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D.C. Voting Rights Activists To Bombard Trent Franks' Office

By: Patrick Madden // May 17, 2012
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As voting rights activists in D.C. criticize the latest attempt by Congress to write the city's laws, organizers say it's time to turn the tables on some of these lawmakers.

DC Vote's Iler Zherka is outraged about Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) continuing to meddle in local affairs. The latest example: Franks is pushing a bill that would ban abortions in D.C. after twenty weeks, and he also refused to let D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) speak at the hearing.

"But if Franks continues to pretend that he's D.C.'s mayor, then we are going to respond in kind," Zherka says. 

Zherka is organizing a "D.C. Constituency Day" on Capitol Hill next week.  He's encouraging District residents to show up at Franks' office and vent about their problems.

"Whether it's litter, potholes or cleaning up the Anacostia River, we want people to come and talk about the range of local issue Franks should care about if he wants to impose himself on the District of Columbia," Zherka says. 

D.C. Constituency Day is scheduled for Wednesday.

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