Stories from DC

Kathryn Allen
"As the first African-American banking commissioner for the country, I certainly understand financing and taxes. Being a resident and paying taxes without representation in Congress is just wrong."

Liz Allen
"It’s very frustrating. No matter how informed I am and no matter how much I care about the issues, I can’t live here and have anyone in Congress represent me. I think that’s a real problem."

Marque Chambliss
"It’s not about just politicians and monuments; it’s about people like me. We should have the right to vote in Congress just like everybody else."

Larry Chapman
"Being a fireman in Washington, DC is just as dangerous as being a firefighter anywhere else in the United States, only I don’t get a say in Congress."

Evelyn Curtis
"I am a nurse in Washington, DC, and I take care of patients in this community. However, I still don’t have a vote in Congress."

Stacey Gates
"Washington is about more than just monuments. I went to school here. I work here. That’s why we need voting representation in Congress."

Alan Heymann
"I live in Washington, DC. I have a house here. I’m part of a community here. But I don’t have a vote in Congress, and it’s just not fair."

Jane Varner Malhotra
"In 2002, my husband and I moved with our young children to Washington, DC from Kansas City, Missouri. Who would guess that moving to the very center of our nation’s democracy, I would forfeit mine and my family’s rights to self government and voice in our national legislature? We now live in California. But I am deeply aware of the problem that over half a million fellow Americans in Washington face. If this simple problem of democratic equality cannot be resolved, then one must question the entire system for which our country stands."

Lorie Masters
"I’m a lawyer. It’s very important to me that all of us have the same rights. Yet here in DC, we don’t have the same rights as other people: we don’t have a vote in Congress."

Sen. Chief Samuel E. McCoy, USN, Ret.
"I proudly served in the U.S. Navy and I am a Washingtonian who should have the vote. I deserve that vote."

Darlene Meskell
"I used to be a reporter on Capitol Hill and I used to cover Congress. I always thought it was ironic that I didn’t even have a vote or representation in Congress."

Kathryn Ray
"I’ve been a librarian here for 30 years. I’ve worked with children and I’m a mom. I’ve been a PTA president, and it just seems wrong that we don’t have voting representation right here." "My uncle, who is approaching 90, told me last week that during World War II he passed the exam for Officers Candidate School, but soldiers whose Congressmen and Senators lobbied for their promotion were offered positions ahead of him. He said being from the District, he was always passed over. Even though he was part of the landing at Normandy Beach and with the forces that liberated Paris and was awarded two Bronze Stars, he was never given the opportunity to become an officer because he was a resident of the Nation's Capital. I had never heard this story before. Ironically, he was born on our family farm which was property that belonged to our family BEFORE the adoption of Constitution. It was originally part of Maryland. Our ancestors could vote before 1800."

Lindy Russell-Heymann
"I’ve been teaching here for four and a half years and it’s so hard to teach students the way government works when they don’t have the rights that everyone else has in this country."

Reverend Mark Schaefer
"I minister to college students who as part of their faith share a deep commitment to justice, and they find that this situation is basically unjust."

Kathy Schmidt
"Upon retiring my husband and I were so eager to experience the cultural, social and political stimulation of Washington that we did not acknowledge that we were giving up our Congressional voting rights. Within a matter of months that changed. Every NGO plea for us to contact our Congressman was a grating reminder that we had none. While living in England I had voted for President, governor, Representative, and Senator. Here I was in our nation's capital and had no voice in Congress."

Myrna Sislen
"I own a small community business and I have customers from all over. They can’t believe that we don’t have a vote in Congress. It’s just not fair."

Sandra Spence
"I moved to Delaware from DC in September 2003. About a year later, I attended a candidates' forum with twelve people running for a variety of state and local offices. I was astounded. I had met and at least shaken hands with eleven of the twelve candidates -- in just about a year. What a change from DC where the only elected officials we had were a mayor and city council. Besides being able to vote in presidential elections, I had only two local offices for which I could vote. We had a "delegate" to Congress, but she had no vote on the floor of the House. We had no one who could even make a statement in the Senate. Moving to Delaware, where elected officials are very accessible, allowed me to recognize how un-democratic our nation is, disenfranchising the citizens of our nation's capital! It's time to fix this problem."

Eli Zigas, Walla Walla, WA
“I was born and raised in DC. Growing up, I was always confused whenever I had to give someone my address. They would always ask me, "What state are you from?" I'm not from a state.  I'm not even from a territory.  I'm from a place like no other in America.  In the 1970's, plenty of people called our nation's capital what it was and still is today -- a colony.  I had the luxury of being able to leave home and move to a state.  I now have full voting representation in Congress.  But, there are nearly 600,000 DC residents who are not able to pick up and leave like I did.  They shouldn't have to leave DC to regain their rights."