Advocating for DC's Political Rights Since 1961

Nelson Rimensnyder was not born and raised in the District of Columbia, but he has been involved in advocating political and voting rights for District residents since he was a senior in high school in Bucks County, near Philadelphia. There he chose as his civics class project to work with the League of Women Voters’ campaign to secure passage of the 23rd Amendment to the U. S. Constitution granting D. C. residents the right to vote in Presidential elections. He participated in lobbying his Pennsylvania state senator (a Republican) and representative (a Democrat) at their offices in Harrisburg, each of whom promised their support. The amendment was approved, and Pennsylvania became the 23rd state to ratify the 23rd Amendment.

This experience may have been a portent for Nelson’s future career, as 10 years later he moved to Washington, and as the resident Congressional Research Service expert on D. C. affairs, was detailed to the House Committee on the District of Columbia to assist them with the development of home rule legislation.

There he worked directly with Chairman Charles C. Diggs, providing research and writing on every area of D. C. history and governance to underpin the structure of a new, locally elected government for the District, where none had existed in the previous 100 years. He wrote committee reports on subjects such as taxes and finance, previous local governments in the 19th century, the origin of the “Exclusive Legislation” clause of the U. S. Constitution, transportation, city planning, and building height regulations, to name just a few.

Following the passage of the Home Rule Charter Act at the end of 1973, Nelson left the Library of Congress to work directly for the House Committee on the District of Columbia as its Director of Research and continued there until his retirement from Congress in 1992. He was also chosen by Chairman Diggs to serve as his delegate on the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC).

When the House D. C. Committee was abolished, Nelson was alerted that many important documents and legislative materials were going to be thrown away. He quickly visited the basement of the Longworth Building and was able to rescue 90-some boxes of precious historical treasures. Those boxes now form the core of a unique collection, the New Columbia Archives, which he continues to catalog and mine for his ongoing research and advocacy for home rule and voting rights in Congress.

Since leaving Congress, Nelson has participated in numerous civic causes such as the preservation of historic Rhodes Tavern, service on the Board of the Washington Historical Society, and research for the publication of City of Magnificent Intentions, a history and civics textbook for D. C. Public Schools. Along with former President of the AOI, Bill Brown, he has discovered lost records and information about the history of AOI, and especially the origins and history of its brother organization the Association of Oldest Inhabitants Colored, Inc.

Nelson has provided expert testimony before federal and local governments, agencies, and congressional committees on issues such as preserving historic landmarks like the World War I Memorial on the Mall, preserving building height regulations, and improving archival facilities of the District of Columbia.

Nelson was the Republican candidate for District of Columbia Delegate to the U. S. House of Representatives in 2014, 2018, and 2022.