“Who should DC residents contact?”

AJ

Chaffetz would be my first suggestion as he’s leading the voice against D.C. Autonomy and is head of the House Oversight Committee

R

+1 to Chaffetz.
Also contact the MD and VA reps/senators and ask for them solidarity and support for DC. What’s good for DC is good for them. I have to think that if certain DC laws get trampled on by Congress (ie guns laws changed) that could potentially lead to more violence spilling over to the MD bordering counties.
- JohnH
  
  Ugh, he’s the worst. Nothing like someone from Utah so concerned about what’s happening in DC. And what he did at the inauguration was just douchey.
  - Hillary
    
    There is a rumor that he’s going to get challenged for his seat by another Republican. And while it’s hard to care because well, Republicans are mostly terrible, the pure joy of seeing him lose his seat is enough for me to want to get the word out. So if you can stomach supporting a Utah Republican, this could be fun: http://www.sltrib.com/news/4834811-155/possible-gop-challenger-to-rep-jason
    
    If nothing else, it might get Chaffetz to consider extending the same investigative courtesy to Trump he did to Hillary.
kanon

+1. My suggestion to all DC residents who wish to express their opinion to members of Congress is to figure out the committee that has authority over such issue, and then contact members of those committees, specifically the leadership (chair and ranking member). Or try to identify professional staff on those committees and contact them.
.
Personal phone calls > personal emails > personal letters > form letters/emails/postcards > online petitions
jumpingjack

I call Chaffetz constantly (I have very strong opinions about many things he’s doing/not doing). I can usually get through to his Provo office to talk to someone.
victoria

Since Chaffetz wants to run our city, everyone should start calling his office with every single otherwise 311 requests. Parking meter broken? Street lamp out? Recycling not picked up? Call Chaffetz! Seriously – we can deluge his office. Something wrong in the neighborhood – who you gonna call? Call Chaffetz! The number is 202 225 7761.
- UpConn
  
  +1

Rob

100%beef!?!? A 1/2smoke by definition is 1/2 beef 1/2 pork.

[rrrrr]

I would focus first on your “home state” (even if you are 10+ years removed) emphasizing your ties to that community. What did you talk about with your parents, siblings, cousins, and friends over the holidays?
.
Secondly, if you consider yourself and your issues Democratic, I would focus on leadership (Schumer as Majority Leader, Van Hollen as DSCC Chair + DMV tie). The point you want to drive home is that if they want to capitalize on the energy of the women’s march and convert that into votes for Democrats in 18/20, they need to pay attention to X issue.

[rrrrr]

*Schumer as Minority Leader…. one day maybe though.
former North Carolinian

This is what I did. I’m sure my postcards are not as effective as postcards from their constituents, but that’s not a reason for me to do nothing.
jburka

You’re adorable. You do realize that some of us were actually born in the District, right?
- Kevin
  
  Thank you.
- caffeine
  
  +1
- [rrrrr]
  
  Calm down, it was early, of course I meant “if you have one.” Even if you were born in the district you may have ties to other states. And hence why I offered another option. Or we can be cheeky with each other.
- llucas
  
  Exactly my thought. What home state?

Meg

Contact the City Council and tell them to stand up to Trump!
http://dccouncil.us/council

Prince Of Petworth

I think the council is pretty well on the voting rights side at this point.
dcd

How do you suggest they do that?

JohnH

Just my humble opinion, but I would suggest basing it off an issue/issues you wish to express your opinion on and maybe selecting based on that (i.e. vulnerable House members/Senators, agency heads, etc.) on certain issues.
.
You can always write nearby elected officials in Maryland and Virginia. You may not be in their state/district, but you likely know people who are and can influence that area with volunteering, donations, etc. A one Barbara Comstock may be a good start (who represents Northern VA). MD and VA both have Democratic Senators, so I’d maybe focus on House. Although I am not super familiar with the stances of the Senators on specific issues so there may be someone to target based on a specific issue. Just food for thought!

stacksp

I agree with the sentiment of taking a specific issue to your house member/senator etc. Equal pay, jobs, etc?

Steve

As D.C. resident we should be contacting all of our friends and family that live outside the district and encouraging them to contact their elected officials.
I would also suggest rather than write elected officials people should call. It takes more time and usually produces more results.

DCresident

+1 I used to intern on the hill for a congressman and from my experience calling is more effective.
- JohnH
  
  I’m sure these days, letter writing is much less effective. And I have a hunch the elected officials don’t care (or pay attention to) what is being sent unless they want to make mention of it in support of something they want.

anon

https://the51st.org/contact-congress/

CPT_Doom

Another thing we can do is visit a site like swingleft.org, which is working to tackle key swing House districts for the 2018 election. Not as immediate as the first 100 days action, but still important.

BRP

the idea of hundreds of Washingtonians descending on VA10 to get Comstock out cracks me up.
Yikes

http://m.dailykos.com/stories/1623982
I’d avoid swingleft.

FiredUp

What I, and I think maybe the OP too, am really wondering is not who to contact about DC’s lack of voting rights but whether it makes any sense to contact reps/senators from other districts about national issues (cabinet nominations, ACA, etc).

I don’t want to keep bugging Eleanor Holmes Norton since she is a) already on the right side on most of these issues and b)can’t vote on them anyway. I also don’t want waste my time sending letters to other folks if they don’t feel the need to respond to the demands of non-constituents – I’ll save my energy for other forms of protest.

I am a DC native, so I don’t have a “home” state.

DM

I’ve contacted Rubio, McCain, and Graham’s offices regarding some of these confirmation hearings, and received responses from all of them stating basically, though they appreciate my time, they only accept communications from direct constituents. It’s pretty much what I expected, but I had the time set aside anyway, so no loss. In the past when I’ve reached out via phone, the interns that answer are generally “nice”, but I’ve never gotten any sort of response and I’m fairly confident my opinion meant little.

