As she sails toward a ninth term in Congress — a term that could see her promoted from delegate to representative — veteran civil rights advocate Eleanor Holmes Norton is the subject of rumblings from those who wonder why it has taken so long to get this far.
In September, the House Judiciary Committee will consider a bill that would give D.C. a voting member in the House. Norton had opposed similar measures for years, but has endorsed this bill.
That upsets many statehood activists, who say they rely on Norton to be a stalwart defender of D.C.’s full statehood rights.
“The last time Ms. Norton introduced a bill for D.C. statehood was 1995,” said Anise Jenkins of the pro-statehood Stand Up for Democracy Coalition.
Norton, 69, defended her record as D.C.’s delegate.
“I introduced and got something that has never happened in the history, and that is a vote in the House on D.C. statehood in 1995,” Norton said.
But just as that vote was coming, D.C. went bankrupt “underneath me,” Norton said, and in order to come out of bankruptcy, the District had to pass along to the federal government the expense of running some state-like agencies. The Constitution requires states to pay their own freight, which means that D.C. statehood is impossible — for now, Norton said.
“So I was pushed back,” Norton said.
Some still are unconvinced.
At a forum in Northwest last week, attending mayoral candidates were asked what they thought about Norton’s job on the Hill.
“Eleanor is the darling of D.C. politics. But a lot of times we have pertinent issues that we think need to be addressed and she says, ‘Oh, that’s local,’” said Valencia Mohammed, the D.C. activist who asked the question at Friday’s forum.
Adrian Fenty didn’t show up to the forum and Linda Cropp left before the question was asked. But in a phone interview, Fenty defended the longtime delegate.
“You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who has worked harder for statehood than Eleanor,” he said.
Mohammed isn’t so sure.
“All of a sudden it’s an election year,” Mohammed said of Norton, “and she wants to talk about D.C. statehood.”
