D.C. Has Unusual License Plate Plan

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The city's license plate motto should be changed to ``Taxation Without Representation'' to call attention to the lack of voting rights for the nation's capital, Mayor

Monday, June 12th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The city's license plate motto should be changed to ``Taxation Without Representation'' to call attention to the lack of voting rights for the nation's capital, Mayor Anthony A. Williams said Monday.

``The District of Columbia, while the seat of democracy for the world, has no voting representation in Congress, has no full representation. Yet our citizens pay more than their fair share, a huge share of federal taxes,'' Williams told a D.C. Council hearing.

The District's elected delegate to Congress can vote in House committees, but not on the House floor. The city's two elected shadow senators serve only as lobbyists for the city on Capitol Hill.

Council Chairwoman Linda W. Cropp sponsored the bill that would replace the current motto on the district's red, white and blue license plates, ``Celebrate and Discover,'' with the more unusual selection.

New plates could be ready 10-12 weeks after a change is approved, said Sherryl Hobbs Newman, director of the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.