on the District of Columbia: Eliminates a prohibition on the use of local tax funds for abortion, thereby putting the District in the same position as the 50 states. Also allows the District to implement a referendum on use of marijuana for medical purposes as has been done in other states, allows use of Federal funds for needle exchange programs except in locations considered inappropriate by District authorities, and discontinues a ban on the use of funds in the bill for domestic partnership registration and benefits.

This is good news, but it will better news when the District has full budgetary and legislative autonomy, like every other city and state in the country.