If Washingtonians needed any more motivation to push for full representation in Congress, consider these two words: Walter Reed.
In August, the Army said it didn’t need the historic medical center on Georgia Avenue. Sad, I wrote at the time, but a potential boon for the District, which could develop the 113 choice acres.
Last week, the feds blithely announced they would keep the land for some future, unexplained use.
I would like to say the feds swiped Walter Reed, but that would be wrong; it’s more accurate to say they excluded us locals from any discussion of how it should be used. They walled off another piece of prime property in the capital city.
If Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton were a full voting member of Congress, Walter Reed would at least be in play. Alas, Norton is a nonvoting delegate. She can vote only in committee, not on the floor.
That’s like saying Barry Bonds can take batting practice, but he can’t swing for the fences during a real game.
Let’s face it — clout in Congress emanates from money and committee chairmanships, and it comes down to controlling floor votes. No vote, no power. No power, nothing to trade. Nothing to trade, nothing to win.
No wonder we feel like second-class citizens, when we can’t even step up to the plate over disposition of Walter Reed. No wonder we feel like we live on a plantation, when our best property still belongs to The Man.
Imagine New York’s Fifth Avenue lined with public buildings that couldn’t be taxed. Compare that to our Pennsylvania Avenue, lined with marble mansions for bureaucrats.
The District has come a long way since the Founding Fathers created it as a federal enclave for the legislative, executive and judicial seats of power — free of provincial politics. D.C. is on a roll, property is at a premium and development is remaking neighborhoods across town.
Walter Reed is perfectly situated to anchor development along Georgia Avenue, which has been languishing for decades. The campus of rolling hills lies midway between Silver Spring and downtown D.C. It borders Rock Creek Park.
As soon as it looked as if Walter Reed might come under D.C.’s control, developers conceived new housing, office and retail space, restaurants and open space.
Then the General Services Administration dashed the dreams.
Ironically, last week Congressman Tom Davis, R-Va., and Norton were touting the chances that Davis’ bill to give D.C. a real vote might make it through committee and to the House floor. By the end of the week, more powerful members said “fat chance.”
Consider how San Francisco got control of the Presidio, the magnificent park along the Bay. After the Army gave it up, it took House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other California legislators nearly a decade to get control of it for local use.
It might take that long for D.C. to bring home Walter Reed. It’s worth the fight, and if we had at least one real congressman, the fight would even be fair.
Harry Jaffe has been covering the Washington area since 1985. E-mail him at [email protected].
