Jim Graham
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Jim Graham is a politician from Washington, D.C. He is currently a Democratic member of the Council of the District of Columbia, where has served as an elected councilmember for Ward 1 since 1999. Jim Graham is an openly gay, naturalized immigrant from Scotland.[1]
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[edit] Early life
A graduate of Michigan State University, Jim Graham received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School and an L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. His professional endeavors included a clerkship with former Chief Justice Earl Warren, staff attorney position with the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (chaired by Senator Abe Ribicoff [D-Conn.]), and experience in private, agency and public interest law. Graham has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University, and supervising instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Graham is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to taking a seat on the city council, Graham was executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a non-profit organization that provides services to AIDS and HIV patients in Washington.
[edit] Current council committees
Jim Graham is a member of multiple committees in the D.C. Council:
- Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (chairman)
- Committee on Health
- Committee on Government Operations
- Committee on Public Works
In addition, he is one of two voting members representing the District of Columbia on the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). He has held this seat since 1999.
[edit] Criticism
In early 2005, Graham was accused (allegedly by Washington businessman Sinclair Skinner) of driving historically African-American businesses from the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Shaw, and the U St. corridor. The Washington City Paper reported on the accusation:
In early 2005, just as the Club U issue was heating up, posters portraying Graham as a reptile holding a pitchfork labeled “Grahamzilla” appeared on light poles and street signs around the ward. Another set of posters depicted Graham standing on a porch partying with young white men at the Graham “plantation.” The latter included an illustration showing “Graham opponents” hanging from a gallows. The posters stretched the limits of political speech and disappeared quickly after they were put up. [2]
