By the time the D.C. Council wrapped up the second reading of the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act on Tuesday, many organizers and District residents who flooded the council chamber, and later Room 412 of the Wilson Building, had already left to go on with their day.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that they don’t care about their community. It’s the council that bears responsibility. Organizers and residents patiently waited outside the council chambers while council members engaged in discussion during a more-than-two-hour breakfast preceding Tuesday’s meeting.
Though the Committee of the Whole meeting and subsequent legislative meeting were scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and noon respectively, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) didn’t call the meeting to order until 1:45 p.m.
Thus, dozens upon dozens of people didn’t get to stay past the first 30 minutes of council proceeding.
The council didn’t even get to vote on Secure DC until well into the evening, and not without frequent pauses due to the audio malfunctioning in the council chamber. People who carved out time to stay up until 6 p.m. did so. Several other District residents however couldn’t make that sacrifice, so their participation in government activities was cut short.
All of this calls into question the sincerity of elected officials about including everyday people in what has become ivory tower political machinations.