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Backers Of Voting Rights Face Split
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"I agree with people who say we should have a proposal that moves through fast," Fenty said. "I don't think we should put something that is just going to be debated and then could die. How aggressive that proposal could be, I don't think we know yet."
The problem with pushing for statehood, some city officials and activists said, is scaring off those who would otherwise support giving the city a House seat. Opponents of D.C. statehood have said the move would destroy the idea of a separate national capital and unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.
In the early 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president and Democrats ruled Congress, a push for statehood was soundly defeated.
"If we put it out there that we're going for two senators because of the enthusiasm around Obama, it could have the effect of undermining the effort," said D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D). "Of course I want that, but we ought to go get this [voting rights bill] done, then pursue legislative and budget autonomy [from Congress]. It's a systematic, methodical approach that takes it piece by piece and will not put us in a situation where some who may have supported our actions are stopped because the view of having two senators is more extreme."
Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote, a nonprofit group that pushes for District representation, noted that the city must not take for granted that the voting rights bill will sail through Congress. For example, it's not a given, he said, that the six Democratic senators who unseated Republicans will support the bill.
"Certainly, Washingtonians deserve full voting representation in Congress," Zherka said. "We all know what D.C. residents deserve. The question is, what is possible?"
