By: Lauren Patetta
WASHINGTON — The 3/4G Advisory Neighborhood Commission welcomed Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) to discuss Washington statehood at its bimonthly meeting in Chevy Chase on Monday night.
Norton’s argument for statehood focused on the district’s inability to make autonomous decisions, since it does not have full Congressional representation. All decisions in the district are directed to the federal government, which, according to Norton, inhibits its freedom. She said that in the event of something like a natural disaster, Washington would be unable to make vital decisions for itself.
“We have to go to the president,” said Norton. “And by that time, we’ll all be drowned.”
Norton frequently attends ANC meetings as part of her “Norton in your Neighborhood” program, where she visits each ANC to update local residents on major Washington issues. Since Norton has made statehood a major part of her platform, she regularly brings it up at meetings.
Norton has pushed for district statehood legislation for years. She said that as a result, she has introduced more bills than any other representative. But residents of the district have also been part of the statehood movement.
“I’ve tried to see where I can get involved and where I can help,” said Peter Lynch, a statehood activist and delegate for Ward 3 Democrats who attended the meeting. “This is kind of the start of organizing and getting more committed to doing some grassroots stuff.”
Norton’s visit prompted Lynch to invite Josh Burch, the co-founder of Neighbors United for D.C. Statehood, to speak at the meeting. Burch started the organization eight years ago in his living room with 13 of his immediate neighbors, and since then, the group has grown. Now, with the help of the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, Burch coordinates educational talks across 50 states and organizes protests on Capitol Hill to support statehood legislation.
Though Burch once attended ANC meetings frequently, he said he no longer does so as often. He knew that ANC meetings like those in 3/4G could potentially engage civically-minded people with the statehood movement, and he relied on ANC resolutions to support his group. But as the organization grew, ANC meetings became less relevant.
“When the district voted for statehood in a referendum in 2016, it showed an overwhelming majority of the district residents wanted statehood,” said Burch. “We don’t need the resolutions from ANCs like we used to.”
According to ANC 3/4G Commissioner Randy Speck, most of the meetings do not discuss broad and controversial topics like statehood.
“This is not a regular thing,” said Speck. “Things do vary a bit, depending on what’s on the agenda, but usually (the meeting) is whatever the substantive topic in the community is.”
Lynch agreed with this notion, and said he only occasionally attends ANC meetings. Though Washington statehood tends to galvanize citizens, most meetings do not include the topic.
“If Eleanor Holmes Norton isn’t here … then it’s mostly pretty nuts and bolts stuff about trees and garbage pickup and potholes,” said Lynch.
This article was written for my Spring 2019 Reporting class
Lauren Patetta 
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