WASHINGTON -- As a candidate for president, Barack Obama backed voting rights for District citizens, but the Washington Post reported Friday that Obama has voting rights low on his list of important issues.
Mayor Adrian Fenty rebuffed conventional wisdom by tossing his support to Hillary Rodham Clinton's underdog challenger Obama in July 2007. His reasoning? Obama supports D.C. voting rights.
Despite the Post report, Fenty said Friday that he isn't discouraged.
A bill has been introduced in Congress to give the city one vote in the House of Representatives. The Democrat-leaning District's vote would be balanced by an additional vote for Republican-leaning Utah. City leaders hope that bill will pass early in this legislative session. D.C.'s vote would go to Eleanor Holmes Norton.
On Friday, the D.C. Council unveiled an electronic sign outside City Hall that displays how much residents pay in taxes. The idea is to educate visitors about the city's lack of representation.
