In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, those who favor D.C. statehood have intensified their efforts at gaining Congressional representation for the District’s 571,000 residents. Since District taxes will be used to support America’s new war against terrorism, District residents should have a say in how the war will be fought.
The new war notwithstanding, District residents need political representation. They pay taxes and are subject to federal laws, but unlike their immediate neighbors across the Potomac, they can’t vote people into Congress.
People might ask why District residents need representation in Congress. They elect local officials such as Mayor Anthony Williams. But the Mayor doesn’t really exercise complete control over District affairs. Until last year, Congress controlled the city’s finances, and there are no legal guarantees against Congress reasserting control if it feels, for whatever reason, that Williams is mishandling the District. Congress ultimately decides how much power Williams actually has.
The District isn’t a state, and therefore under the Constitution its residents aren’t entitled to elect senators and representatives to Congress. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the District for this very reason. But according to DC Vote, a coalition dedicated to bringing voting rights to the District, statehood is only one means by which city residents can get voting rights. According to DC Vote, Congress could pass legislation that would allot the District representatives in Congress without conferring statehood, or Congress could give D.C. residents a degree of representation by granting them the right to vote in Maryland elections.
Georgetown students have every reason to support statehood for D.C. We are District residents for the majority of the year and have a significant interest in how the city manages itself, particularly when it comes to how local political bodies such as the Advisory Neighborhood Commission affect how Georgetown students live in the District.
Students who refuse to register to vote in the District typically say that they see no reason voting because their vote really doesn’t count for anything. Representation, however, would give their vote as much power as any other resident’s, which would help ensure that students rights aren’t sacrificed.
When the District gets more political power, so too will Georgetown students and this would give us a greater opportunity to make ourselves heard outside Healy Gates.
