Michelle Obama Supports Voting Rights for DC

First lady Michelle Obama answers Jim Vance’s question about DC voting rights. I admire Jim for asking the questions, and I like the First Lady’s repsonse as well…now we just need to get her husband more involved in the effort to give DC the representation is deserves in Congress!

You can send the President a message at http://www.whitehouse.gov

Resolutions on DC Statehood in State Legislatures

I’ve been working with a number of people to get supportive resolutions on DC Statehood introduced in a state legislatures around the country. I’ve included the sample resolution we’re starting with below.

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.

On the Passing of Former U.S. “Shadow” Representative Ray Browne

Raymond Browne, who served as the District of Columbia’s U.S. Shadow Representative from 2001-2007, passed away this weekend at the age of 71. My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Barbara, and the rest of the Browne family.

Representative Browne was a tireless activist on behalf of winning congressional representation for the District, and his work for the city he loved will not be forgotten. Through his efforts, Representative Browne was able to secure resolutions in support of District representation from dozens of cities and states across the country – and by doing so educated thousands of elected officials about DC’s unique status. Much of the progress we’ve made on obtaining a vote in the House for the District can be directly tied back to his efforts.

While collecting signatures for my ballot petition in 2006, many people were sad to hear that Ray wasn’t running for reelection. They also reminded me that I would have big shoes to fill if I were to win the election. It seemed everywhere I went, people in every ward across the city had wonderful things to say about Representative Browne, and his work. The District is a better place because of his service.

Representative Browne was a mentor to me as I began my own tenure as DC’s Shadow Representative, and was always very generous with his time and advice. I’ve been proud to build upon the work he started, and I will continue to do so.

Representative Brown’s passing should remind all of us that no matter what challenges we face, we must not stop fighting until the District stands free and equal with the other states in our union.

DC Voting Rights & the State of the Union

DC Vote has been making an aggressive push to get President Obama to address the lack of representation in Congress for the District of Columbia during his State of the Union address. They recently dropped off 41,000 petitions to be delivered to the White House at a Capitol Hill post office. It was a lot of boxes, and looked great for the cameras.

The big question: Did all this effort by groups hoping to get their issue into the speech get noticed at at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Well….not so much. Here’s what Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had to say at today’s press briefing:

Q Robert, obviously a lot of various groups hoping the President will talk about their issue in his speech tomorrow. D.C. Vote, for example, I know held a petition drive urging him to talk about D.C. voting rights. From the White House perspective, what has that effort been like by various folks looking for a mention of their cause in the speech? How intense has that been?

MR. GIBBS: I have to admit, I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know whether anybody has seen the petitions or anything about what that is.

Let’s hope he’s just bluffing so everyone is really surprised when they hear it in the speech tomorrow. Given the fact that any mention of DC voting rights in the State of the Union would be the only time Obama has every spoken about the issue as President, I’m not holding my breath.

Funds Available to Promote DC Statehood and Voting Rights

Last month I wrote about grant money being made available by the DC government for organizations working in support of DC voting rights and/or statehood. More details were recently released by the Office of Partnerships and Grants Services on how to go about applying for some of this money. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2010, more details are below:

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.)