Citing up to 6 inches of snow in their forecast, state legislators in New Hampshire canceled a Thursday hearing in which Mayor Vincent C. Gray and several council members were slated to testify on a resolution in support of D.C. statehood.
City officials hoped to parlay the Granite State’s “Live Free or Die” motto into support for the District’s fight against “taxation without represention” in Congress.
However, D.C. officials learned on Wednesday that the New Hampshire legislative committee felt the need to reschedule its hearing in the face of inclement weather. The city should receive a new date for the hearing by early next week.
“We’re really disappointed it’s been canceled,” a spokesman for council member David A. Catania said Wednesday. “We’re obviously looking forward to sharing the message of statehood and we will be certainly be there in full force when the hearing is rescheduled.”
Mr. Catania and council member Michael A. Brown, at-large independents, are handpicking state legislatures that will support D.C. statehood through resolutions in their chambers — beginning with their District-friendly contacts in New England — as part of a multi-platform campaign the city began in November.
The idea is that sitting members of Congress will be forced to look at what is happening in their home districts and that some state-level politicians will sympathize with D.C. self-determination efforts before they springboard to Capitol Hill.
Mr. Brown has confirmed he will head to Florida around the time of its high-profile presidential primary on Jan. 31.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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