Kansas passes bathroom bounty hunter bill

Choosing a candidate to support for office in Washington, D.C., is a little different than choosing a candidate elsewhere. As we all know, DC is not a state. However, not everyone seems to understand what that means.

D.C. was granted autonomy in 1974, but this law gave it only partial government control. Congress retained the right to review all legislation and budgets for 30 days. During that time, the government can reject the law entirely or simply make changes. Recently, when Congress amended the Penal Code and screwed over a bill on how to tax residents, it used its power to veto the bill. Congress has also messed up our budget. We saw what happened when a felon in the White House took control of the police department for the 30 days allowed by the Internal Affairs Act, and how he has complete control of the D.C. National Guard and the effects that had.

We have no representation in Congress, just delegates. This person was given voting rights on committees when Democrats held the House majority, but still did not have voting rights in the full House. All of this has serious implications for elected officials. They must be aware of these things when they speak and when they propose and pass legislation. I saw that up close when I fought for marriage equality in this district. We took the lead in working with the Legislative Council to create legislation that would be the first to recognize same-sex marriage in another state. Only after the bill passed an uninterrupted review period did Congress move to pass marriage equality in the district. Then I held my breath for a 30-day review period. There are other examples of Congress suspending important legislation and making amendments to it. For example, it banned certain funds from being spent on needle exchanges at the height of the AIDS crisis and stopped spending federal funds on abortions.

So when deciding who to support, you want to make sure that the candidate understands the consequences if they attack Congress and the president, especially if the Republicans are in power. The fact is, we’ve been treated badly by some Democrats as well. In today’s world, all elected officials, especially mayors, will be walking a tightrope until we eliminate felons and Democrats take back both houses of Congress. It’s not the right thing to do to attack what they’re doing. Again, we’re not in the same position as cities like Portland, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. We saw again that when the courts decided that the National Guard had to be removed from those cities, the president couldn’t send in the National Guard, but D.C. was exempt from that decision because they could send the National Guard here. In D.C., the president, not the mayor, commands the National Guard.

Once I’m comfortable that a candidate understands all of this, my criteria for supporting a candidate includes many other things as well, of course. I’m a liberal born in New York City. I taught in public schools in Harlem and was a member of the teachers union. He then went on to work for Progressive Congresswoman Vera S. Abzug of New York. I then served as the Municipal Coordinator for New York City during my time on the New York City Fiscal Control Board. He then came to D.C. in 1978 to work in the Carter administration. I have been an activist in the areas of civil rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and finally LGBTQ rights. I’m a community activist and a democracy activist. All of this influences my decisions regarding candidates. I want to hear consistency from them. I don’t have a problem with people changing their minds about issues based on principle, but I do have a problem when they seem to change their minds based on which way the wind is blowing. The same people who cried “defund the police” until the communities that wanted to hear it in Washington, D.C., actually said they wanted more police, not less police. They simply wanted them to be better trained, more responsible, and more community-oriented.

I want candidates to support DC statehood, but while fighting for it, they should also speak up for budget and legislative autonomy. They need to support the Mayor’s control of the D.C. National Guard and all 4,000 fully trained members. They need to understand how MPD works with federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, Park Police, Capitol Police, and Secret Service. They must refuse to cooperate with ICE. They need to support more affordable housing, but not council housing, which has turned out to be a failed experiment. They must commit to working to end homelessness by providing adequate and accessible shelter throughout the city for both individuals and families in need. I want a strong education mayor who supports teachers, expands accountability for charter schools, and strives to hold them to the same standards as public schools. We need to have strong programs for both students who go on to university and those who want a different path, such as an internship or apprenticeship. Strong support for UDC, affordable health care for everyone, and rental and food assistance when needed. We need to focus on reducing childcare costs. We will focus on ARTS, libraries and recreation centers in all wards of the city. We focus on environmental friendliness and affordable and accessible transportation. Of course, to me, it makes sense that they should support and speak out for all the rights of the LGBTQ community.

Looking at that list, it’s clear the city needs to raise money to pay the full price. Any candidate who says they don’t support a strong and vibrant business sector is either naive or just plain stupid and won’t have my support. A vibrant business community provides jobs and, in the long run, taxes that pay for what we all want our government to provide.

Again DC is elsewhere. We don’t collect taxes from people who work here but live in Maryland or Virginia. So we need to be smart about the businesses we encourage to locate here and encourage them to employ DC residents. Then they will pay their taxes here. D.C. has developed a strong sports economy. This is enhanced by the new RFK site and includes teams at Capital Center, Audi Field, and Nats Stadium. Together they bring millions of people to Washington, D.C., to spend money there. When a candidate is endorsed by a group like the Working Families Party that suggests they are anti-business, I am wary of that candidate. You can’t be anti-business in Washington, D.C. I’m keeping an eye on the candidates who are trying to replicate Mr. Mamdani’s victory in New York City by promising the moon. They don’t realize, or they seem to pretend not to notice, but what voters need to understand is that we, the city council and mayor of D.C., cannot make promises like the mayor of New York City is doing, hoping that the governor and Albany will help him. DC doesn’t have Albany to help us. There is no governor coming to help. It’s just us. And that’s all we can negotiate with Albany, which unfortunately consists of the president and Congress. Some of you may remember that in 1995 we were forced into a control board. We were fortunate that the president at the time was Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and he appointed first Andrew Brimmer and then the wonderful Alice Rivlin to the board and chair. Can you imagine who President Trump would nominate to rule our cities if Congress did that today?

So we can’t just throw at them and attack them, but at least the mayor can’t, because he frequently has to ask for their help and stop their unprovoked attacks. As a columnist and private citizen, I can and will continue to attack felons and their Republican sycophants in Congress all I want. But the people we elect need to understand some constraints. We need to understand that they are sometimes walking a tightrope when dealing with the White House and Congress.

Please take a close look at all the candidates and once you decide who you want, be sure to vote.

Peter Rosenstein She has been an active LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist for many years.