is anyone bringing a laptop this evening?

[Jeremy Koulish]

If not I'll grab mine from home, but I'd rather not. Let me know...

--
Jeremy Koulish
jkou...@gmail.com
917-597-4397

[Anne Anderson]

Hi folks,  Sorry that I have had to bow out tonight.  I drove by Busboys and Poets this evening about 7 PM, and saw the folks standing all over the place.  I decided that I could not do that.  Got rear-ended earlier this month and am still recovering from whip-lash, etc., so not a good idea to stand around for a long time.

 

So, here's my update on the DC Statehood issue:

 

We are still encouraging folks to circulate the attached statement/petition for organizations and individuals to support making DC a state.  One of the items I was going to bring up tonight was whether Carrots & Sticks wanted to adopt the resolution as an entity/network/organization.  I thought this could be a good example of the kind of thing that would come up--so who would be empowered to sign for C&S, and how would we decide about whether or not to do it.  Obviously, all individuals are encouraged to sign the petition and get their friends and colleagues, neighbors and relatives to sign, and I would hope that we could circulate both on our growing network.

 

On the local level, I am following the progress of the legislation to reinstate the Statehood Commission that was introduced by Councilmember Thomas and others.  We have a special Council committee on Statehood that had a public roundtable on April 7.

The event lasted 6 hours, with plenty of citizen input.  I was planning to testify, but the car accident happened the day before, so I just submitted written testimony for the record.

 

Right now the DC Statehood--Yes We Can! Coalition is focusing on getting the Commission funded within this current budget cycle, which is getting marked up right now.  We have been contacting the various councilmembers.  I am copying Ann Loikow's message fyi below, in case you want to talk to your councilmember now, or send an email asap.  We are making some progress, since we have heard that there is some money being allocated, but it is not a done deal yet, and it is not very much money either.  However, getting anything into the budget will open the door wider for additional attention later.

________________________________________________From Ann Loikow

Please write and/or call the Council ASAP to get funding for our statehood delegation and for a statehood commission for FY 2010.  Thanks.  Ann

From: "A. Loikow" <alo...@verizon.net>

Date: April 29, 2009 12:50:06 AM EDT

To: "The Honorable Vincent C. Gray" <VG...@dccouncil.us>

Cc: The Honorable Yvette Alexander <yalex...@dccouncil.us>, "The Honorable Michael A. Brown" <mbr...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Mary Cheh <mc...@dccouncil.us>, "The Honorable Harry Thomas Jr." <hth...@dccouncil.us>, "The Honorable Kwame R.  Brown" <kbr...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Tommy Wells <twe...@dccouncil.us>, "The Honorable David A. Catania" <dcat...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Jim Graham <jgr...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Phil Mendelson <pmend...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Marion Barry <mba...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Muriel Bowser <Mbo...@dccouncil.us>, The Honorable Jack Evans <jack...@dccouncil.us>

Subject: Funding for statehood delegation and statehood education and outreach

Dear Chairman Gray:

As you finalize the budget for fiscal year 2010, I urge you to fund our statehood delegation and provide funding for a statehood commission that could advocate, educate and promote the need for statehood for the District of Columbia. As the effort to get one vote in the House of Representatives has painfully shown us, as long as we remain a colony Congress will give with one hand and take with the other.  Statehood is the only form of government that is permanent and guarantees the almost 600,000 of us living in the District of Columbia the democratic rights that every other American enjoys.  

We have now been a colony for 209 years, 33 years longer than the original thirteen colonies were British colonies. Our time to push for statehood is now. With the additions of Senator Spector and Senator to be Franken to the Democrats in the Senate, there will be an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress as well as a Democratic President. This is our time. We must not be timid and let it pass.

In order to make our case, we will need resources so it is imperative that the Council provide funding for our statehood delegation and a statehood commission, whether it be the one currently in the D.C. Code or the one in Council Member Thomas's 51st State Commission bill or some hybrid of the two.  The District's elected officials need to take the lead in demanding our democratic rights. The citizens of the District of Columbia look forward to working with the Council in this effort.

Sincerely,

Ann Hume Loikow

D.C. Statehood - Yes We Can!

_________________________________________________________

 

We are also researching the details of the legislation, which needs some work, since there is actually still a Statehood Commission still extant back from when it was established during the effort to apply for statehood.  We will be suggesting some changes in the language to discuss with councilmembers later in the year.

 

I have heard not much about the progress of the DC Voting Rights Act on the Hill, so if anyone has an update on that, I would appreciate knowing about it.

 

On a more personal note, I am digging into the files/piles on Statehood efforts over the years and am compiling some relevant historical documents so that if they are needed, I can get my hands on them quickly.

 

Best, Anne