WASHINGTON (AP) - A D.C. council member plans to reinvigorate statehood efforts with new names.
News outlets report that David Grosso (I-At Large) proposed legislation Tuesday that would legally change the names of elected leaders to state equivalents and rename the District of Columbia as “Douglass Commonwealth.” Mayor Muriel Bowser would be called “governor,” and Grosso and his peers would become “representatives” in the “legislative assembly.”
Grosso says the change is symbolic, but erases the perception that the capital with a population of nearly 700,000 is merely a city, instead of an entity that also executes the functions of a state and county. Washington voters approved a referendum last November to petition Congress for statehood, although leaders say chances are low under a Republican-controlled government.
Grosso’s bill has picked up five council supporters.
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