DC United States Senator Choose 1
United States Senator (Shadow Senator) (Desplácese hacia abajo para leer en español. Clic en Leer más Read More para español)Duties: (1) Shall inform the Congress and individual members of Congress that the District of Columbia residents meet the standards traditionally required by Congress for the admission of a United States territory as a state of the United States;(2) Shall monitor the progress of the petition for admission of New Columbia to statehood pending before the Congress and report on the progress to the District of Columbia residents; (3) May advise the District of Columbia on matters of public policy that bear on the achievement of statehood;(4) In accordance with subsection (g) of this section, may employ staff and expend funds donated by private sources for public purposes related to the achievement of statehood; and 5) Shall have any other powers or duties as may be provided by law. Term: 6 years Salary: None (Source: DC Official Code 2001 DC ST § 1-123 (f) 1-5)Senador de los Estados Unidos ( )Descripción: Senador de los Estados Unidos (sin derecho a voto) Funciones: (1)Informará al Congreso y a cada uno de sus miembros de que los residentes delDistrito de Columbia cumplen las normas tradicionalmente exigidas por elCongreso para la admisión de un territorio de los Estados Unidos como Estado delos Estados Unidos;(2) Supervisará el progreso de la petición de admisión comoEstado de Washington, Estado Libre Asociado de Douglass, pendiente ante elCongreso, e informará del progreso a los residentes del Distrito de Columbia; (3)Podrá asesorar al Distrito de Columbia en asuntos de política pública que afecten ala consecución de la condición de Estado;(4) Período: 6 años Salario: Ninguno.
Biographical Information
Campaign Email
info@jainfordc.com
Education
Juris Doctorate at Columbia Law School. Bachelor of Arts at the University of Chicago
Qualifications
Attorney at FairVote, December 2023 - Present; Attorney at Sierra Club, September 2019 - August 2023; President, Young Democrats of Ward 2
Campaign Twitter Handle
@ankitjaindc
Campaign YouTube URL
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC988pSHsml3hfT4p9nm4oWw
Website
https://www.jainfordc.com/
In the past two years, what two important things have you done to help make DC a state?
I am an active member of the D.C. Democrats statehood committee working within the party to advance statehood. I also distributed a large number of signs when the statehood bill was being considered last Congress. Those signs became so ubiquitous that they were referenced by an opponent during a statehood hearing as an example of the power Washingtonians had to get their message out to Congress.
I have also attended numerous rallies in favor of statehood and against congressional interference, statehood lobby days at Congress, and hearings where Congress was trying to take away our rights. Through these efforts I have helped congressional offices understand the injustices of our lack of statehood and that we will not take no for an answer.
How will you show people across the country that DC does not have full and fair voting rights?
Our Shadow Senators are our main spokespeople for D.C. statehood. We need someone in this position who can get media coverage and who is a sharp and polished speaker to communicate our message. I would be an effective spokesperson for statehood and an advocate for the city as a whole.
We also need to help people outside of D.C. understand what our lack of statehood means. We don’t need to do this outreach by ourselves. There are many nationwide pro-democracy organizations that support D.C. statehood who have members across the country. I currently work with or have worked with many of these organizations in my day job. We need to get these organizations to prioritize educating their members about the injustice of D.C.’s lack of statehood.
What will you do to improve the chances of DC statehood?
First, I will devise a long-term strategy to make statehood happen. What we have been doing for the past decade-plus has not been working. I am a voting rights attorney with FairVote and spent 4 years as an attorney for the Sierra Club. I know how to run strong advocacy campaigns and will make sure we have a clear strategy for how to get the statehood bill passed. I will push to make D.C. statehood a part of a larger pro-democracy bill and to create an exception to the filibuster to pass that bill.
Second, I will make sure the entire statehood community has the same game plan to advance our shared strategy forward. Every group and person has a unique role to play, and I will unify our movement and make it greater than the sum of its parts.
Biographical Information
Campaign Email
Eugene@kinlowforsenator.com
Education
BS Business Management, UDC
Qualifications
More than 20 years of experience in advocating for DC Voting Rights and DC Statehood
Campaign Twitter Handle
@KinlowDC
Website
https://www.kinlowforsenator.com/
In the past two years, what two important things have you done to help make DC a state?
Over the last two years, I led the Mayor’s Statehood Office that created visibility campaigns. Our national advocacy included specific focus on Arizona, West Virginia and Maine resulting in increased awareness on DC Voting Rights and Statehood. It also increased the numbers of Americans supporting efforts to remedy our disfranchisement. The campaign generated millions of impressions that residents of these states can now use to advocate on the human and voting rights struggle in the District. Over the past two years. I worked with the Office of the Secretary to award $400,000 in grants ($200,000 a year) and programming support for local and national organizations who advocate for District of Columbia voting rights and statehood.
How will you show people across the country that DC does not have full and fair voting rights?
Over the years, I organized lobby days and rallies on Capitol Hill defending DC’s local democracy while also advocating for DC Voting Rights and DC Statehood. I staged protest and used civil disobedience to garner national attention. I will continue to create national public awareness campaigns/tools (documentaries, op-eds, and editorials) that will better assist Americans to understand our issue. I propose a 51 States in 51 Days tour to meet with residents in every state. The tour will be supported by local/national elected officials and organizations that support DC Statehood. We will build awareness thru key groups including the faith community, veterans, students and celebrity engagement.
What will you do to improve the chances of DC statehood?
I will meet with key groups and individuals’ that have access to elected officials. Ideally these groups will have some political or economic power. This will include heads of national organizations and key media personalities living in Washington, DC. I will work with these groups and organizations to pass resolutions that I will deliver to members of Congress and the media. Media will be important as we advance our Statehood message nationally and also counter arguments designed to mislead the American people about our status. I will also create a speakers bureau to expand our message and connectivity in the states.