John Capozzi

John Capozzi
Shadow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia's At-large district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Charles Moreland
Succeeded by	Sabrina Sojourner
Personal details
Born	1956 (age 60–61) Montville, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania The American University
Occupation	Project Manager with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer

John James Capozzi, Jr. (D) served as the second District of Columbia Shadow U.S. Representative, during 1995-1997^[1][2] and is a former 17 year at-large member of the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee.^[3] He ran as a Candidate to become an At-Large Councilmember on the Council of the District of Columbia and was defeated September 10, 1996.^[4] Capozzi is considered the possible inspiration for the character Tommy Carcetti in the HBO drama The Wire. He previously worked for BRMi Consulting^[5] as a Recruitment Manager. Currently, Capozzi works for the Office of the Chief Technology Officer of the District of Columbia as a Project Manager.^[6]

Political History

Prior to his election as Shadow U.S. Representative of the District of Columbia, Capozzi was involved in organizing protests in front of the Rayburn House office building in support of DC Statehood. He met with a number of Congresspersons prior to the 1993 vote for DC Statehood, the only vote of its kind to be held by the House of Representatives.

As the Shadow Representative, Capozzi worked with the Reverend Garyland Ellis Hagler and Council member William Lightfoot in pointing out Fannie Mae, then the largest private sector company in DC, was exempt from paying DC corporate income taxes. As a shareholder in the company, Capozzi sponsored a s shareholder's initiative to have the company make a payment, in lieu of taxes, to DC.^[7]

In 2002, at Capozzi's initiative, the DC Council debated a proposal to change the District's flag in protest of DC's lack of voting rights in Congress. The new design would have added the letters "D.C." to the center start and the words "Taxation without Representation" in white on the upper and lower bars, the format already used on District licence plates. The change, presumably, would have been temporary and revoked once the city achieved equal representation or statehood. Capozzi's proposal was passed by the council by a 10–2 vote, but the final design was never adopted.

Green Home in Hillcrest

In August 2009 Capozzi made headlines in a local publication, East of the River. The former shadow Rep was highlighted by reporter, Gerri Williams in an article called 'A Green Home in Hillcrest'.^[8] Capozzi and his wife Sue built the first Green Home located in the South East region of Washington, D.C.

The solar concept was not new to Capozzi, who worked for the DC government’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer.^[9]

Green Power Advocacy

In 2010 Capozzi, as an active DC SUN member, filed a shareholder resolution with Pepco to force the company to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions from products and operations. He was quoted by a District of Columbia advocacy group, The Fight Back, as saying, "If they were making more money through solar then maybe they would have had more capacity to do a better job with reliability."^[10]

See also

• Shadow congressperson
• Political party strength in Washington, D.C.

References