Walter Washington Sworn in as First Popularly Elected Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Walter Washington was sworn in on this day as the first popularly elected Mayor of Washington, D.C.
He had previously served as the appointed Commissioner/Mayor of the District of Columbia. Following passage of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on December 24, 1973, he was elected mayor in November 1974.
The struggle for full home rule for the District of Columbia continues with the campaign to grant statehood to the District. At present, the District of Columbia is represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate. Eleanor Holmes Norton became the first delegate on January 3, 1991.
Watch an oral history interview with Washington here.
Learn more: Harry Jaffe, Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington (1994)
Learn more about the statehood campaign: http://dcstatehoodyeswecan.org/j/