Getting to Know the DC Council Vol 1: Charles Allen and the Judiciary Committee
Runners, it is already that time again,
Welcome to another week!
This week I’m starting a multi-part series on the DC Council and how it works. I went to a wonderful training last week hosted by DC Jobs with Justice about the DC Government and I realized that while I knew the answers to most of their questions now, I wouldn’t have known before the 2016 election. I don’t want to take it for granted that we all know how best to ask for things from our Councilmembers, or even who our Councilmembers are. Maybe you know their name, but not what committee they chair or what that committee does. Maybe you know both of these things, but you don’t know what bills they’re working on. Well, I am going to attempt to fix all of that.
But first on to your small acts of resistance for the week!
Small Immediate Acts of Resistance
That are never calling your Senator or Representative
- Read the Women’s March page on missing black and brown girls. Recently there has been some news in DC over high numbers of black and Latinx girls going missing and the lack of media and police attention being paid to their cases. Unfortunately, the number of missing girls is actually a “normal” number for DC, but regardless of the numbers being higher, lower, or the same as previous years, it is ALWAYS true that missing children of color usually do not get the same attention as missing white children. When a town hall was hosted in DC on the issue, it was attended almost exclusively by people of color, and they need our help. So in response, the Women’s March has put together a page of resources and statistics on missing children of color so that people (especially white people) can become educated on the topic and be better supporters. Read their page, and maybe chip in a few dollars to one of the organizations they list.
- Thank Mayor Bowser for being a part of the Compact of Mayors agreement to combat Climate Change on a local level. The Compact of Mayors is a an effort to combat climate change through local government. DC has its very own page that shows where we are in the process — and your city might too! Read about the Compact of Mayors and then send a tweet to Mayor Bowser letting her know you support her efforts on this initiative. I recommend using the hashtag #DCValues, as it’s one she uses frequently. Sometimes it’s important to let people know they’re doing a good job. If you’re not in DC, find out if your Mayor is part of the Compact, and if not, tweet or write them and tell them join.
- Make your weekly calls for Paid Family Leave and the DC Budget. Last week I asked you guys to sign up to make calls alongside Jews United for Justice every Friday in April and May for Paid Family Leave, and every Thursday in April and May for other budget priorities like fair housing. Don’t forget to make your calls this week! They only take a minute. If you don’t want to sign up for JUFJ, just call the Mayor’s office on your own. I have written a lot in past weeks about budget initiatives you can support, or maybe you have your own ideas — raises for teachers, the NEAR Act, etc. Call once a week and ask for it.
Topic 1: Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6, and the Judiciary Committee
A few weeks ago, I emailed some questions on activism in DC to all the members of the DC Council. Several of them have sent me very thoughtful responses, so over the next few weeks I’m going to profile a Councilmember, review their answers to those questions if they sent them to me, and discuss the committees they chair.
Ward 6, where Councilmember Allen presides, is bordered on the southwest by the Anacostia River. It encompass National’s Stadium, the H Street Corridor, NoMa, and pretty much all of the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Ward 6, according to demographic data from the 2010 Census, is about 50% White, 42% Black, and a bunch of small percentages of a bunch of other races. For comparison, DC as a whole was about 39% White and 51% Black in that same census, making Ward 6 more white than average. Ward 6’s median annual household income in 2010 was about $73,000 a year, below DC’s overall median income at that time, which was around $85k/year. Based on development in some of these neighborhoods, my guess is that Ward 6 has been trending more white and with higher median incomes in the intervening seven years.
than William Riker pre-beard.
Charles Allen has held the Ward 6 seat since 2015, making this his first term on the Council. DC Council seats are on four year terms, so he is up for re-election in 2018 for the 2019 legislative year. A major focus of his campaign and of his previous work in DC politics has been on schools. At the very top of his DC Council profile page, it says “Charles Allen is focused on building a Ward 6 with great schools at every level”. Councilmember Allen previously served as Chief of Staff for the previous Ward 6 Councilmember, Tommy Wells. Before that, he was best known as the founder of DC for Democracy. Also notable about Allen’s 2014 campaign is that he rejected donations from corporations throughout, citing his opposition to DC’s pay-to-play culture.
