[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E986-E987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNITION OF BENJAMIN F. WILSON AS THE IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN OF THE 
           DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND ETHICS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 1, 2004

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, longtime resident of the District of 
Columbia Benjamin F. Wilson is the immediate past chairman of the 
District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics who served as a 
member of the Board since June 29, 1990 and as its Chairman from 
October 1, 1991 until May 24, 2004 having been appointed by three 
different Mayors of the District of Columbia.
  The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, a Charter 
independent agency, comprised of a three-member Board who are unpaid 
volunteers charged to carry out the agency's mission. The mission of 
the Board is to enfranchise eligible residents, conduct elections, and 
assure the integrity of the electoral process.
  Since the Board's inception in 1955, he is the first chairman to 
serve continuously for a period of fourteen years without interruption 
in his service providing exceptional public service to the citizens of 
the District of Columbia. He is the longest serving Chairman of the 
Board in its 49 year history.
  Mr. Wilson is to be commended for leading the Board while it carried 
out its mission of administering the electoral process which requires 
wisdom, courage, and the desire to remain focused on its vision of 
conducting free and impartial elections conducted in a fair, efficient, 
and accurate manner.
  He has maintained the highest level of integrity in performing the 
duties of the Board displaying courage and stamina while protecting the 
public's interest from manipulation for personal or partisan gain 
respecting the rights of all and maintaining the highest level of 
integrity.
  He has taken to heart the Board's mandate to administer an impartial 
electoral process for the citizens of the District of Columbia both in 
the conduct of elections and his commitment to assuring the integrity 
of our election system in the Board's role as the gatekeepers of 
Democracy.
  Mr. Wilson has been at the forefront of the core of the Board's 
mission which is voter education, registration, and electoral 
advancement in the areas of support and technology. He has served on 
the Board while addressing

[[Page E987]]

issues such as the right of homeless individuals to gain and maintain 
access to the franchise, developing the process for compliance with the 
National Voter Registration Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
Absentee Voting Act, the support of the right of college students to 
register and vote, and the Help America Vote Act.
  During his long tenure on the Board, he has led the expansion of 
voting precincts to provide greater voter accessibility for disabled 
and elderly voters leading the District of Columbia to be the first 
major jurisdiction in the United States to provide dual voting systems 
in the polling place allowing blind and other disabled voters to vote 
in privacy and secrecy without assistance.
  He has also led the Office of Campaign Finance to successfully revive 
and stabilize programs which were formerly dormant and addressed a 
backlog of cases that existed at the time of his first appointment as 
Chairman regarding investigative matters.
  He has insisted on education for voters, candidates, and the public 
at-large regarding campaign finance and conflict of interest laws and 
on imposing and collecting fines to enforce the ethics laws in the 
District of Columbia.
  Mr. Wilson has done outstanding work at the District of Columbia 
Board of Elections and Ethics, sometimes under trying conditions. For 
example, the Board conducted a flawless election with new voting 
machines that had never been used before when the two leading 
candidates for Mayor of the city were write-in candidates. He 
successfully led the Board and its staff during an extremely difficult 
period.
  In addition to his service on the District of Columbia Board of 
Elections and Ethics, Mr. Wilson has actively served the community by 
serving as the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Healthy 
Babies, Incorporated; former Co-Chairman of the Washington Lawyers' 
Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law; former Chairman of the Board 
of the Dwight Mosley Foundation; and former Chairman of the Advisory 
Board of WAMU public radio.
  I commend Mr. Wilson for his volunteer public service to the citizens 
of the District of Columbia.

                          ____________________