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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
20-265
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
October 7, 2014
To recognize the 40th anniversary of Public Law 93-198, the “District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act,” providing for limited Home Rule in the District of Columbia.
WHEREAS, Public Law 93-198, the “District of Columbia Self–Government and Governmental Reorganization Act” (“Home Rule Act”) reversed a century of appointed commissioner rule in the District of Columbia following Congress’ removal of all elected positions in 1874;
WHEREAS, the Home Rule Act signifies that over the course of the 20th century, because of the dissent, protest, hard work, and lobbying by District residents and their national allies, Congress came to recognize that the citizens of the District of Columbia could run their own government;
WHEREAS, the Home Rule Act represented the ultimate achievement in a 13-year epic of District government reforms, starting with the ratification the 23rd amendment to the Constitution allowing District residents for the first time to vote for president in 1960, President Lyndon Johnson’s reorganization plan of 1967 creating separate executive and legislative functions for an appointed Mayor-Commissioner and an appointed 9-member City Council, an elected Board of Education in 1968, a new, elected position of Delegate to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia in 1970, and finally the Home Rule Act in 1973, creating a record of reform that, regrettably, has not since been matched;
WHEREAS, on December 23, 1973, Public Law 93-198, the “District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act,” also known as the Home Rule Act, became effective, allowing the citizens of the District of Columbia to vote for a mayor and 13 councilmembers;
WHEREAS, on November 5, 1974, the citizens of the District of Columbia elected Walter Washington as Mayor; Sterling Tucker as Council Chairman; Marion Barry, Julius Hobson, Douglas Moore, and Jerry Moore as Councilmembers At-Large; and 8 ward councilmembers: David Clarke (Ward 1), John Wilson (Ward 2) Polly Shackleton (Ward 3), Arrington Dixon (Ward 4), William Spaulding (Ward 5), Nadine Winter (Ward 6), Willie Hardy (Ward 7), and James Coates (Ward 8);
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States is predicated on the right and necessity of self-determination, yet the citizens of the District of Columbia have been denied the right to self-determination in both local and national concerns, even with the Home Rule Act;
WHEREAS, the Home Rule Act must be celebrated nevertheless as an important step toward full self-determination, as a landmark event, and as a complete reversal of the Congressional takeover 100 years earlier;
WHEREAS, our predecessor elected officials - the Mayor and councilmembers of Council Period 1 – must be celebrated and thanked for placing the District government and Home Rule on a successful path – an achievement that was far more difficult than appears; and
WHEREAS, the anniversary of the Home Rule Act must also remind us that there is so much more to do as the struggle for voting representation for District of Columbia residents continues with the call for full voting representation and statehood.
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the Council of the District of Columbia salutes and recognizes the efforts that led to passage and enactment of limited Home Rule in the District of Columbia, honors the leaders who fought for Home Rule, and encourages efforts to secure full governmental autonomy and voting representation for the District of Columbia in the United States Congress.
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “40th Anniversary of Home Rule Recognition Resolution of 2014”.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in
the District of Columbia Register.
