New Councilmembers Protest Cropp Plan, Then Quiet Down: An incoming at-large councilmember and two ward councilmembers from Southeast voiced their opposition to a plan being pushed by D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp on how to assign committee chairmanship on the council. The three councilmembers, including former Mayor Marion Barry of Ward 8 (at right), complained that they were being denied committee chairmanships traditionally passed out to all the D.C. Council’s 13 members.

The Post notes that Barry wouldn’t not make a formal protest and be content with Cropp’s offer to give them “special projects.” No details are apparently available as to what those projects may be.

Barry was the lone dissenter on a vote on an organization plan mapping out how the D.C. Council would conduct business. As the AP put it, “Marion Barry’s first city council vote was a no vote.” Vincent Gray of Ward 7 and At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown, who joined Barry in the initial protest, decided it’d be best to stand down. As the Post says, the incoming members made it clear that they represent areas “where residents are restless over what they consider a lack of attention and economic development.”

Also, get your municipal flow charts out, there are some committee mutations to be aware of. The council’s health committee will be replaced by a new public services committee; as a result, the government operations committee will now take on some jurisdiction from that panel shifting.

Vets Press for D.C. Voting Rights: Three veterans from the fighting in Iraq are asking that the District of Columbia get the right to voting representation on Congress. The Post reports that Army Reserve Spec. Isaac Lewis said that for their service in Iraq, they “believe that voting representation is not too much to ask in return.” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is the District’s voice in Congress and though she can vote in House committees and subcommittees, she cannot vote in committee of the whole.

Speaking of Congress … The 109th Congress will be sworn in today at the Capitol.

Ouch! Man Spray Painted in Face in Stafford County: The AP, via WJLA, reports that a man used spray paint to attack a trespasser who was on a dirt biking expedition with his family. From the AP:

Investigators say the man approached on his bike and was asked by 45-year-old James Monroe to take off his helmet. When the man complied, authorities say he was spray painted in the face and on his jacket.

Briefly Noted: Mystery surrounds two teens found shot dead in Loudoun County … In move to thwart crime, Capital Heights, Md., builds fence to block pedestrian access to District … Fire fatalities rose in 2004 … Virginia is next to jump into same-sex marriage debate with the General Assembly set to consider a constitutional amendment spelling on that marriage is only between a man and a woman …