One thing I took away from the training I attended with DC Jobs with Justice last week is that when you’re asking for something, you have to be asking the right person. What that means in this case is that members of the DC Council, based on what Committees they chair or are members of, have more influence in certain areas that others, both to introduce and to block legislation. Even if Charles Allen is not your Councilmember, but he might be on a committee that is responsible for your issue, which makes him a good point of contact.
At the moment, Councilmember Allen is the Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Committees in the DC Council typically have 4–5 members, and the other members on the Judiciary Committee are currently David Grosso (At-Large), Mary Cheh (Ward 3), Vince Gray (Ward 7), and Anita Bonds (At-Large). I am going to quote the DC Council website’s description of this committee’s responsibilities in full, so get ready:
The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety is responsible for matters affecting the judiciary and judicial procedure that are within the authority of the Council; matters affecting decedents’ estates and fiduciary affairs; matters affecting the Freedom of Information Act; matters affecting criminal law and procedure; human rights; juvenile justice; elections; government ethics; campaign finance; matters arising from or pertaining to the police and fire regulations of the District of Columbia; and other matters related to police protection, correctional institutions (including youth corrections), fire prevention, emergency medical services, homeland security, criminal justice, and public safety. For a full list of the agencies under the Committee’s purview, see below.
The Committee also serves as the Council’s liaison with federal partners in the justice system, including: the U.S. Attorneys’ Office, D.C. Courts, Public Defender Service, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), Pretrial Services Agency, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Parole Commission.
To summarize, this committee is responsible for handling everything from police misconduct cases, to campaign finance reform laws, to immigration and ICE cooperation matters, and even to domestic violence funding. If you go lower down on the page to read all of the offices that fall under this committee’s purview, you’ll see it includes OVS or the Office of Victim Services, which funds (alongside federal funding through he Violence Against Women’s Act) pretty much all of the domestic and sexual abuse services in the city. Other offices under their control include the DC National Guard, the Office of Human Rights, the DC Board of Elections, MPD, and the DC Attorney General’s Office.
Do any of those sound like things you are interested in? Or things that are important to DC’s future? Hmm, maybe a little. So if you’re in Ward 6, now you know what your Councilmember is in charge of. If you’re interested in public safety, campaign finance, DC elections, or domestic violence or immigration, now you know someone you can go to. Councilmember Allen is also a member of the Committee on Education, the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, and the Committee on Business and Economic Development, all of which I will cover in upcoming weeks.
One final note before we get to Councilmember Allen’s interview: The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s budget hearing is this coming Wednesday April 12 (in fact the budget oversight hearings for several of the committees are on April 12). Black Lives Matter DC is hosting an event to try to fill up the room (physical presence in the Council building is super important). The event is during the day, so I’m sure many of you will be unable to make it, but there are alternatives to going to Council hearings in person, which I will discuss in Topic 2 below.
Councilmember Allen’s recent activities include the #HandsoffDC initiative, which he started in response to Congressional meddling in DC affairs, most specifically from Jason Chaffetz. I emailed Councilmember Allen and asked him three questions about resistance in DC. Below are his unedited answers:
Question 1: What, in your mind, is the issue in DC most under threat from the current administration and why?
Congress is going to put DC’s autonomy under threat. Whether a local law or local tax dollars, individual members of Congress from far-off districts want to cherry-pick pet issues where they disagree with District voters. They know they are unaccountable to the 700,000 people who call DC home, and they’re merely looking to score political points back home at our expense.
Question 2: As a member of the Council, what are your priorities for DC in the coming months?
My priorities will be focused on issues here at home — public safety, education, growing small businesses, and expanding housing for DC residents.
Question 3: If you could tell the residents of DC to do one thing — either support one cause, take one action, or join one group — to help advance progressive causes in DC and/or keep DC independent, what would it be?
We want all DC residents to get involved and make their voice heard. Whether joining a #HandsOffDC campaign to push back on Congress, or working with groups like DC for Democracy or the Working Families Coalition to fight for progressive legislation right here in DC, every resident should have an opportunity to get active and get involved.
Topic 2: Testifying to the DC Council
Testifying for Council hearings is one of the most effective ways to get your voice heard and on the record. When I’ve called Councilmembers’ offices before to voice my views on an issue, usually the first thing they ask me, if there’s a hearing coming up on that issue is “can you testify?”. They use community testimony in their arguments all the time.
But here is a little known fact (or at least I didn’t know it): you don’t have to go to the Wilson Building in person to testify. (The Wilson Building is like DC’s city hall — where the Council’s offices are.) You can submit written testimony through mail or fax. The DC Council has its own guide to testifying which is pretty handy, but I will briefly outline the process here too.
