A Maryland representative's decision to use a House financial services bill to undermine the will of District of Columbia voters may come back to haunt him, as DC's mayor urged residents to boycott Maryland's Eastern Shore this holiday weekend.
Last Week, Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) attached a rider that could have overturned the city's marijuana decriminalization law.
DC Mayor Vincent Gray (D) asked residents of the District to punish Harris for his overreach by spending the upcoming holiday weekend anywhere other than Harris' district.
"I don't think we should support someone who doesn't support us -- who doesn't support democracy, period," Mayor Gray said at a news conference yesterday. He characterized Harris' actions "hypocrisy at its worst."
Gray suggested other activities for residents who do go to the Eastern Shore this weekend. "If they happen to picket places that he may frequent or picket his office," he said, "I wouldn't be averse to that at all."
"I think people should do whatever action moves them, and that is to let him know how undemocratic this is and that he ought to work on the business of his district."
The group DC Vote back up the mayor, calling for a boycott of all beaches within Maryland's 1st Congressional District.
"Rep. Andy Harris, the Congressman for the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Ocean City, MD wants to look important by violating the Congressionally authorized Home Rule Charter and bullying DC residents," the group wrote in a statement. "He is forcing them to change their laws. I guess that’s pretty easy for a politician who is not accountable to DC voters. Well, here’s our chance to hold him accountable. Let’s Boycott the Beach -- at least if that beach is in Representative Harris' district."
Harris' office issued a statement, saying that DC residents "know better" than to boycott his district's vacation locations. "Spending the weekend on the beautiful, family friendly Eastern Shore," it stated, "is more important than increasing drug use by DC teenagers."
[Image of D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray via his official Facebook page]
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