Thomas Mitchell
Jul 6, 20222 min read
1710
She's a lawyer, a mother, a writer, and a fighter. And she's the District's fiercest— and most effective— advocate.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her sixteenth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia, has been named one of the 100 most important American women in one survey and one of the most powerful women in Washington in another.
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The Congresswoman's work for full congressional voting representation and for full democracy for the people of the District of Columbia continues her lifelong struggle for universal human and civil rights.
Eleanor's post as the Ranking Member the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee’s Highways and Transit Sub-committee gives her and the District a lead seat at the table.
Statehood for the District of Columbia is Eleanor's signature issue. Since her election to Congress, she's been fighting to get her constituents the representation they deserve. In 1993, not long after being elected to the House of Representatives, Eleanor pushed the only House vote on statehood to date.
It’s no secret Eleanor’s been at this a while. In fact, she’s running for her seventeenth term in Congress. But this year, maybe more than any before, her seniority will allow her to fight more effectively for the District than ever.
Although the right to vote on the House floor in the Committee of the Whole, which Eleanor first won in the 103rd Congress, was approved by the federal courts, Norton proceeds without a vote to pass D.C. bills.