Leaders in Washington D.C. unveiled a comprehensive, 30 page draft constitution for statehood Friday, which one District representative says is “literally” giving him chills.
Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to put the statehood issue on the ballot in November, allowing the 672,000 residents in D.C. to vote for representation in Congress. The draft constitution elevates the mayor to governor and turns the 13 member D.C. Council into a House of Delegates.
“This is a very exciting day for the District of Columbia, soon to be the 51st state,” Paul Strauss, shadow senator for the District told the DCist. “I am so excited, I am literally getting chills.”
The Council chair would serve as Speaker of the House under the new constitution. The city will hold a constitutional convention June 17 and 18 to debate the draft, and the D.C. Council is expected to hold a referendum on the matter.
“Our movement has been like the Tower of Babel,” Mike Brown, shadow senator for D.C. and statehood advocate told The Washington City Paper. “This is our opportunity to speak with one clear, loud voice that statehood is what makes the people of the District of Columbia whole.”
Shadow senator Strauss said bluntly, “We want to stop being a colony.”
D.C. Council President Phil Mendelson expects a large turnout for the statehood ballot measure given its a presidential election year. The New Columbia Statehood Commission will host eight town halls over May and June where residents and statehood advocates will have a chance to comment on the draft constitution.
D.C. statehood faces political realities likely to kill any effort once Congress gets involved. D.C. is dominated by Democrats, and statehood would give Democrats two extra seats in the Senate, a prospect Republicans in the House are unlikely to support. Critics charge Republican opposition is the only thing standing in their way, however activists say the pressure must be kept on both parties to act.
Voters chose the name New Columbia in a 1982 vote, however Mayor Bowser said she is willing to open the floor to possible alternatives. Alternate name suggestions range from community names in the District to names honoring famous abolitionists.
A resident suggested during the Friday unveiling the names Anacostia or Potomac. A Ward 7 man suggested Sojourner, after the abolitionist or honoring Frederick Douglass by naming it the Commonwealth of Douglass.
Bowser calls the “disenfranchisement” of the District’s 672,000 citizens, many of which are black, the “biggest ongoing voting rights violation,” and notes polls show the vast majority of residents support statehood. The mayor is setting up for a confrontation with the House of Representatives, using the District budget for leverage to draw attention to the issue.
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