New D.C. Council member Jamal Holtz became the legislative body’s youngest lawmaker ever when he was sworn in this week.
The 28-year-old Democrat took over the at-large seat vacated by Robert White, who resigned last Monday to run for the open D.C. delegate seat vacated by Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Mr. Holtz was appointed by the D.C. Democratic Party as a stand-in, and Mr. White won the election to become the District’s nonvoting congressional representative.
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“It wouldn’t matter if I served for only one day, but the opportunity to represent the people of the District of Columbia will remain one of the greatest honors of my lifetime. Because for me, this is about investing in the city that invested in me,” Mr. Holtz said.
“It’s about making sure that 14-year-old kid growing up in Ward 8, who takes pride in their neighborhood, who cares deeply about their community, who sees challenges around them, but also sees possibilities, knows that circumstances do not have to define their future,” he said.
A special election will be held for a permanent at-large council member in April.
Mr. Holtz is a fourth-generation Washingtonian who grew up east of the Anacostia River and now lives in Ward 6.
He works as a chief of staff and executive vice president at LINK Strategic Partners, a consulting firm that works with a handful of D.C. agencies.
Those connections prompted Mr. Holtz to recuse himself from voting on three bills during his first legislative meeting Tuesday.
The bills were about lowering utility costs by changing how the utility companies earn returns on investments, an emergency $275 million bond approval to go toward developments downtown, and a proposal to sort out how Events DC calculates its surplus funds.
“Jamal stepped up when an emergency scenario called for immediate election of a trusted leader to protect the Party’s rights under Home Rule,” the D.C. Democratic Party said in a statement Monday.
“We know he will serve District residents with the same commitment he has shown his whole life. We thank Chairman [Phil] Mendelson for moving quickly to swear him in.”
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