Women of Ward 6 is a non-partisan monthly recognition of Ward 6’s women, sponsored by the Ward 6 Democrats. This effort, in partnership with the National Woman’s Party, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and the Hill Rag, will culminate in the 2020 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

We will be recognizing women of Ward 6 – current or historical who lives or works in Ward 6 – for the significant contributions to better our lives. Follow along as we honor these women as part of our Women of Ward 6 Initiative here.

This month the Ward 6 Dems are honoring Jackie Von Schlegel (1939-2016) as June's Woman of Ward 6. Jackie Felty Von Schlegel was a longtime Capitol Hill realtor who was born in eastern Tennessee. 

Thank you to everyone who turned out for our biennial convention on Saturday, June 22. 

Our revised bylaws passed on a voice vote. Our 2019-2021 officers are listed below:

The Ward 6 Democrats will be holding our biennial convention on Saturday, June 22 at 10:00 a.m. SHARP. This important meeting is convened every two years so we can conduct the business of the organization: electing the officers who will lead us for the next two years and, this year, voting on critical updates to our badly outdated bylaws, which were last revised in 2003. 

We need you to plan to attend and vote on these two critical pieces of business.

The Ward 6 Democrats will be voting on proposed revisions to our bylaws on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at our biennial convention, which will take place at Christ Church (620 G Street SE). The convention opens promptly at 10:00 a.m., and voting will be open until 1:00 p.m. Please plan to join us on June 22, and review the revised bylaws in advance and come prepared to cast your vote. 

You can review the proposed revisions here. 

Join us for an intimate group discussion with our Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who is one of city's leading advocates for improvements to all aspects of our election process.

Especially now, this is a critical discussion to address inequities and fairness in the District related to basic voting rights, influence of big money contributions, conflicts of interest for our elected officials, improper lobbying and the ways in which we elect our leaders.

We will explore and discuss these issues and ways we can improve our election process. Please join us!

Seating is limited to 20 attendees - RSVPs are restricted to Ward 6 Democrats. All attendees must RSVP here (no +1s please).

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans is currently involved in a probe regarding improper ethical and lobbying actions with the DC Council and government. There has been significant coverage in the Washington Post and other local news sources regarding these serious charges. If you are not aware of this matter, we strongly suggest you investigate these allegations and the actions taken to date by the DC Council.

Councilmember Evans also serves as National Committeeman for the DC DSC, which is an elected position. Several members of the DC DSC have created a resolution asking Mr. Evans to step down from this position.

On May 2, 2019, the members of the DC Democratic State Committee will meet to vote on this resolution. 

We want to be clear that the resolution is not asking Councilmember Evans to resign from the DC Council. That is a decision for the voters of Ward 2. The resolution is asking Mr. Evans to step down as our party's DC representative to the Democratic National Committee.

We would like to hear from you, so we’ve set up a short survey athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XWHL5CB. It will ask you to confirm that you are a Democrat residing in Ward 6. It then includes a link to the actual text of the resolution. Please review it, then let us know whether you’d like the Ward 6 Dems to support the request for Mr. Evans’s resignation or not. There is also a space to offer any comments you might have on the situation.

We request that ONLY Democrats in Ward 6 register their vote.

Please do take a few moments to review the resolution and let us know your thoughts on this extremely serious matter.

Fellow Ward 6 Democrats,

This edition of our newsletter is all about volunteer opportunities.

You can attend the upcoming DNC winter meeting, help your fellow Ward 6 Dems get in shape and prepare for the Race to Ratification 5K that will kick of the National Woman’s Party celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage, take a two question survey to let us know what topics you’re interested in, or lobby for DC Statehoood.

There are LOTS of opportunities to get involved in February. All you have to do is pick the one that best suits your time, talents, and interests.  

Chuck Burger

President, Ward 6 Democrats

DNC Winter Meeting: Feb. 14-16

The Democratic National Committee will be holding their winter 2019 meeting here in DC at the Marriott Marquis (901 Massachusetts Avenue NW) Thursday, Feb. 14 – Saturday, Feb. 16.

The Ward 6 Dems have posted a PDF of the tentative schedule of public events on our website, under the Events Calendar, at https://www.ward6dems.org/calendar.

Daily Registration:

• Thursday, Feb. 14, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 15, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 16, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Thursday will be mostly devoted to council and caucus meetings. Many of the committees meet on Friday, and there’s a general session from 1 – 4 p.m. and then a welcome reception from 6 – 8 p.m. Saturday kicks off with a Black History Month breakfast, followed by the regional caucuses in the morning, and another general session from 12 – 3 p.m.

The DC Democratic State Committee website indicates that they’ll be offering online registration soon at https://dcdemocraticparty.org.

Baby, Were You Born to Run?

We’re still looking for a volunteer to coordinate ONE weekly training run for the Ward 6 Dems team for the upcoming Race to Ratification 5K, Sunday, June 9. The race is the official National Woman’s Party (in partnership with Congressional Cemetery) kick off of a year’s worth of events celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage. If you’re willing to coordinate ONE training run a week, email Elizabeth Engel at ewengel@yahoo.com. 

New This Year: Ward 6 Salons (and we need your help)

In 2019, the Ward 6 Dems will begin hosting 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 one or more invited special guests.

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.

DC Statehood Annual Lobbying Day – NEW DATE (Feb. 27)

Are you ready to take the plunge and help advocate for DC Statehood in 2019?

Wednesday, Feb. 27 (note the new date) is the statehood movement’s annual lobbying day on Capitol Hill. There are morning and afternoon shifts available, and training and meals are 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/.

The Hill Center (921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) will be hosting their seventh annual Volunteer Capitol Hill on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is designed to showcase the wide variety of opportunities for volunteer service in our community. The Ward 6 Democrats will have a table, and we need some volunteers to help us recruit more volunteers (how meta).

We need:

• Two volunteers from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. (who will also help with setup)
• Two volunteers from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Two volunteers from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. (who will also help us pack up)

If you can help, contact Dorinda White at dorindaw@gmail.com.