D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, speaking Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, confidently predicted victory — and soon — in the District’s four-decade fight for statehood. Bowser used the few moments she was allotted to address the convention to publicly demand greater support for the cause from fellow Democrats. The mayor also made clear that she expects Hillary Clinton to fulfill her pledge to be a vocal advocate for D.C. statehood if she wins the presidency in November. Taking the microphone to announce D.C. Democrats’ overwhelming vote for Clinton to be the party’s nominee, Bowser introduced herself as mayor of “the best city in the world, and soon to be the 51st state of our great union.”
She also implored fellow Democrats to help in the fight: “We are 670,000 tax-paying Americans, just like you. And with statehood and only with statehood, will we have votes in Congress, just like you,” Bowser said. “The next president of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will sign our admission into the United States of America as the 51st State.”
Bowser’s proclamation came hours after she and D.C. statehood advocates hosted a luncheon atop a hotel near the convention hall that attracted over 60 delegates and 15 celebrities. It was a much better turnout than at the Republican convention last week, when only one Republican delegate attended a similar reception in Cleveland.
Full Article: D.C. mayor pushes statehood issue at Democratic National Convention – The Washington Post.