FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2018
WASHINGTON – The DC Republican Committee issued the following statement on the eve of the DC Council’s vote to repeal Initiative 77:
José Cunningham, Chairman of the DC Republican Committee, noted, “The DC GOP fiercely advocated against Initiative 77 well before the June 2018 partisan primary election. We listened to DC tipped workers and local restaurant owners and observed the extremely confusing language national special interest groups placed on the ballot. Today, we feel no different. Initiative 77 is a bad policy that hurts our workers and restaurants alike. If Initiative 77 takes effect, restaurants will undoubtedly close and workers will lose jobs.”
Cunningham continued, “Unlike some members of the DC Council, we will not abandon the local employees and small businesses in the restaurant industry. The June vote on poorly worded Initiative 77 clearly does not reflect the will of people. It reflects the will of an extremely minuscule population of – predominately Democratic – voters. Of the 479,723 registered DC voters, less than 18% voted on the initiative. Of those voters, approximately 95% were registered Democrats. In a city where 24% of our registered voters are not Democrats, the numbers show that the voters during the partisan primary were not representative of DC. They were only representative of a small faction of the Democratic Party.”
“Non-affiliated voters – who never vote in primaries – were most disenfranchised by this vote,” added Cunningham. “The District of Columbia should never again place a ballot initiative on a primary ballot meant for the selection of party nominees. Because the District of Columbia is a continual laboratory for national special interest groups, there must be better checks on such initiatives that kill local jobs and crush small independent businesses. A vote not to overturn Initiative 77 will mean a continued path to national franchises, chains, and automation, while independent eateries only locate in more affluent parts of the city. Not everyone can afford a $9 beer paired with a $20 salad. Those prices will only go up unless Initiative 77 is halted.”
“The DC Council should do the right thing on Tuesday and vote to repeal Initiative 77.”
For further information, contact José Cunningham at José.Cunningham@DCGOP.com. The DC Republican Committee is made up of registered Republicans living throughout the District of Columbia in all eight wards who are nominated and elected to serve as members.
