Staff Contacts

Jonathan Willingham

Chief of Staff

Nicole Rentz

Legislative Director

Nicholas Kram Mendelsohn

Constituent Services

Kelly Whittier

Communications Director

Abigail McLean

Scheduler

Over the past few months, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International conducted an undercover investigation into the flourishing ivory market in the District of Columbia. Dubbed the "new hub for ivory sales in the United States" by National Geographic in 2017, the Humane Society discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ivory products moving through the District. Despite federal and international efforts, legal loopholes and insufficient enforcement have sustained a profitable and predatory ivory market. A number of states have begun to supplement and support existing federal law by banning the intrastate sale of ivory. In fact, I have introduced legislation to do this on three separate occasions since 2015, but without momentum on the Council, the bill has never passed. Unfortunately, because the District does not have any laws regulating this industry, the market has moved here.

On Tuesday, I joined the Humane Society for the public release of their undercover findings and to call for additional public support for the legislation to ban the sale of ivory and rhino horn in the District. The District should not be a sanctuary for the profits of animal slaughter, and I hope that with your support we can pass my legislation this fall and finally close our local ivory market.

Regards,

Mary

Learn more on D.C.'s ivory market from WAMU, WTOP, NBC4 & HSUS

Above: (left) Councilmember Cheh speaking with the newest local environmental activist group, the Glover Park Village Green; (center) Councilmember Cheh welcomes Ward 3 residents to the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Hamlet; (right) neighbors, the Crush Funk Band, and staff join Councilmember Cheh to hand out fruit snacks and pocket Constitutions at the Annual Palisades 4th of July Parade.

Legislative Update

Better Management of Electric Scooters and Bikes: Councilmember Cheh introduced the “Electric Mobility Device Amendment Act of 2019” as a working draft for new rules and requirements for electric scooter and bike operators in the District. Throughout the summer, Councilmember Cheh's staff will lead working group meetings with agency staff and local advocates to discuss this legislation and other road safety proposals referred to the Committee on Transportation & the Environment. The goal is to take a broad and comprehensive approach to establishing common sense rules that will increase road and sidewalk safety. Main components of the bill currently include:

Requiring operators to maintain a 24-hour toll-free phone number for members of the public to report illegally parked scooters;
Mandating that operators move illegally parked scooters within three hours of receiving a complaint;
Requiring operators to pay a bond to the District that will be used to pay for any damage their devices cause to public property;
Requiring operators to maintain at least 10% of its fleet in each Ward;
Setting the scooter speed limit to 15 miles per hour on the street or bike lane and reducing the speed limit to 6 miles per hour while operating on the sidewalk;
Giving the DDDOT Director the ability to suspend permits of operators who are not abiding by the law and provide the agency with the authority to fine operators who have been the subject of a disproportionate number of complaints; and
Requiring DDOT to construct signage and/or pavement markings to identify the Central Business District.

Relief from Housing Discrimination: District law does not currently provide for any eviction records to be sealed or expunged, even those made in error or found groundless by a court, and, as such, these records follow a tenant indefinitely. Councilmember Cheh's “Eviction Record Sealing Authority Amendment Act of 2019” creates a process for when and how District courts may seal eviction records. This legislation will provide long-needed relief to tenants throughout the District, helping ensure that eviction records no longer hamper tenants’ ability to secure safe, affordable housing. It will provide the Court with the flexibility to seal eviction records, where appropriate, and ensures that a one-time mistake does not follow – and harm – tenants for the rest of their lives. To read more on this bill, please see DCist, Street Sense, and Greater Greater Washington.

Congratulations to Nathaniel Casson!

Ward 3 resident Nathaniel Casson, pictured left with his family, is a nationally-ranked speed skater and the 2019 Silver Medalist in his age group for the Group Short Track Speedskating National Championships. Councilmember Cheh presented Nathaniel with a Ceremonial Resolution in the Council Chambers in recognition of his remarkable athletic accomplishment. Nathaniel is a School Without Walls student and was recently named to the 2019-2020 Short Track Development Team by US Speedskating.

Food & Nutrition Legislative Update

Nutrition Education for Health Providers: Councilmember Cheh introduced the "Continuing Nutrition Education Amendment Act of 2019" to require that doctors, nurses, and physician assistants obtain regular nutrition-focused training as part of their existing continuing education requirements. As vital as nutrition is to the prevention and treatment of most chronic diseases, nutrition is under-emphasized, if taught at all, in medical education. Further, surveys have found that doctors feel inadequately trained to provide nutritional counseling to their patients. Including nutrition instruction to the medical field's continuing education requirements will enable healthcare professionals to incorporate nutrition counseling into clinical practice to better help prevent nutrition-related disease and death in the District.

Supporting the District's Urban Farmers: The Urban Farming Land Lease Program aims to increase urban farming in the District by allowing farmers to lease vacant public land for the creation and maintenance of urban farms. As reported in the Washington City Paper, the program's implementation has been delayed by unnecessary and burdensome requirements, stymieing multiple urban farmer's efforts to grow healthy, local produce. Councilmember Cheh's "Urban Farming Land Lease Amendment Act" makes clarifying changes to the program to address these inefficiencies and prevents further delay to a program with the potential to foster local entrepreneurship and agriculture.

Above: Sterling Tucker, the Council's first elected Chairman, passed away in his home on July 14th at the age of 95. A champion for civil rights and DC Statehood, Chairman Tucker lay in repose at the Wilson Building on Tuesday, July 23rd. To read more about his life of service and legacy, please see the Washington Post's tribute, available: Here.

In the News:

The Politics Hour - Councilmember Cheh joins The Kojo Namdi Show to discuss the final Council session

Between narrowly approving a controversial sports gambling contract and removing Councilmember Evans of his chairmanship of the Finance and Revenue Committee, the last D.C. Council session before summer recess was a lively one. Councilmember Mary Cheh joined the Politics Hour to discuss it.

Listen to the Full Segment

Paid Family Leave Update

On July 1^st, the District began collecting taxes for the Paid Family Leave benefit fund. Due to the number of residents who have contacted our office with questions relating to the Paid Family Leave Act, we asked the Department of Employment Services to provide answers to Ward 3 residents's most frequently-asked questions and have posted those answers through the link below:

Mark Your Calendar for Ward 3 at the Lawn!

The National Building invites Ward 3 residents to visit their summer exhibition, Lawn, with free admission on August 6th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.

Lawn is an immersive installation built to host quintessential summer activities, including an augmented reality game allowing kids and adults to chase, collect, and release fireflies in the National Building Museum space.

To learn more about Lawn, see:

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Lawn at the National Building Museum