Washington, DC – DC’s US Representative Dr. Oye Olowela is speaking out against the DC Council’s decision to meet behind closed doors to vote on extending juvenile curfews for another 3 months. This follows an emergency legislation that publicly failed to pass. After the public vote did not secure passage, the DC Council immediately decided to meet privately to negotiate this bill. Behind closed doors. No public. No media.

Earlier this year, Rep Oye testified against amending DC’s Open Meeting Act that previously prohibited legislation in secret. Rep Oye, DC’s chief advocate for DC’s Democracy through Statehood, saw the amendment as a threat to public trust, confidence and faith in our local governing system. Although his concerns were initially dismissed, folks are now seeing his concerns were valid all along.

“I’m disappointed that this critical public safety legislation is being negotiated in private.” says Rep Oye, also a candidate for DC Council “DC residents are right to be outraged. First and foremost, there’s little evidence that juvenile curfews reduce illegal activity. Juvenile curfews, however, are associated with higher rates of harassment, racial profiling and targeting in marginalized communities. Engaging kids with meaningful programs leads to better outcomes than setting curfews.

In addition, legislating in secret is not good for our community. When the Open Meetings Act was being amended, I testified that this can potentially erode public trust. The prevailing response was that there were concerns about President Trump intervening in our local governance. Fast forward to today, we’re seeing Council negotiations keeping the public and press out. This is anti-Democratic and sets a bad precedent. I hope community activists and local leaders join me in speaking out against this type of closed door legislation because DC residents deserve better. Transparency is the bedrock of our democracy.”