Bills that are introduced are referred to a Committee by the Chair of the council. In considering the bill — its potential impact on the community, the cost of implementing it, etc — said Committee schedules a public hearing to get feedback. Anyone can testify at these public hearings if they contact the appropriate committee by and being a DC resident with something even remotely relevant to say.
Once you’ve signed up to testify, you will have three minutes (five if you’re representing an organization) in front of the Council to speak. They recommend bringing 15 written copies of your testimony with you so the Council can look over what you’re saying as you say it. Additionally, you can put more in the written testimony than what you say aloud, such as pictures, graphs, or other supporting data. If you’re testifying about a broken overpass in your neighborhood, bring pictures of the overpass.
DC Jobs with Justice has the following outline for testifying:
- INTRODUCTION: Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
My name is _____, I live in Ward ______.
Make your ask (what do you want from them? why are you there?) - WHAT ISSUES BROUGHT YOU HERE “I am here today because I am a teacher and I have not had a contract in six years.” or “I am here today because I support the NEAR Act and alternatives to the police in my community.” or “I am here because my mother could not take time off from work to support my dying grandmother because there was no paid family leave.” Tell them your personal experience. If you’re testifying at a budget-related hearing, tell them how it relates to the budget.
- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN Examples: I want a contract negotiated for DC teachers with retroactive pay, I want the NEAR Act to be fully funded in teh FY18 budget, I want $20 million to enact DC’s Paid Family Leave law.
- CLOSING Restate what you’re asking for, and thank them again for the opportunity to testify.
There are also numerous guides online for how to testify at a public hearing made by great DC activism organizations. If you’re not in DC, I can almost guarantee you have a similar process in your city or state. If you have free time during working hours, maybe you can testify sometime. If you’re a teacher, pitch your State Board of Education for improved schools. The list is endless.
The DC Council has a calendar of upcoming hearings. Usually the deadline to register to testify is two weeks beforehand, and every event has a specific point of contact to register for testifying. See if there is one coming up that interests you! Contact the person about submitting written testimony, or just to register your opinion over the phone.
As always, you guys are the real heroes here.
You can reply to this newsletter or email me at theforerunnerletter@gmail.com with your thoughts, criticisms, or ideas. Let me know if you did any of the things I recommended or found anything useful or informative. I ❤ feedback! Last week’s letter was on the NEAR Act and Sanctuary Cities. Two weeks ago in my letter I mistakenly said “ACHA” instead of “AHCA” the entire time, and then last week in the correction I still spelled it wrong!!! But it’s okay because linguists back me up.
Follow me on Twitter at @speaknojessica. And definitely get your friends to subscribe to The ForeRunner at http://tinyletter.com/theforerunner because I, like Captain Hammer above (and our current President), crave attention and recognition.
In solidarity,
JM
Event link round up (local to DC unless otherwise noted):
April 6: Immigrant Communities in the Trump Era: A Brown in DC Panel Discussion hosted by Brown Club of DC, RSVP required
April 6: Democracy for America Organizing Meeting, hosted by Women’s National Democratic Club
April 7: First Friday for Black Lives Happy Hour, hosted by Black Lives Matter DC
April 8 (Manassas, VA): Virginia Democracy Summit, hosted by Virginia Civic Engagement Table
April 8: Canvass DC Restaurants to Call for a General Strike, hosted by Many Languages One Voice and DC Jobs with Justice, RSVP required (email intern@dcjwj.org)
April 9: Solidarity Sundays Brookland Chapter Monthly Meeting, hosted by the Solidarity Sundays (soldaritysundays.org) Brookland group, aka me and my pals
April 9: Conversations for Actions part 2, hosted by Good Guys DC, RSVP required, you must have taken their core training to attend
April 10: Bystander Intervention Training, hosted by Split This Rock and the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition
April 13 (afternoon): A Budget Briefing, hosted by Fair Budget Coalition. Lunch will be provided, so please RSVP to Monica at monica@faribudget.com so they have enough food. Held at 820 First St NE, 12–2pm. (I will be there!)
April 13: A People’s Budget Forum, hosted by every local activism group in DC, but RSVP through Jews United for Justice in this particular case (I will be there!)
April 15: Tax Day March on Washington
