Eleanor Holmes Norton's Seat Deserves Better

I’m just going to get straight to the point.

There is no universe where Brooke Pinto represents DC in Congress.

She's a privileged status quo holding outsider using the District to advance her personal public career. She's been a public figure in DC for all of five minutes and in her five minutes, she consistently votes against working people.

This summer she voted to gut Initiative 82 – the ballot measure that 74% of DC voters supported to raise the tipped minimum wage. She overturned the will of the people to appease the restaurant lobby. Ewww! Shame on her, the Mayor, the Chairman and all the council members who pulled that shady mess. Pinto and all of them are prime examples of why the Democratic party is failing these days. They're completely out of touch with the reality of everyday working class communities and voters.

Robert White on the other hand, voted against that bullshit. 

When the Council tried to overturn Initiative 77 in 2018, Robert voted against that repeal too, saying plainly: "We cannot reject the will of the voters."

As cofounder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington, DC and former Executive Director of DC Jobs With Justice, I've fought alongside Robert for years. I led coalitions that won DC's minimum wage increases, paid sick days, and wage theft protections. Robert stood with us through every fight.

Now I know you saw the opinion piece that Donna Brazil wrote… and it’s not that any of us don’t respect and love Eleanor, but it’s respectfully time for her to step down and pass the torch. 

Robert White is a son of the District. He is a 5th generation Washingtonian actually. He even used to work for Eleanor Holmes Norton!  He knows Congress and how to fight for DC statehood and our working families. But most of all, I know that Robert White loves DC with all of his heart. I can feel it every time I see and speak to him. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on how to solve all of DC’s problems, but at the end of the day, I know this man deeply loves the people of DC.

Brooke Pinto though? She doesn’t love the District. She uses the District.

Everytime I hear her speak, it's bullshit talking points that you can tell someone wrote for her. She’s trying to perform leadership at best and her record shows she doesn't prioritize Black workers or working-class communities – she's here for her political career, not for us.

Eleanor Holmes Norton's legacy deserves Robert White. Period.

I'm standing behind him and I want you to too.

So if you're reading this still, there are 3 immediate things you can do to protect Eleanor's Legacy and support authentic DC leadership in Congress:

1. Donate $100 to Robert White's campaign – I just did. I dare you to match me right now: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/robert-white-congress

2. Learn more about him and sign up to volunteer at: https://joinrobertwhite.com/

3. Join the Virtual Campaign kickoff THIS WEDNESDAY October 8th at 6pm. Hop on live at: https://tinyurl.com/Robert-White-Live

Robert White has stood with the people of DC. Now we stand with him.

Let’s Do This DC!!!!

Nikki M.G. Cole

P.S. And You know I'll be back with more details about all the DC candidates I am backing this election season. It's a crazy juicy chessboard under a hot pressure cooker this season y'all. You ready to throw down for democracy?! Shit. Get ready.