Smokefree DC Voter Guide
(Download this as a printable PDF)
In September 2003, Councilmembers Adrian Fenty, Phil Mendelson and Kathy Patterson co-sponsored the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003, which would require all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be smokefree. Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing an estimated 38,000 to 65,000 non-smokers per year. It causes heart disease and lung cancer, and has been linked to asthma and bronchitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned people at risk of heart disease that exposure to secondhand smoke for as little as 30 minutes can increase the risk for a heart attack.
Councilmember Carol Schwartz, who chairs the committee in which the measure was heard, vehemently disagrees that all workers deserve to breathe smokefree air on the job and bottled the bill up in her committee. She introduced a far weaker (and more expensive) alternative that would provide tax breaks to smokefree bars and restaurants and thus not protect all District employees from secondhand smoke.
A 2003 poll found that by nearly a two-to-one margin, District voters would support a city law requiring 100 percent smokefree workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Seven states and four countries have passed 100 percent smokefree workplace laws. It's time for all workers in Washington, D.C., to be protected too. No one should have to breathe secondhand smoke on the job.
Smokefree DC asked D.C. Council candidates if they would support a 100 percent smokefree workplace law that would include restaurants and bars. This guide explains their views. A "YES" indicates that they support 100 percent smokefree workplaces, while a "NO" indicates that they do not. For more information, visit us on the Web at http://www.smokefreedc.org.
At-Large Member of the DC Council
 | Kwame Brown (Democrat) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. Kwame Brown testified in favor of the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003 during its committee hearing and has long touted his strong support of clean indoor air at candidate forums, on his literature and on his Web site. |
| Laurent Ross (Statehood-Green) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. Ross strongly supports 100% smokefree workplaces. Protecting workers from secondhand smoke is one of the main planks of his platform. He firmly believes that DC should be smokefree. |
 | Carol Schwartz (Republican) NO, Does NOT support smokefree workplaces. Schwartz is one of the primary people who blocked the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003. She chairs the Committee on Public Works and the Environment, whose jurisdiction the bill falls under, and she has kept the bill bottled up in that committee. She introduced a far weaker alternative bill, opposed by public health groups, which would provide tax breaks to bars and restaurants that go smokefree voluntarily but not give any District employees the legal right to a smokefree workplace. This represents little change from what we have now and would not protect all workers from secondhand smoke. |
| A. D. "Tony" Dominguez (Independent) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. Dominguez supports 100% smokefree workplaces. |
Ward 2 Council Candidates
| Jack Evans (Democrat) NO, Does NOT support smokefree workplaces. Evans did not support the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003. He co-sponsored Councilmember Schwartz's weaker alternative bill. However, on Smokefree DC's questionnaire, Evans indicated that he believes all workers deserve to breathe clean air on the job, but he said he is uncertain whether he would support a 100 percent smokefree workplace law. He said that 'extensive dialogue' should take place 'with the many agencies and industries that would be impacted.' |
| Jay Marx (Statehood-Green) NO, Does NOT support smokefree workplaces. Marx said that he believes people have a right to smoke in public places if they want to, and that proprietors have a right to allow smoking on their property. |
| Jesse James Price (Republican) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. Price supports 100% smokefree workplaces. |
Ward 4 Council Candidates
| Adrian Fenty (Democrat) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. Adrian Fenty was the lead sponsor and spokesperson in the DC Council for the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003. He has vigorously defended the right of all workers to breathe clean air on the job. |
Ward 7 Council Candidates
| Vincent Gray (Democrat) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. |
| Jerod Tolson (Republican) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. |
| Michele Tingling-Clemmons (Statehood-Green) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. |
Ward 8 Council Candidates
 | Marion Barry (Democrat) Undecided. Did not respond to our survey. |
| Cardell Shelton (Republican) YES, supports smokefree workplaces. |