Thank you, DFA, from the District of Columbia!

Written by: Keshini Ladduwahetty on Feb 26, 2009 9:01 AM EST

Thanks to the many DFA members, from Jim Dean and DFA staff to regular DFA members across the country, the almost 600,000 people living in the District of Columbia are one step closer to equality in the House of Representatives.

Because of your phone calls, emails, and activism, we cleared a critical procedural hurdle in the US Senate on Tuesday, and prevented the Republicans from filibustering the DC House Voting Rights Act.  We hope to see the bill pass both houses of Congress very soon!  This bill will permanently expand the House of Representatives to 437, give one of the new seats permanently to DC (reliably Democratic) and the other temporarily to Utah.  At the next reapportionment of the House seats, Utah's seat would go back in the pot to be assigned based on population.  Yes, we do need to occasionally mix politics and principle, but at least the politics here is just a temporary sacrifice!

A special thanks to DFA members Robbie Akhene, Charles Gardner, and Lucia Messina of North Carolina, who called Senator Kay Hagan on our behalf.  Senator Hagan is still on the fence, so if you're a North Carolinian, please urge her to support basic democratic rights for the people of DC (call 202-224-6342).

A very special thanks to DFA members Linda Brooks of Virginia and Larry Drake of NH, who have long been loyal friends to us.

A very, very special thanks to all the DFA folks in Burlington -- Jim, Charles, Michael -- who have consistently championed our cause.  Boy, do we owe you guys!  We'll repay our debt to you by doing our best to be outstanding members of DFA!!

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