Mayor Bowser’s Veto of RCCA

D.C. Councilmember Trayon White the Sole "No" Vote

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

The District of Columbia Council recently voted 12 to 1 to override D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto of the Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), with D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) being the sole “no” vote.

White, who didn't speak during Tuesday's legislative meeting, said he made his decision with the welfare of District residents, and particularly the youth, in mind.

While he expressed support for the spirit of the RCCA, the Ward 8 councilmember questioned whether legal reform alone would curb criminal activity in a city where so many people are in need of essential services and supports.

"The reality is that there are some comprehensive things that are always ignored like a real focus on trauma informed care, a quality education system, real pathways to jobs and economic opportunities," White said.

White, chairperson of the council's Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, also spoke about housing policy and took the Department of Parks and Recreation to task for not keeping recreation facilities open throughout last weekend.

"We know what works , but we don't know if these new laws drive down crime," White said. "It's 400 pages of amendments, but we absolutely know what has worked and spend little time, energy, and a real focus on that. It gives the notion that crime is okay as long as it happens to brown and Black people."

Shortly after the council's override, Bowser revealed plans to introduce legislation that addresses her concerns about the city's response to criminal activity. D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) made similar comments.

On Jan. 4, Bowser, a vocal critic of the RCCA, vetoed the legislation. Her concerns about the RCCA centered on youth crime and the activity of the local courts. A week later, Pinto and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) moved to override

D.C. Mayor Bowser’s veto.

Before the veto override went to a vote, most of Councilmember White's colleagues provided comments.

Those who spoke acknowledged the strong, citywide anti-crime sentiments that inspired Bowser’s veto. Even so, they expressed reluctance about overlooking the 16 years of deliberation that led to the revamp of the District’s criminal code.

D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At large), a legislator with experience in crafting anti-violence bills, went on to assert that the RCCA wouldn’t make the city less safe, all while imploring people not to fall for misinformation about the bill.

“All the fearmongering is totally and unnecessarily hyperbolic and counterproductive to anyone who wants to create safer and healthier communities in the District of Columbia,” McDuffie said. “I have worked for years as a council member to create healthier and safer communities. We poured so much into reforming laws and connecting people who need support to information and those opportunities.”

The RCCA now goes before Congress for approval.

Starting in 2025, the RCCA would revamp the District’s more-than-acentury-old criminal code to create more uniformity in how crimes are classified and how the court system determines criminal liability.

Such changes will lead to shorter sentences for non-violent offenses while allowing prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for more serious offenses, including those involving the use of a firearm.

Other aspects of the RCCA include the elimination of mandatory minimums for criminal offenses and the implementation of jury trials for misdemeanors. Under the RCCA, those convicted of crimes at the age of 25 and older could also petition for sentence reduction under the Second Look Amendment Act.

In a letter Bowser sent to D.C. Council Chairperson Phil Mendelson (D) affirming her veto, she cited the reduction of penalties for offenses involving firearms, robberies, carjackings and home invasions. She also said the aspect of the RCCA involving jury trials for misdemeanors should’ve been introduced as a standalone bill so constituents can weigh in on it during hearings.

In the days following Bowser's veto, some constituents, and some media outlets, echoed Bowser’s sentiments.

Much to the chagrin of the DC Justice Lab executive director Patrice Sulton, the Washington Post editorial board published a rebuke of the RCCA over the weekend that she described as mostly filled with inaccuracies about the legislation. She has since attempted to secure a retraction, to no avail.

JAN. 26

1863 – U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton authorizes the enlistment of Black soldiers in the Civil War. 1892 – Bessie Coleman, the first African American pilot, is born in Atlanta, Texas.

1944 – Political activist, academic scholar and author Angela Davis is born in Birmingham, Alabama. 1948 – Executive Order 9981 is issued by President Harry S. Truman, abolishing racial discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces.

1958 – R&B singer Anita Baker is born in Toledo, Ohio. 1990 – Elaine Weddington Steward is named assistant general manager of the Boston Red Sox, becoming the first-ever Black woman executive in Major League Baseball.

JAN. 27

1939 – Author and academic Julius Lester is born in St. Louis.

1961 – Renowned opera singer Leontyne Price makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

1972 – Gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson dies in Evergreen Park, Illinois, of heart failure and diabetes complications at age 60.

JAN. 28

1960 – Famed African American novelist Zora Neale Hurston, author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God," dies in Fort Pierce, Florida, at age 69 of complications from a stroke.

1970 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe is denied entry to compete on the U.S. team for the South African Open tennis championships due to his stance on South Africa's racial policies.

JAN. 29

JAN 19 - 25, 2023

1926 – Violette Neatley Anderson becomes the first African American woman to practice law at the U.S. Supreme Court.

1954 – Entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.

1966 – Charles Mahoney, the first Black American delegate to the United Nations, dies,

JAN. 30

1844 – Richard Theodore Greener, the first African American graduate of Harvard College and dean of the Howard University School of Law, is born in Philadelphia.

1944 – Former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt, the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city, is born in the District.

1979 – Franklin Thomas is named the first Black president of the Ford Foundation.

JAN. 31

1865 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery and indentured servitude, is passed by the U.S. Congress.

1919 – Baseball great Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, is born in Cairo, Georgia.

1931 – Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman known as "Mr. Cub," is born in Dallas.

1933 – Actress and singer Etta Moten becomes the first Black star to perform at the White House.

1961 – Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. becomes first African American to command a U.S. combat ship.

1988 – Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams becomes the first Black starting quarterback in a Super Bowl, winning MVP honors in Washington's 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.

FEB. 1

1902 – African American writer and social activist Langston Hughes is born in Joplin, Missouri.

1960 – The Greensboro sit-in, an act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., begins.

1965 – Alabama officials arrest 700 Blacks as they demonstrate against the state's voter registration requirements in Selma.

1976 – President Gerald Ford officially designates February as Black History Month in the United States.

1978 – The United States Postal Service issues the first stamp of the Black Heritage Series, honoring Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and Underground Railroad "conductor."

WI