Politics of Washington, D.C.
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The
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
has a
mayor–council government The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of loc ...
that operates under
Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of ...
and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act devolves certain powers of the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to the local government, which consists of a mayor and a 13-member council. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.


Organization

Similar to the Federal government of the United States, the District of Columbia has an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch.


Executive

The
Mayor of the District of Columbia The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed ...
is the head of the executive branch. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the council. In addition, the Mayor oversees all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and the
District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...
. The mayor's office oversees an annual city budget of $8.8 billion. The Mayor appoints five Deputy Mayors: the Deputy Mayor for Education, the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, and the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure. Each Deputy Mayor's office has oversight over certain relevant government agencies. For example, the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services oversees D.C. agencies including the Department of Health Care Finance, Department of Human Services, and the Department of Disability Services.


Government agencies

There are two types of agencies as laid out by the Code of the District of Columbia. The first are called "subordinate" agencies and answer to the Mayor's Office. They may also be called "public agencies" or "government agencies". Most of these subordinate agencies are organized under the office of the relevant Deputy Mayor: Subordinate agencies differ from independent agencies that, while created by the legislature, do not answer directly to the Mayor's Office. *Office of the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure (DMOI) ** District Department of Transportation (DDOT) **Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) ** Department of Public Works (DPW) **Department of For Hire Vehicles (DFHV) **
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs The District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) is a District of Columbia agency that issues licenses and permits. It falls under the oversight of the Council of the District of Columbia and its operations fall under th ...
(DCRA) ** Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) **Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) *Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) **DC Health **Department of Human Services (DHS) **Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) **Department of Disability Services (DDS) **Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) ***
St. Elizabeths Hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...
is the state psychiatric hospital of DC **Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) **Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL) **Thrive by Five *Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) **Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) **Office of Planning (OP) **Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) **Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) *Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) **District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) **Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) ** Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) **Department of Employment Services (DOES) **DC Works: Workforce Investment Council (WIC) *Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ) ** Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) **
Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...
(DOC) ** Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) **Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) **Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) **Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG) **Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) **Office of Human Rights (OHR) **
Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) is the juvenile justice agency of the District of Columbia, in the United States. History Marc A Schindler was the interim Director of DYRS from January 2010 to July 2010. He succeeded Vincent ...
(DYRS)


Legislative

The
Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state ...
is the legislative branch. Each of the city's eight
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
elects a single member of the council and residents elect four at-large members to represent the District as a whole. The council chair is also elected at-large.


Judiciary

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the local
trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...
. It hears cases involving
criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
and civil law. The court also handles specialized cases in the following areas:
family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
,
landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...
and
tenant Tenant may refer to: Real estate *Tenant, the holder of a leasehold estate in real estate *Tenant-in-chief, in feudal land law *Tenement (law), the holder of a legal interest in real estate *Tenant farmer *Anchor tenant, one of the larger stores ...
,
probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
, tax, and traffic offenses. The Court consists of a
chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
and 61 associate judges. The Court is assisted by the service of 24
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
judges and retired judges who have been recommended and approved as senior judges. Judges are appointed to the court by the President of the United States, without any District (mayoral or council) input, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for fifteen-year terms. All appeals of Superior Court decisions go to the
District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congr ...
, which is the
highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congress rather than from the inherent sovereignty of the states. The Court of Appeals should not be confused with the District's federal appellate court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Court of Appeals is authorized to review all final orders, judgments, and specified interlocutory orders of the associate judges of the Superior Court, to review decisions of administrative agencies, boards, and commissions of the District government, and to answer questions of law presented by the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, a United States court of appeals, or the highest
appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
of any state. The court consists of a chief judge and eight associate judges. The court is assisted by retired judges who have been recommended and approved as senior judges. Despite being the District's local appellate court, judges are appointed by the United States President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for 15-year terms. The DC Courts are a federal agency and do not answer to the District government.


Attorney General

The Attorney General of the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District. Until a charter amendment in 2010 that made the office an elected position, the post was appointed by the Mayor. Following numerous election delays,
Karl Racine Karl Anthony Racine (born December 14, 1962) is a Haitian-American lawyer and politician. He is the first independently elected Attorney General of the District of Columbia, a position he has held since January 2015. Before that, he was the manag ...
was elected in 2014 and sworn into office in January 2015.


Independent agencies

In the District of Columbia, independent agencies are those which are not under the direct control of the Mayor's office. They may also be called "quasi-public" or "quasi-governmental" agencies. For example, the
District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...
(DCPS) is the local
public school system State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
and answers to the Mayor through the Deputy Mayor for Education. However, the
District of Columbia Public Charter School Board The District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) is the regulatory authority and sole authorizer of all public charter schools in the District of Columbia, in the United States. It provides oversight to 69 independently-run non ...
(PCSB) was created in 1996 as a second, independent agency with authorization authority for public charter schools. The DC Council passed legislation in 2007 giving the DC Mayor direct authority over the DCPS and transferred the oversight responsibility for the charter schools previously authorized by the DC Board of Education to the PCSB. Independent agencies often work with subordinate agencies and the Mayor's office, and their members may be appointed by the Mayor. For example, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABRA) is an independent adjudicatory body responsible for overseeing the District's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration and hiring its director, conducting investigations, the licensing process, handling complaints, keeping of records, and referral of evidence of criminal misconduct to the proper authorities. The Board is composed of seven members, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council of the District of Columbia, who serve four-year terms. Other independent agencies include: *
District of Columbia Public Service Commission The District of Columbia Public Service Commission (formerly the District of Columbia Public Utilities Commission) is an independent quasi-judicial body and regulatory agency responsible for regulating landline telephone, electricity, and gas util ...
* District of Columbia Housing Authority * District of Columbia Public Library * District of Columbia State Board of Education * District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority * District of Columbia Board of Elections * Events DC (formerly the Washington Convention and Sports Authority) *
District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
* District of Columbia Retirement Board * Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia


Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

There are 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) elected by small neighborhood districts. ANCs can issue recommendations on all issues that affect residents; government agencies take their advice under careful consideration.


