Politics. On Point.

41 members of the DC council, including Mayor Vincent Gray, were arrested yesterday outside the Dirksen Senate office building when they protested the President's budget deal which would leave DC with little control over the use of its own taxpayer funds. -- The Mayor explains his position on sticking up for the District's residents. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) both praised and thanked D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, members of the D.C. Council, and D.C. residents for rallying against attachments to Friday’s full-year continuing resolution (CR) agreement by the Obama administration, Senate Democrats and House Republicans, and for the arrests led by the Mayor and Council members. She said DC Vote particularly deserved the gratitude of every D.C. resident for its leadership in organizing the rally in just a couple of days, after learning that the city had been singled out in the CR for a prohibition on spending its own local funds for abortions for low-i...

DC Mayor, Vincent C. Gray  along with  Kwame Brown,   Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia received awards last evening at the 39th Annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Memorial Gala presented by the National Urban League . This year’s platform introduced the idea of celebrating Washington, DC’s diverse population, as a united community with the theme, “ YOU, ME, WE….DC!”   Both men have been embattled in a series of alleged wrong doings ranging from questionable hiring practices to misuse of city-owned vehicles .   Mayor Gray, who campaigned under the phrase "One DC", has come under fire for his hiring practices that included one Sulaimon Brown, who allegedly was paid handsomely to discredit former Mayor Adrian Fenty during Gray's mayoral campaign. In another staffing shakeup, Geri Mason Hall resigned as Gray's Chief of Staff.  Hall was replaced by Paul Quander on an interim basis. About the Whitney M. Young, Jr...

DC Councilman Kwame Brown is trying to make amends by putting his over-the-top SUV spending days behind him. In his latest eNewsletter, the embattled councilman writes to his constituents: "Thank you, District resident, for entrusting me to lead the Council. I am honored and humbled by the confidence you have placed in me to help guide our city through what is certain to be a tough time. As you are well aware, the District is faced with a more than $300 million budget deficit. We will have to do more with less. The Mayor will present the Council with the Fiscal Year 2012 budget next month. Without question, cuts are inevitable. But you have my guarantee that I will do everything possible to make sure the city is collecting the hundreds of millions of dollars it is owed in federal reimbursements. In addition to working with the Gray Administration to restore our city's financial health, I am also focused on continuing aggressive school reform and getting our residents b...

Vincent C. Gray was sworn in Sunday at the Washington Convention Center as DC's sixth elected Mayor. After gaining 75% of the popular vote gray ousted former mayor Adrian Fenty who many claim grew to distant with the city's predominantly African American residents.  Newly sworn in DC Mayor, Vincent Gray on stage with family and the Honorable Eric T. Washington who delivered the Oath during Sunday's inaugural ceremony. Photo/CD Brown. Gray ran on a platform of One City, vowing to unite the city into a city that isn't a Black DC, and a white DC, but One DC.   A city where all can live and thrive. That will be the challenge for gray as he begins work in a city that is known for its violence, inequality in education, lack of jobs and job training. Even before the November election Gray faced his share of distractions: One that allegedly accused Gray of giving voters $10 gift cards. On Thanksgiving, Gray left his credit card on the counter of a local CVS where o...

The Congresswoman first secured a vote in the Committee of the Whole during the 103rd Congress, when Democrats were in the majority. Norton submitted a legal memorandum and obtained the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole for D.C residents who pay federal taxes without a vote in either congressional body. Because D.C. had never voted on the House floor, Democrats vetted the issue with outside attorneys, and Republicans later lost a challenge to delegate voting in the federal courts. Delegate voting in committees has long been permitted by House Rules, and the Committee of the Whole is also a committee created by House rules. When Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, however, they eliminated the delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole. In 2007, Democrats regained control of the House again and instituted the delegate vote again. Because it had worked so well without controversy, Norton had hoped to retain the vote this time, even writing House Speaker John Boe...

