Celebrating Independence with Fair Elections!

As we celebrate Independence Day, we should also celebrate a milestone in the road to independence from Big Money in Politics. Last Thursday, DC4D volunteers were a visible part of the large audience that packed the Council Chamber for the hearing held by Councilmember Charles Allen on the Fair Elections Act of 2017.

While Communications Chair Zach Schalk and I testified as official witnesses for DC4D, I wish to recognize a number of our members who testified or have otherwise played a significant role in the Fair Elections campaign.

Dexter Williams (second from left) is the DC Fair Elections campaign’s leader in Ward 7. Dex was the first public witness at the hearing and got wonderful press in the Washington Post, which quoted him at length. Dex has worked very hard to win the support of community leaders in Ward 7, although Councilmember Vince Gray is not yet publicly supporting the bill. There’s still a chance that Dex might help win Gray’s vote for the bill this Fall.

John Zottoli (third from right) has been a core activist in the Fair Elections coalition from the beginning. John has played an instrumental role in growing the coalition and making it more representative of DC residents.

Ericka Taylor (leftmost), Zach Weinstein and Mat Hanson (second and fourth from right) have worked for Fair Elections in other capacities (Ericka for Fair Budget and ONE DC, Mat for DC Working Families, Zach for US PIRG), but are all active DC4D members as well. We could not have come this far without their efforts.

Erin Palmer (right in the second photo) is one of our most active new members. Kudos to Erin for taking the time to testify on Thursday and for hosting #DCFairElex events with her husband Eric Atilano, who is a leading volunteer on the campaign.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!