We started with a challenging set of circumstances -- a tremendous budget deficit in DC, an election year.  We also faced ongoing structural probelms in DC, including a smaller tax base and less self-determination than other cities its size.  Social services that many vulnerable communities -- foster children, homeless families, poor people with disabilities -- rely on, were facing massive cuts.  Out of all of these challenges, with your help and the help of our allies, we crafted a vision: a fairer, more progressive income tax system that would make it possible to continue to fund these vital services.

It was an audacious goal to be sure... raise taxes in an election year?  Yet for a time it seemed within our reach.  DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray came to our Labor Seder and pledged his support for a strong safety net.  Almost three hundred of you also came to our Labor Seder and wrote letters in support of the measure.  Our Jeremiah Fellows called other JUFJ members and got them to call their council members.  Other JUFJ members went down to the DC Council offices to meet with their elected representatives. 

In the end, the DC Council just wasn't ready.  We're proud of Councilmember Jim Graham, who introduced a progressive taxation measure anyway, and the other four Council Members who voted for it.  (The measure was defeated 8-5).  And we're very disappointed in Chairman Gray for failing to step up and show leadership on this issue.

The good news is that, in the end, many cuts to essential services were restored, with a few notable exceptions that include homeless services and disability assistance.  The fact that we won this much is almost certainly due to all the attention and pressure we and our allies put on council members to restore funding.  For more details on the results, see http://www.dcfpi.org/fy-2011-budget-the-recap

Thanks to all of you who worked hard to try to make this happen!  We'll get 'em next year.