One interesting aspect of Vince Gray’s campaign was his view on D.C. statehood. Gray took a much more assertive view than Adrian Fenty, going as far as advocating for civil disobedience. It remains to be seen if the presumptive Mayor Gray will handcuff himself to a light pole holding a sign “Honk if you support voting rights!” Perhaps, though, we will see some more serious dialogue on what the future holds for the District and its place in the union.

On that note, there’s been some buzz around the wonk-o-sphere about a new book that looks at how various capital cities are organized. Finance and Governance of Capital Cities in Federal Systems presents case studies of eleven international capital cities. Housing Complex has a good write-up of a recent talk about the book, which was attended by some D.C. officials including Director of Planning Harriet Tregoning.

So, how does the District stack up? Comparatively speaking, we do get the shaft. Congress and the President have veto power over our local laws. We’ve got budget problems, and we are limited in our means to bring in more income. District CFO Nat Gandhi looks wistfully over the city, dreaming of everything he could tax, if only things were different.

It’s true that as a city we don’t necessarily have to just take it–the way they do in South Africa, where other cities would kill to become the capital–so we’ve got that going for us. We do have home rule, and our local officials do have power over the budget, even if there are Congressional overlords. The District’s plight is unique and perhaps worse, though, because we are indeed alone in our quest for voting rights. No other capital city suffers from a lack of representation in the government that they host.

Of the eleven cities profiled, there are a few we can kick around to make ourselves feel better. In Delhi, for example, their elected chief minister doesn’t even have control over policing or land use. We can also drink along with Brussels to the sad fact that our city exists in the middle of a growing economic area, but remains so disconnected.

An idea for Vince Gray, perhaps appoint a commission to study how other capital cities are organized. Leave all options on the table, including the ever logical but ever unpopular retrocession to Maryland.