October, 02 2018, 12:00am EDT

Repeal of Initiative 77: "Another Sign That Voters in the District are Second-Class Citizens"
"The DC Council just told every voter in the District that their voices don't matter."
WASHINGTON
This afternoon, following the DC Council's vote to overturn Initiative 77, a ballot measure passed in June by DC voters to eliminate the tipped minimum wage in the District, the Patriotic Millionaires of DC issued the following statement:
"The DC Council just told every voter in the District that their voices don't matter. Regardless of the content of the ballot measure, which happens to be a well-deserved pay raise for tipped workers, for the Council to overturn an initiative that a majority of DC voters voted 'yes' on is appalling. It's just another sign that voters in the District are second-class citizens in their own country. It is incredibly sad to see the Council representing one of the most progressive cities in the country siding with the wealthy restaurant industry over their own constituents, particularly people of color who overwhelmingly voted for this ballot measure. How are they any better than Republicans in Congress who have done the same thing in the past? The people of DC deserve better.
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
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The "declaration of dissent", published by Stand Up for Science Monday, had been signed by 620 people as of Thursday. Addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the letter accused the administration of "recklessly undermining" the agency's mission under his watch. It accused the administration of "ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters."
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The Social Security Administration put out a statement celebrating a bill that would lead to faster insolvency of the Social Security Trust Fund pic.twitter.com/aRhLfcRiIv
— Bobby Kogan (@BBKogan) July 4, 2025
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The Times piece in question focused on Mamdani's college application to Columbia University in which he listed both "Asian" and "Black or African American" as his race.
Although both of Mamdani's parents are of Indian descent, he was born in the African country of Uganda and lived there for the first five years of his life. Mamdani told the Times that he checked the box on the application for "Black or African American" because he considers himself an American who was born in Africa. He emphasized that he does not identify as Black and argued that he found it difficult to express the complexity of his racial background given the options on the application.
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