In Quest to Be 51st State, D.C. Convenes a Constitutional Convention

In an air-conditioned city building in Anacostia under the glare of cameras, the delegates gathered to hammer out the nitty-gritty details of self-government at a constitutional convention.

 

The live-streamed event was a far cry from the powdered wigs and candlelight of 1787 Philadelphia, but D.C. political leaders and activists meeting this week share a similar goal: crafting a framework for democracy.

 

They are writing a state constitution for the District, a pivotal step in the city’s renewed push to become the 51st state. At meetings that began Monday and continue Friday and Saturday, D.C. leaders are collecting ideas about the best way to organize a new state.

 

And they’re doing it 2016 style.

 

The city has posted the draft constitution and allowed any resident to annotate it.

 

The New Columbia Statehood Commission, the body running the convention, has catalogued tweets, emails, online comments and even Skype video testimony in its official record.