Portions of this interview are cross-posted on DC Like a Local
Unnoticed among the primary hubbub is Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now running for her 11th term as our Delegate to Congress. Congresswoman Norton was kind enough to share her time this Saturday with a few of DC’s bloggers. Many topics of concern to Capitol Hill came up, which is little surprise, as she’s one of our neighbors.
I was a little disappointed at the timing of the event, as I had hoped to visit the Yards Saturday for it’s Grand Opening Weekend. Of course, I have more than one reason to blame Congresswoman Norton for this; it was her Southeast Federal Center Public-Private Act of 2000 that started the process of developing this former Federal area into what it is now (and will soon be). Discussing the background of this bill, she noted that when she was a child you could not even see the Anacostia, “nor would you want to.”
Just a few blocks away from the Yards, I asked the Congresswoman about the upcoming plans for the CSX National Gateway Project, which will tear up Virginia Avenue from 2nd to 11th ST SE. She confirmed that CSX has been discussing the issue with her, which is no surprise as she sits of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. As she put it, “It’s not something we can stop, but we can make sure it doesn’t run roughshod”. Congresswoman Norton said her first priority is to ensure the community is consulted and dislocation is minimal. After all, “if they have the money to do it, they have the money to do it right.”
A couple of items I asked about have as much to do with my other job as a tour guide as being a Hill resident. Recently, the head of the Capitol Visitor’s Center was fired after numerous complaints of working conditions by Capitol Guides, as well as some potential security issues. When asked what she was looking for in a replacement, she said a sophisticated person who can get people in and out and knows how to treat their workers. Tying the issue of security in with our quality of life, Congresswoman Norton recalled that she “spent the two years after 9/11 trying to prevent DC from shutting down”, and didn’t want a repeat of that. Expect hearings on the issue soon.
And on the other end of the Hill, we might want to keep our eyes open for tour buses. I asked her about the recent letter Senator Webb (D-VA) sent to the Mayor and head of the National Park Service about congestion on the National Mall caused in no small part by tour buses. Acknowledging the issue, she referred back to Mayor Williams’ plan to utilize RFK as parking for tour buses while their groups are on the Mall (presumably this one(pdf)). Personally, I think the chance of this happening is a bit of a long shot (bus drivers aren’t going to shell out $30 when they can just drive around downtown for a while). But hey, heads up to anyone on I Street SE, Potomac Ave, and 19th: you might get a parade of tour buses going back and forth!
And while not directly related to the Hill, I want to leave you with two final pan-DC items we discussed. First, in response to a question by Aaron Morrissey of DCist regarding the rather overt racial complexities of the Mayoral race, Congresswoman Norton, expressed her disappointment at how this contest has played out. She noted that she was in a unique position in Congress, even among the Black Caucus, of not having to balance her white and black constituents. “I don’t get a different vote in Ward 3 from Ward 8”, specifically singling out the environment and transportation as two issues that her voters are united on. She referred to the current schism as a “false and artificial breach”, and said that it “is unnecessary and an outrage and must be fixed immediately.” She called on both candidates, no matter who wins, to make this their first priority.
And finally, and perhaps even more importantly, I asked if she had future plans to appear on the Stephen Colbert Show. Although none are in the works yet, she certainly didn’t shy away from the idea of another meeting with “my friend Steve”, who has “done more for DC voting rights than anything we have done”. Perhaps the Congresswoman can be enlisted to help Restore Truthiness to the Capital?