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Over the past half-century, only two people have served as the D.C. Delegate to Congress. That is about to change.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who’s 88, has held the seat for 35 years and is the only delegate many District residents have ever known.
After initially denying that she would not seek a 19th term, Norton relented, opening the way for a crowded field of other Democratic candidates seeking to succeed her.
“My position has been from the beginning that this year’s election is probably the most consequential election in the District of Columbia since the first one in 1974,” said Julius Hobson, an adjunct professor at George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Political Management.
Hobson said he believes that because, in addition to Norton leaving Congress, D.C. residents will select a new mayor for the first time in 12 years and there are significant races for the D.C. Council.
Two current council members, Robert White and Brooke Pinto, are among the candidates seeking to become the next D.C. Delegate.
Other candidates include former deputy national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee, Kinney Zalesne; Trent Holbrooke, who formerly worked as an aide to Norton and Greg Jaczko, a former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
History of D.C. representation in Congress
Most people don’t know it, but D.C. briefly had a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 19th century.
The position was appointed, but only lasted from 1871 to 1875, due in part to allegations of wasteful D.C. spending.
It wasn’t until 1970 that the modern version of the D.C. seat in the U.S. House came about, with .
The delegate could vote in House committees but not cast final votes on the floor, which remains the case today.
Rev. Walter Fauntroy was elected as the first D.C. delegate in a 1971 primary, defeating Hobson’s father, Julius Hobson Sr., who ran as a candidate for the newly formed D.C. Statehood Party.
Only two years later, Congress established the , which allowed D.C. residents to elect a mayor and a 13-member city council.
Julius Hobson Jr. noted that while it was significant that Fauntroy was the first D.C. delegate to serve in the House, the position was widely considered symbolic.
In Fauntroy’s final election in 1988, he had only nominal opposition and he didn’t run for reelection in 1990.
Norton transforms the position
Norton had been a well-respected civil rights activist and was a Georgetown law professor when she was first elected in 1990.
“I think she took the delegate position to a new level,” said Hobson, who at one time worked for Fauntroy as his chief of staff.
“Walter was thinking more in terms of a national politician,” he said of how Fauntroy approached the job. “Eleanor Holmes Norton was thinking more like a member of Congress and so she has conducted herself in office, as do other members of Congress, serving constituents, working with others to try to get things done.”
Hobson also pointed out that Norton understood that D.C. didn’t have a lot of political leverage, since Home Rule gives Congress broad oversight and final say over much of the District’s spending.
While she pressed for D.C. priorities, she also understood the need to play strong defense, trying to prevent Congress from passing measures that, from the District’s perspective, could undermine its policies.
“So she has played more of the inside game as a member of Congress,” Hobson said.
Norton also relentlessly pressed for D.C. statehood, earning her the moniker “Warrior on the Hill.” But Hobson pointed out that over the years she has done a lot of solid work behind the scenes, utilizing her limited power as a member of the House Oversight Committee and the House Transportation Committee.
Critics at times said she didn’t do enough to fight for D.C. statehood, but Hobson said the District has always had limited power to break through on that issue.
Even when Democrats controlled the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and the White House for a couple of years under President Barack Obama, the District was not able to make much headway on D.C. statehood.
While it was largely symbolic, the House in 2020 did approve a bill to make D.C. the 51st state, which the GOP-controlled Senate didn’t take up.
What’s ahead for the next DC delegate?
The new D.C. delegate will need to establish their standing in Congress 鈥� whoever is elected, Hobson said.
“They have to build a relationship with members of the House,” he said.
There hasn’t been a new delegate representing the District in decades. So there will be a lot of legwork.
Hobson pointed out that the new delegate will need to seek appropriate committee assignments, work with the leadership and start developing relationships in the Senate as well.
While he acknowledged politics is highly partisan, Hobson said there needs to be an effort to establish relationships across the aisle.
“If there’s an area where I think Eleanor Holmes Norton could have could have done more, it would be reaching across the Capitol in this current atmosphere,” Hobson said. “That would be hard, but I think going forward we’ll get a new person, new blood and hopefully they will see that as a priority to reach out and try to broaden the position.”
Hobson said the delegate will still need to continue to press for D.C. statehood, but argued that shouldn’t be the top priority.
If Democrats retake the House, Hobson said that will help the new delegate, who is virtually guaranteed to be the Democrat chosen in the Tuesday primary.
But he said there will still be a large learning curve for the person entering the office, even with its limited legislative power.
“Anyone that has some expectation that a whole lot of things will happen in the first year, regardless of who’s in the majority in the House, is sorely mistaken,” Hobson said.
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