Budget

The mayor and council set local taxes and a budget, which Congress must approve.


Employment

According to the District of Columbia's Department of Human Resources, 20% of the DC government workforce will be eligible for retirement in 2021. The DC government offers a host of internship opportunities for recent graduates seeking employment.


Law

The
Code of the District of Columbia The Code of the District of Columbia is the codification of the general and permanent laws relating to the District of Columbia. It was enacted and is revised by authority of the Congress of the United States. History Commissioners were appointed ...
is the subject compilation of enacted legislation, and also contains federal statutes which affect the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) is the publication and compilation of the current regulations. The District of Columbia Register (DCR) gives brief information of actions of the Council of the District of Columbia (such as resolutions and notices of council hearings) and actions of the executive branch and independent agencies (such as proposed and emergency rulemaking). The District observes all
federal holidays Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the federal government of the United States, U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential Federation, federal government offices a ...
and also celebrates
Emancipation Day Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent. On August 1, 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the fir ...
on April 16, which commemorates the end of slavery in the District. The flag of the District of Columbia was adopted in 1938 and is a variation on George Washington's family
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
.


Politics


Budget deficits

The city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, was criticized for mismanagement and waste. During his administration in 1989, ''
The Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...
'' magazine claimed that the District had "the worst city government in America." In 1995, at the start of Barry's fourth term, Congress created the
District of Columbia Financial Control Board The District of Columbia Financial Control Board (officially the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority) was a five-member body established by the United States Congress in 1995 to oversee the finances of ...
to oversee all municipal spending. The same legislation created a Chief Financial Officer position for the District, which operates independently of the mayor and council. Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998 and oversaw a period of
urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
and budget surpluses. The District regained control over its finances in 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended. The
Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
and other analysts have estimated that the city's high percentage of tax-exempt property and the Congressional prohibition of commuter taxes create a structural deficit in the District's local budget of anywhere between $470 million and over $1 billion per year. Congress typically provides additional grants for federal programs such as
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
and the operation of the local justice system; however, analysts claim that the payments do not fully resolve the imbalance.


Voting rights debate

The District is not a U.S. state and therefore has no voting representation in the Congress. D.C. residents elect a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D- D.C. At-Large), who may sit on committees, participate in debate, and introduce legislation, but cannot vote on the House floor. The District has no official representation in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
. Neither chamber seats the District's elected "shadow" representative or senators. D.C. residents are subject to all U.S. federal taxes. In the financial year 2012, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.7 billion in federal taxes; more than the taxes collected from 19 states and the highest federal taxes per capita. A 2005 poll found that 78% of Americans did not know that residents of the District of Columbia have less representation in Congress than residents of the 50 states. Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, " No taxation without representation", on District of Columbia vehicle license plates. There is evidence of nationwide approval for D.C. voting rights; various polls indicate that 61 to 82% of Americans believe that D.C. should have voting representation in Congress. Despite public support, attempts to grant the District voting representation, including the D.C. statehood movement and the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. Opponents of D.C. voting rights propose that the
Founding Fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
never intended for District residents to have a vote in Congress since the Constitution makes clear that representation must come from the states. Those opposed to making D.C. a state claim that such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.


History

The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 is an organic act enacted by Congress under Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution that formally placed the District of Columbia under the control of Congress and organized the unincorporated territory within the District into two counties: Washington County to the north and east of the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and
Alexandria County Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
to the west and south; left in place and made no change to the status of the
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s of the existing cities of Georgetown and
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
; and established a court in each of the new counties, with the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
of both
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
continuing to remain in force within the District. The
District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. Though Congress ...
repealed the individual
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. Though Congress repealed the territorial government in 1874, the legislation was the first to create a single
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
for the federal district. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government. It enacted the District Charter (also called the Home Rule Charter), furthering District of Columbia home rule.


See also

*
Political party strength in Washington, D.C. With the enactment of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961, the district has been permitted to participate in presidential elections. It is part of the " blue wall", having voted for all Democratic nominees since 1964. The majority o ...
* List of District of Columbia symbols


References


External links

*
District of Columbia Official Code

DC Official Code
from
LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...
*
DC Decoded
from the
OpenGov Foundation The OpenGov Foundation is a United States nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. It conducts research on legislatures like the United States Congress, develops software for government officials, and claims to help governments create policies and ru ...
*
dccode.org
from Open Law DC *
DC Code
from
Public.Resource.Org Public.Resource.Org (PRO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to publishing and sharing public domain materials in the United States and internationally. It was founded by Carl Malamud and is based in Sebastopol, California. Public.Re ...
*
DC Code
from Justia *
DC Code
from the Council of the District of Columbia *
DC Code
from
FindLaw FindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters that provides online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. FindLaw was created by Stacy Stern, Martin Roscheisen, and Tim Stanley in 1995, and was acquired by Thomson West in 2001. ...

DC Statutes-at-Large
from the Council of the District of Columbia
DC Municipal Regulations and DC Register
from the DC Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances

from, The DC Government Wants to Hire You {{Authority control Government of the District of Columbia,