Photo by Bullneck
Currently, D.C.is poised for a hell of battle against Congress over Initiative 71.
Despite voting to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in November, and yet, Congress is stepping in to basically say “nah, you can’t do that.” Understandably, a lot of District residents are pissed.
Justin Robinson is one of them. Hence why he started the Not Your District political action committee, a “grassroots organization” whose sole purpose is to support politicians who respect the right of home rule and to hopefully get those who don’t out of office.
The PAC, which was started last month by Robinson, is a direct result of Rep. Andy Harris’s (so far successful) efforts to block Initiative 71. “It’s pretty much one of the most undemocratic things that I’ve seen happen,” Robinson, a fifth-generation native Washingtonian, tells DCist.
Because Robinson’s PAC is modest and small right now—he only recently filed it with the Federal Election Commission and the IRS—his focus is mainly to spread the word about how Congress can interfere with local laws.
“The initial goal right now is to raise awareness, keep people updated, because there’s a lot of information going out right now about the Congressional approval process and what’s ultimately going to be a court fight,” he says.
Though the Not Your District PAC is a direct response to Congress’s meddling with Initiative 71, marijuana laws aren’t the only laws that certain politicians have recently tried mess with. In July, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced an amendment prevent D.C. from enforcing its local gun laws, because he could. Need further proof? Just look at how much D.C. gets screwed over every time the House Appropriations Committee passes a spending bill.
While the Not Your District PAC is still in its infancy—the only money in its banks is money Robinson contributed himself—it hopes to have some real influence sometime soon. “One of my goals is to tell Congressman Harris’s constituents what he’s doing on their behalf,” Robinson says. “I think it’s something that a lot of people in his district wouldn’t agree with.”
Once he raises the appropriate amount of money for his PAC, Robinson says he’d love to be able to target advertising against Harris in his district. “We’ve got two years until his next election,” he says, “so that’s a lot of time to influence the conversation.”
