MAYOR PLEDGES TO RAISE ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR DC VOTE

For more information contact: James Jones, Communications Director
202.462.6000 x12 office / 202.557.4864 mobile / jjones@dcvote.org

November 1, 2000

In a surprise announcement last evening, Mayor Anthony Williams pledged to raise one million dollars for the campaign to achieve full representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia. The mayor's promise was part of his opening remarks at a welcome reception for DC Vote's new executive director, Amy Whitcomb Slemmer.

The reception, which was held at Georgia Browns restaurant in downtown D.C., drew a large group of Washington's political leaders, including Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and council members David Catania, Carol Schwartz, Phil Mendelson, Charlene Drew Jarvis, and Harold Brazil.

"In a city that's on the rebound, we are still moving backward in terms of representation," the mayor said. "If democracy is to prevail around the world, democracy must prevail in the nation's capital," he added.

"This is an unprecedented development in the decades long struggle for the civil rights of the residents of D.C.," said Amy Whitcomb Slemmer. "We are thrilled that Mayor Williams is putting himself on the line to address the democratic injustice at the heart of democracy and setting an example for all of us that this struggle is no longer business as usual," she added.

"The mayor's personal commitment will allow us to turn up the heat on Congress," said Joseph Sternlieb, President of the Board of DC Vote. "We call on other leaders to follow in his footsteps and help the raise the amount of capital it will take to run a successful national campaign," he added.

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