Incoming Mayor Vincent Gray has named five more appointments to the senior leadership of his new administration. De’Shawn A. Wright will be the Deputy Mayor for Education.  Wright worked previously as a senior advisor to Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey, and has worked to develop a comprehensive reform agenda for the Newark Public Schools and has a strong background in policy, management, and classroom teaching. Hosanna Mahaley , will head the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.  Mahaley has worked the last few years developing innovative strategies for elevating teaching and assessing student progress. Rochelle L. Webb  will head the Department of Employment Services.  Dr. Webb has more than 20 years of leadership experience implementing state and federal initiatives related to employment and human services in Arizona and Texas. Gustavo F. Velasquez will continue serving as the Director of the Office of Human Rights, while Clarenc...

Another busy day for President Obama as his scheduled included meetings with two prominent D.C. area figures: Mayor-elect Vincent Gray , and General Colin Powell. Gray and President Obama discussed funding for infrastructure for Ward 8, D.C. license plates, the city's high unemployment rate, and voting rights.  The two spoke on the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks' giving up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus - an act that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and catapulted the Civil Rights movement. 'I'm unequivocally in support of voting rights for the District of Columbia", Obama told Gray. The District faces a $188 million gap in the Fiscal Year 2011 operating budget. Gray expects to have future meetings with the president. On meeting with General Powell the president explained, "Most of the discussion we had was around national security issues.  We talked about some of the challenges across the landscape, from North Korea to Iran to Afgha...

General Election Just 15 Days Away As a result of the new early voting program, residents can cast their ballot for the General Election starting today. Just like during the Primary, early voting opens first at the Board of Elections office at One Judiciary Square. People can vote there until Monday, November 1st, from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm. From Saturday, October 23rd until Saturday, October 30, early voting will be open at the same four remote voting centers as during the primary election: Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave., NW Hine Junior High School, 335 8th Street, SE Southeast Tennis and Learning Center, 701 Mississippi Ave., SE Turkey Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave., NE All polling locations are closed on Sundays.

DC Public Schools Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, Announces Resignation The “mutual decision” to have DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee resign today was one that incoming mayor Vincent Gray called “the right one for our school community.” Incoming DC Mayor Vincent Gray  with interim DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Photos/CD Brown. During this morning's press conference at the Mayflower Hotel, Chancellor Rhee, outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, and incoming mayor Vincent Gray, welcomed and announced Kaya Henderson as the interim school chancellor to replace Rhee. Henderson served as the Vice President for the New Teacher Project , a recruitment project designed to hire the best and brightest teachers to teach in urban settings. Reading excerpts from a posted statement  on the DCPS web site announcing her resignation, Rhee said "with Henderson at the helm, and the DCPS management team in place, everything the city needs to be able to continue the reforms, will b...

White House Press Release Today, President Barack Obama announced a new goal of recruiting 10,000 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teachers over the next two years. This announcement will move the country forward on the Obama Administration’s ambitious goal of preparing 100,000 STEM teachers over the next decade . “When I came into office, I set a goal of moving our nation from the middle to the top of the pack in math and science education", said President Obama. "Strengthening STEM education is vital to preparing our students to compete in the 21st century economy and we need to recruit and train math and science teachers to support our nation’s students.” As America’s students lag in math and science when compared to peers around the world, President Obama has made improving STEM education one of his top priorities. President Obama has identified three overarching priorities for STEM education, necessary for laying a new foundation for America’s...

In his second address (in as many years) President Obama gave remarks at the Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards dinner where he did talked about what some say he rarely speaks on, or addresses at all - race. The president, did to some degree, attempt to speak about race, especially in these tough economic times that has seen the African American community hit hardest. On the current economic recession, calling it (again) "the worse since the Great Depression", Obama said, "It’s hit Americans of all races and all regions and all walks of life.  But as has been true often in our history, as has been true in other recessions, this one came down with a particular vengeance on the African American community." President Obama gives remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc.’s Phoenix Awards Dinner. Photos/CD Brown. Unemployment within the African American community is do...