With that said, I think contacting the rep sitting on the committee of interest is still the best we can do. They may not have to care about our opinion, but if enough people from across the country make their opinions known, it’s gotta have some sort of physiological affect. Right?
- Gray Area
  
  This is something I’ve been thinking about. Given DC’s lack of voting representation in Congress, would it cross the line to call various Hill offices and masquerade as a constituent?
  - bv1837
    
    Sometimes they ask for your address. I think it would cross the line to give the address of a total stranger.

CoHiCenterman

Also need to look at places where we can truly effect the economies of those representatives that meddle with our policies. Andy Harris (MD-1) loves to meddle in DC politics. DC residents should boycott anything made/sold from the Eastern Shore of MD and promise to never vacation in his district until he changes his tune. Plenty of blue state beaches to vacation at.

BRP

FWIW, a couple of staffers asked for my address when I called negotiable/swing votes about the ACA last week and I gave each of them an earful about how I don’t live in WV (or wherever) but as a DC resident I am represented by every single senator because they’ve decided we don’t need our own.

textdoc

“as a DC resident I am represented by every single senator because they’ve decided we don’t need our own.” I think this is a good argument to make — I just hope they buy it and treat your call as though it came from a constituent.

Curious

How effective do you think it would be to start contacting representatives that frequently try to interfere in the district such as Marco Rubio, James Lankford, Brad Wenstrup, & Jason Chaffetz? If they are so concerned about regulating our city against our will, maybe they should start hearing from us?

jumpingjack

I’ve called Chaffetz’s and Rubio’s offices a bunch (I can usually get through to the field offices, since the DC lines tend to be jammed). On the rare occasion when they ask where I’m calling from, I tell them that I’m a DC voter and because I have no voting representation in Congress I consider that all representatives and senators represent me.
.
I’ve said the same thing to Andy Harris’s office, where it has even more effect because he himself has said that all of Congress represents DC voters.
- fhyrew
  
  Do you have a source for Harris saying that?

Anonacostia

Read this document and sign up for weekly updates. GREAT list of actions including which Senators to call and other actions to take. This is the most comprehensive action step document I’ve seen yet. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FKXcRFOg5VS-UjCyH2jmgRTm-sQY_PB65Gxo-rwMT6A/mobilebasic

Nat

Neighbors United for Statehood….Lobby Day Feb. 15th

https://the51st.org/

KS

What if we tell them we will give money to their opponents in upcoming elections in their name, much like people donated to Planned Parenthood for Pence?

DC_Chica

Party leadership and committee chairs are fair game. I would advise against calling Reps and Senators randomly, since I used to answer phones in the Senate and I would politely but forcibly transfer anyone who called who was not a constituent (we just didn’t have the resources and people to talk to everyone, and our own constituents were always a top priority).
As a DC resident (MD native), I have also been wrestling with how to take action after Saturday. The best I have come up with is that I feel obligated to show up to more protests in DC going forward – there are so many people in this country opposed to the actions being taken by Trump and the Congressional Republicans, but most of them do not have the luxury of being to pop down to the Hill, or the White House, or the Mall on any given random day, and I do.
Lastly, if you are calling congressional offices, please be nice! Please understand that their phones may be ringing off the hook, and not everyone calling them is going to be as nice as you. It’s a given that staffers have to tolerate some abuse from the general public (I was only allowed to hang up on someone if they started cursing at me, which happened a few times). If anything, please send them a thank-you note or a few words of encouragement!
I also have the urge to inundate the White House with mail, but I’m not sure how their mail system works and whether they’re just going to throw anything away that they don’t like. Does anyone know?

Jon

I am sending a letter to family and friends outlining the DC specific bills to express opposition. I am highlighting those who live in areas with Republican representation.

It includes language like “my child/grandchild etc lives in DC and I believe in their right to safety and self determination. I cannot consider voting for you in the next election if you choose to prioritize the bullying of people I care about over representing me and your home District.”

Reference opposition to S.162 (gun control), HR 7 Section 309 (abortion), and SJ Res 4 (Death with Dignity).

For any DC law, tell GOP reps that you know how much the rep values local control over federal contro and that overturning local DC laws suggests that the federal govt really does know better.

For S.162, point out that these laws have the support of both residents and MPD. Especially to GOP reps, what does it say if they prioritize bullying DC over the safety of DC police officers?

Just some thoughts.

DC_Chica

This is a great idea. I almost want to start lobbying on my sister’s behalf (she lives in Las Vegas) because we agree on most issues but since she’s a single Mom, she doesn’t have the time to research all the issues and legislation like I do. I think I’ll start offering my lobbying services (letter-writing and research) to relatives who live in other states – I don’t want to push my agenda onto them, but if they tell me what issues they are concerned about, I can take it from there.

PetCoHts

In my experience, most people don’t realize that DC residents don’t have a voting representative in Congress or that members we didn’t vote for consistently meddle in our local affairs. If members won’t address concerns of non-constituents, we should target their constituents for education & action. I’ve asked family & friends who live elsewhere to include opposition to DC interference/support for DC statehood in all communications with their Senators & Representatives. I’d love to see an organized opportunity for DC residents to galvanize around the most egregious offenders (Chaffetz, Harris, etc), whether it’s a electoral campaign or working to mobilize local voters around DC issues.

Caroline

Anybody know who’s behind that poster? I’d love to have one.

Yikes

Should we be working to get the measure for supporting dc statehood on state ballots in 2018? Work with organizations like dcvote to get this done and try to start a PAC to work with candidates running in opposition to the worst offenders like Rubio and Chaffetz?

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