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D.C. Council Member Calls For Pay Raise

By: Patrick Madden // September 20, 2011
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At-large D.C. Council member Vincent Orange is proposing a pay hike for council members.  
http://www.orangeatlarge.com/
At-large D.C. Council member Vincent Orange is proposing a pay hike for council members.  

D.C.’s newest council member is seeking a 40-percent pay raise for himself and his council colleagues.

At-large Council Member Vincent Orange, who was elected to the council in April, is proposing to raise the salary of council members to $170,000 a year. In return, members would not be allowed to have any outside jobs.

Orange, in a statement, says council members should treat their jobs as "full-time employment" and receive what he calls "full-time" compensation.  He says the move would help prevent potential conflicts of interest.

The council member is also calling for term limits for city lawmakers, proposing a limit of two consecutive four-year terms.

Orange was elected in a special election earlier to fill the seat vacated by Kwame Brown when he took over as council chair. But he has served on the council in the past, and it appears he's changed his opinion on term limits since then.

As a Ward 5 council member in 2001, he voted to repeal a voter initiative imposing a two-term limit for council members.

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