President Barack Obama repeated his support for a vote for the District of Columbia in Congress during a meeting with Mayor-elect Vincent Gray at the White House Wednesday, Gray said.
The president wants to do more to support the city, Gray said.
Gray brought up the massive federal construction project to create a new Homeland Security headquarters on Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast, asking Obama to help ensure that jobs and economic development go to local citizens and that the area doesn't become an isolated fortress of federal workers, NBC Washington’s Tom Sherwood reported.
Gray also asked for more support improving education and easing unemployment in Washington -- a key goal of his administration.
The mayor-elect also suggested the license plates on the presidential limo be changed to those featuring the city's “Taxation Without Representation” slogan, a reference to the fact that city residents pay taxes but do not have a vote in Congress. Obama continues to support voting rights for District citizens, Gray said, but that effort appears to be going nowhere on Capitol Hill.
The meeting was the first for the two leaders since Gray defeated Mayor Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary and won the general election.
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