On Friday, January 4, our non-voting delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced H.R. 51, the Washington DC Admission Act, as the second bill of the 116^thCongress. The bill was introduced with the enthusiastic support and participation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and with a RECORD 151 original co-sponsors.

How can you help?

Wednesday, Feb. 13, is the statehood movement’s annual lobbying day on Capitol Hill. There are morning and afternoon shifts available, and training and meals will be provided. Never lobbied before? Don’t worry – experienced leaders of the statehood movement will be with you to guide the way. Experienced citizen lobbyist? That’s great, too. Either way, the movement needs you.

Sign up to participate at https://www.facebook.com/events/1937302779700951/.

You’re probably already familiar with our Ward 6 Matters panel discussions. Our inaugural event took place in November and addressed the topic of public space, and we’ll have information about our first panel of 2019 shortly.

We’re also planning to launch a series of informal, topical conversations in a “salon” format – 15-20 attendees, hosted in volunteers’ houses, on a particular topic or issue, potentially with an invited special guest.

But we need your help. Please take our two question poll at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WYZYZS5 to let us know what topics you’re interested in and which guest participants you’d like us to invite.  

After all our postcard-writing and canvassing efforts this past fall, did you think GOTV was done?

Nope.

Virginia will hold state-wide elections again in 2019. As a reminder, in the last statewide elections in 2017, there was an ENORMOUS blue wave that almost flipped both houses of the legislature. In 2019, we’ll have a bunch of seats of freshmen Democratic state delegates and senators to defend, and we’ll be trying to flip at least two more seats in the House and three more seats in the Senate blue. Andria Thomas, our GOTV lead (and Ward 6 state party committee member and coordinator for Indivisible Capitol Hill – she’s a busy lady), will be coordinating our efforts. To be part of our 2019 Virginia state elections GOTV team, email her at resistrisedc@gmail.com.

We are saddened to inform you that our own Marge Francese has passed away in December. Affectionately known to many as "Marge in Charge," she was a force in DC local politics, government, and especially Ward 6.

After an early retirement from New York Telephone she journeyed to DC to join her daughter Jean to work on the Clinton/Gore campaign. She caught the bug for politics and kept going.

She made her mark in District races working for John Ray, Charlene Drew Jarvis, and Ward 6 Councilmember Sharon Ambrose, who she then joined as her Chief of Staff for two memorable terms.

This was an important time for the city and our Ward. The city was changing rapidly, and it was a time to take action. Ambrose's great team tackled everything from a physically and demographically changing Ward 6 to laying the groundwork to bring about Nats Park and rebuild the Waterfront.

We had an advantage as we had "Marge in Charge." We remember those who she helped, how we were inspired by her dedication, felt her kindness to help others, paid heed to her advice, and followed her leadership to tackle the hard work ahead.

She will be warmly remembered and sorely missed.

Happy New Year!

Your officers recently met to plan for 2019, and we have some exciting events on tap for you this year:

• Quarterly Ward 6 Matters panel discussions (in collaboration with the Hill Rag)
• Ward 6 Democrats Salons (NEW event)
• Events related to the celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage (in collaboration with the National Woman’s Party and the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument)
• Periodic Ward 6 Dems happy hours (in collaboration with Mr. Henry’s)
• Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts for the 2019 Virginia state elections (in collaboration with DC’s local Indivisible groups and Swing Left)
• Providing regular updates on the DC Statehoood movement and sharing actions you can take to help DC become the 51^ststate

We’ll need your support for these efforts to be successful.

Volunteers: We’ll continue to list at least one volunteer activity in each issue of this newsletter, but particularly as we get into election season this summer, we often have “rush” volunteer requests that are shared via a Google group. Not sure if you’re subscribed? Email Elizabeth Engel, our volunteer coordinator, at ewengel@yahoo.com, and she’ll get you signed up if you’re not already a member.

Donations: We do not charge a membership fee, and we’re entirely volunteer run, but efforts like producing this newsletter, hosting our website, writing postcards to voters in Virginia, providing noshes at our happy hours, and advertising the Ward 6 Matters panels require funds. Monthly donations – even small ones of $5 or $10 a month – are the most helpful for us, because we can then plan expenditures knowing how much money we have coming in. Please donate today at https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/wardsixdems to help us achieve our mission of encouraging political activity among Democrats in Ward 6, improving the quality of life in our community, and building the party in 2019 and beyond.

Whether you’re able to volunteer, donate, or just participate in our events in 2019, we hope to see you soon.

Chuck Burger

President, Ward 6 Democrats

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(Washington, DC) – DC Democratic State Committee Chairman Charles Wilson released the following statement in reaction to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez shutdown statement.

Statement from DC Democratic State Committee Chairman Charles Wilson:

“I strongly support the efforts of Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and our local elected officials to re-open the government. Instead of accepting a bipartisan deal to reopen the government, President Donald Trump continues to keep the government shutdown.

As we head into day 21 of this historic and uncalled for shutdown I am saddened to see so many of my fellow DC residents without full representation in Congress suffering because of the destructive Republican Party. Right here in the nation's capital, thousands of Americans will not receive a paycheck today due to the Republican Party's inability to put hardworking Americans first. Washingtonians from all eight wards want to work and they deserve the dignity to provide for their families.”

The Ward 6 Democrats are kicking off Women of Ward 6, a non-partisan monthly recognition of Ward 6’s women. This effort, in partnership with the National Woman’s Party and the Hill Rag, will culminate in the 100^th anniversary (in 2020) of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. 

Residents of Ward 6 are invited to nominate Ward 6 women, current or historical, to recognize their important role in our lives. Our categories include, but aren’t limited to: arts, writing, medicine, labor, media, law, retail, food service, professional services, government, community service, military religion, education, athletics, women under age 21, lobbying, non-profit, and science. Each woman must have worked or lived in Ward 6. 

Nominate a Ward 6 Woman

Ward 6 Democrats Holiday Happy Hour - Tuesday, Dec. 11 

Join Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, your Ward 6 Democrats officers, and a host of other special guests Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the upstairs room at Mr. Henry’s (601 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) to celebrate the holidays and YOU, our dedicated volunteers.

Light fare will be provided. It will be a cash bar (with happy hour specials), but you’ll have the opportunity earn a free drink. Ask our volunteers how when you check in.

RSVP at: https://www.ward6dems.org/ward_6_holiday_happy_hour.

1. Statehood/DC Affairs: We will support Democratic candidates who have confirmed they support DC Statehood. We will work to defeat Republican candidates who support congressional interference in DC affairs. #HandsOffDC
2. Proximity: We will work in districts geographically close to DC.
3. Impact: We will work in districts that stand a good chance of being one of the 23 seats we need to flip the House this November. We want our contribution to impact the composition of the House of Representatives.