At Georgia lawmaker’s office, statehood advocates say ‘hands off DC’

Published in The Washington Post (March 21, 2023)

Kelsye Adams walked through the Cannon House Office Building hallways and noticed the plaques for representatives from across the country. Texas. New Hampshire. Wisconsin.

Unlike her, the D.C. resident thought, all of their constituents had a voice in Congress.

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Adams, 31, held her phone in her hand with a Notes app full of points she didn’t want to forget about statehood, this moment and her life growing up in this city. And then she walked into the office of Rep. Andrew S. Clyde, a Republican from Georgia who introduced the latest disapproval resolution targeting a D.C. policing act.

“I’m Kelsye, here by way of D.C.” she told the staffer at the front desk before asking to meet with Clyde.

He was unavailable, so Adams sat on the couch, crossed her left leg over the right, folded her hands and told the staffer why she was here.

“Your boss needs to leave us alone,” Adams said. “When we say ‘hands off D.C.,’ we really mean it. And if this office is open to 9 to 5, we can make this a daily thing.”