front page - editorial archives  - search - community

Commentary
	Slots fight shows D.C. can take care of itself (Published August 23, 2004) By BILL MOSLEY

Last month, just after the John Ray-Pedro Alfonso group submitted petitions to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics for a ballot initiative to create a slots – excuse me, "video lottery" – parlor in Northeast Washington, members of Congress began whetting their rhetoric in apparent preparation to save us from ourselves.

Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia harrumphed that "under no circumstances do I think gambling should come to the District of Columbia, period." His Virginia colleague, Rep. Tom Davis, warned that "members [of Congress] are not going to want to vote for slot machines in the nation's capital."

While neither explicitly threatened to introduce legislation to ban slots in the District, the message was clear: White knights in Congress stood ready to ride in and protect hapless D.C. residents from making a bad decision.

Well, guess what?  We didn't need them.

A combination of energetic citizen activism and a hardworking, no-nonsense elections board exposed the flimflammery of the pro-slots campaign – the illegal out-of-town petition circulators, the misrepresentation of the initiative as a vote for "schools and health care," and other abuses of our election laws – and denied the initiative a place on the ballot. There was no reason for members of Congress to let our little petition battle distract them from fighting terrorism, or naming bridges after themselves, or whatever it is that they do.

Every day, Dorothy Brizill offers living proof that the civic spirit is alive and well in the District of Columbia. As the spearhead of the charge against slots – following her leading role in keeping Mayor Tony Williams off the Democratic primary ballot in 2002 in another petition imbroglio – Brizill is an example of how an engaged citizenry can hold local government accountable to the people.

Unfortunately, D.C. residents are regularly taught that their opinions don't count, that the hard work of citizen activism is as likely as not to be undone by Congress. For example, Initiative 59, the 1998 ballot initiative for medical marijuana supported by 69 percent of D.C. voters, was blocked by Congress and never implemented. Also, organizations working hard to fight HIV/AIDS in the District have had to swim against the tide of the congressional ban against needle exchange programs here.

The heavy hand of Congress often derails local action before it starts. Earlier this year, as momentum picked up around the country for same-sex marriage, our own Councilman David Catania counseled that the District take a pass, fearing a "congressional backlash." Only we who live in the shadow of the Capitol have to make such calculations. Congressional control over our laws dampens local initiative and stunts our civic development by forcing us to always look over our shoulder.

The slots ruling was a rare example of D.C.'s limited democracy having just enough space to work. Even if the initiative had made it to the ballot, the voters would have had the final say. Isn't that what democracy is all about? We don't need the veiled threats of Wolf, Davis and their colleagues in order to conduct our business.

The response of every D.C. resident to congressional interference in our local affairs should be: Back off. Butt out. Mind your own business.

And: If you folks in Congress really want to save a populace from falling prey to the siren song of gambling, Maryland could really use your help. D.C. can take care of itself.

***

Bill Mosley is a member of the Stand Up! For Democracy in D.C. Coalition. Contact him at billmosley@verizon.net.

Copyright 2004, The Common Denominator