Since District residents don’t have proper Congressional representation in the House or Senate, it’s a safe assumption that most of them rarely give the office much thought.
Sure most everyone knows vaguely that Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is the lone House rep from the city, but they also know that she doesn’t get to vote – so the position is mostly aspirational.
She hires a staff and attends some committee meetings but cannot vote to impact legislation, the budget, war authorization or even a post office naming.
The office is a fig leaf to give District residents a false sense of participation in Democracy; it’s a costume we wear giving us the appearance of voting rights without actually getting anything tangible.
But here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to be that way; it could be much better.
The office could be used as a springboard for voting rights. The office could be a bridge for building relationships with members from both parties. The office is a seat at the table, and even if it’s at the far end of the table away from the grown ups it’s still an opportunity.
But sadly in recent years that opportunity has been largely squandered.
Despite her impressive civil rights and legal career in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Norton has had virtually zero impact on advancing either DC Statehood or getting District residents home rule since her election in 1991. In years when the city had allies in the White House – like during the presidency of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and even Joe Biden – home rule for the District made no measurable advancement or progress towards reality.
That’s especially stinging when you consider that for a portion of the Clinton administration Democrats held control of the House, Senate and White House. And yet this city didn’t gain an inch of autonomy.
Norton came into office in 1991 – two years before Clinton was our president. Despite serving as the city’s elected representative since 1991, that’s 34 years as the District’s sole representative in Congress, the city still has very few allies we can count on and still is beholden to the whims of elected leaders from other states.
Members of the Virginia and Maryland delegation sometimes make noise about supporting DC, but their loyalty is naturally to the suburbs and their own constituents. And while the Congressional Black Caucus has occasionally stood with the District, each of those members are also primarily loyal only to their interests; when was the last time a CBC member fought for DC on the House floor?
So DC remains mostly alone, which is why we’re so vulnerable and why we’re not moving forward with our goal of statehood.
Yet despite this unfortunate lack of allies or progress towards statehood, Norton has been essentially unchallenged in 34 years of representing the city. She cruises to re-election each cycle even though the District’s advocacy efforts are stuck in first gear.
Norton cannot point to anything notable in terms of tangible gain for our city; would we tolerate that from our mayor, council or attorney general or even ANC?
Partly because of her fiery temper and reputation, and because of the one famous viral video clip of her refusing to yield time during a floor debate two decades ago, Norton has created the impression of battling non-stop with our opponents.
In reality those conflicts are few and far between, and in recent years as her age and frailty caught up with her they’ve completely gone away. That’s why the city’s entire establishment, the Washington Post and even her former advisors are all encouraging her not to run again in 2026. I doubt she will run again, but she keeps telling the press that she’s ready to campaign again.
Most urgently for the District, our lack of an effective voice in Congress is holding us back. In Congress, the most effective lawmakers have always been the ones who build bridges, who form alliances, who cajole and find common ground rather than relying on insults, bluster or empty threats.
If you ask nearly anyone in the city who has worked on advocacy or city wide politics, home rule has probably never been further from reality than it is now. That’s probably why “Free DC” has been so effective at rallying residents to take to the streets; DC Vote is on the sidelines, largely ineffective and rudderless.
Obviously President Trump is the single biggest challenge to the city’s autonomy. He gains politically by dumping on urban cities and so he’s been doing it here and across the country.
And Republican leaders in the House have long enjoyed meddling in the city’s affairs because it provides them easy talking points back home, and a chance to put a notch in their belt on issues like abortion, gun control or needle exchange for drug addicts. Last winter, when the Continuing Resolution accidentally froze District spending the city had zero help in the House; only Sen. Susan Collins helped untangle the avoidable misunderstanding. A strong DC Representative could have prevented the entire episode, with diplomacy and proactive effort.
But the problems here in DC didn’t start with Trump; they date back to the 1970’s and the flawed version of home rule we were bequeathed. But we have to take more control of our circumstances and make them better.
And that’s where I’d like to offer an alternative version of things. I believe I can deliver an improved version of leadership for DC residents because of my unique background.
I’ve worked for the District government twice, I raised three kids in this city and know every inch of every ward along with both recent and distant history.
But much more importantly, I worked for nearly a decade in Congress – not in obscure roles but in leadership and within both the House Rules Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Those are the battlefields where the most relevant fights involving this city are fought and it’s there that I can deliver results. I can help get a blueprint to achieving statehood, I can make alliances that will assist the city when we’re in need and I can work with both parties to look out for the interests of every single person in this city.
Combine that with my ability to communicate effectively and persuasively with our allies AND with our enemies and what you will get with me as your next Congressman is someone who can make actual progress towards voting rights and fair representation for this city.
Nothing less will do.
Vincent Morris has lived in the District for more than 30 years and raised his three adult children here; all of them attended DC public schools and Morris was active in the school community, serving as PTA President and also on the LSAT. Morris also has served on the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission as an appointee of former Mayor Adrian Fenty and served six years as a member of the DC Public Library Board of Trustees as an appointee of former Mayor Vincent Gray.
