MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5, at American University, in Washington, welcome to "The Politics Hour," starring Tom Sherwood. I'm Kojo Nnamdi. Tom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's a NBC 4 reporter and columnist for the Current Newspapers. Tom Sherwood, welcome.

MR. TOM SHERWOODGood afternoon.

NNAMDIAnd Tom and I share a passion, recently rediscovered for -- in my case -- weekends, sometimes during the week, in Tom's case, the same. We don't really commute using this form of transportation, but we do like this.

QUEENS BAND(singing) All I want to do is bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my…

NNAMDIWell, Tom, we are in the middle of the bicycle wars in Washington, D.C., which you have been covering.

SHERWOODYes. You know, the bike wars in D.C. between vehicles -- all motorized vehicles and bicycles, you know, I've told people regularly that we will solve Middle East peace between the Palestinians and the Jewish people before we solve the issue of who has the right of way to the road. The city, of course, has been aggressively moving forward that bikes, you know, have a right. Are -- do have a right to be on the roadways and the vehicles have to put up with it.

SHERWOODBut, you know, Courtland Milloy, the columnist for The Post, this week created the latest firestorm -- it's like the rockets from Gaza into Israel or vice-versa -- when he said that, you know, compared cyclists to terrorists, suggested that people could maybe be willing to hit them with their car.

NNAMDIStand the $500 fine for hitting.

SHERWOODStand the fine. Maybe stick something in their spokes to make them crash. And that, of course, horrified people, who thought he was promoting violence against cyclists. So they had a protest at -- outside The Post yesterday. And it was very well mannered, unfortunately. For TV we wanted them to, you know, rush the door with their bikes or something or stick spokes in the doorway. But they were very nice. They said, look, we're part of the transportation system. Don't mess with us, Courtland.

NNAMDII told our listeners yesterday that I've known Courtland for a long time and he's doing what Courtland does best, and that is provoke controversy. He loves being provocative.

SHERWOODYes. And it doesn't mean he doesn't agree with what he writes. He's not just doing it in some kind of artificial way.

NNAMDINo.

SHERWOODBecause, you know, you get people who have an incident with a bike and they get furious over it. But then you also get people who are cyclists and who get hit by cars and who are, you know, in a war between the bikes and the cars, the cars are much heavier -- 2,000 plus pounds to the little bicycles. People should just share the road. I think that's the word.

NNAMDII think that would be entirely appropriate. Joining us now by phone is Steny Hoyer. Congressman Steny Hoyer is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He's a Democrat from Maryland, who also serves as House Minority Whip. Congressman Hoyer, thank you so much for joining us.

REP. STENY HOYERGlad to be with you.

SHERWOODDo you bicycle? This is Tom Sherwood.

NNAMDII was about to say, feel free to jump into the bicycle controversy if you want to.

HOYERYou know, as I hear this I think to myself, you know, it's a little bit like the Congress. The Congress is, in fact, a bicycle that's built for two. And in order for a bicycle built for two to have any positive effect on transportation, you need to work together.

NNAMDIBoth people have to be pedaling in the same direction.

HOYEROn guy can't be putting on the brakes and the other guy trying to move it forward. So our bicycle built for two is not working so well up here.

NNAMDIIf you have questions or comments for Congressman Stoyer (sic), give us a call at 800-433-8850 or send email to kojo@wamu.org. Congressman Soyer (sic), we're going to ask you some questions about legislative priorities and the like in just a second, but first we wanted to ask you about the District of Columbia. Since we do not have a voting representative in the House…

HOYERWhich I think is a blot on our Democracy.

NNAMDI…and one of your colleagues in Maryland's Congressional delegation wants to attach an amendment to a spending bill that would prevent D.C. from using its own local funds to decriminalize marijuana. Bryan Russo, the host of WAMU 88.5's "Coastal Connection," interviewed Congressman Harris this week. Here's how he responded when he was asked about those who have accused him of meddling in issues that D.C. residents would like to decide for themselves.

REP. ANDY HARRISYou know I think the Founding Fathers and the people who wrote the Constitution got it right. I think that, you know, if somebody wants voting rights, you know, the Constitution is clear. They go to a state -- not the federal enclave -- and they have voting rights. If they're in the federal enclave then Congress is their local legislature.

NNAMDIYou can hear more of Bryan's interview on "Coastal Connection" tomorrow morning at 5:00 or online at wamu.coast.org. Congressman Hoyer, I was just interested in your responses and whether or not you've spoken with Congressman Harris.

HOYERI have not spoken to Congressman Harris, but you will not be surprised that I disagree with his conclusions. And, in fact, the Congress has disagreed with his conclusions. And the Congress passed a Home Rule Act which had, as its central premise, that the residents of the District of Columbia had as much right as any other American citizen and their local government to make their own decisions as to how they manage the jurisdiction in which they live and over which -- and which have elected them to office.

HOYERSo I have been a very big proponent throughout my Congressional career, not only of what you mentioned at first -- making sure the District has a vote in the Congress of the United States, as does every other capital in every other democratic nation in the world, but the only one that doesn't have a voting member of the federal city.

HOYERIn any event, in terms of Mr. Harris's view -- Congressman Harris's view, clearly the -- he is accurate in that under the terms of the Home Rule, the Congress can interdict its will. The issue is whether that's appropriate or a good policy. And I think it is not. The residents of the District of Columbia, under Home Rule, ought to be given the authority to manage their own affairs. And in this case Mr. Harris does not agree with that.

SHERWOODCongressman, the Baltimore Sun has called Congressman Harris -- editorial page -- a preening pest. I'm sure you wouldn't go that far with your colleagues on the -- but, you know, people in the suburbs support -- generally speaking -- I mean the members of -- Barbara Mikulski, I think supports statehood or voting rights for the District. What -- when you say you support voting rights, is that a member of the House that say Delegate Norton would…

HOYERWithout going beyond -- Eleanor Holmes Norton is a very effective member of Congress without the vote. But it is, as I said Tom at the outset, a blot on American democracy that 600,000 or 700,000 people, residents of the District of Columbia, do not have equal status with every other American. And the premise that you'd have to move out of the District of Columbia in order to be treated as an American citizen I think is abhorrent.

SHERWOODCould I -- on that basis, the city would like to impose a commuter tax, which you have opposed.

NNAMDIYou knew we were going there, weren't you.

SHERWOODThe city…

HOYERI knew you were going there, but I'm not shocked or surprised.

SHERWOODWell, you know, I'm always going to bring up the commuter tax. Maryland and Virginia reap billions of dollars from the District of Columbia, the nation's capital because people live in your jurisdictions and work in the district. And it used to be that 70 percent of the jobs in the District were held by people in the suburbs. I've been told recently by the CFO's office, the city CFO, that that number is down to 55 percent.

SHERWOODBut still it's billions of dollars the city cannot tax. If it could tax it, we could cut our taxes in the city as low as Virginia's. What's your status on the commuter tax?

HOYERWell, we think…

SHERWOODAnd welcome to the show.

HOYERWell, I'm glad to be with you, but I think you ought to think seriously about the commuter tax. You know, one of the things Eleanor Holmes Norton does -- and she and I discussed and we try to work together with one another in a non-competitive way -- is to not totally disperse the federal government into the suburbs. As you know, there are a lot of people who would like to see certain agencies or many agencies -- there are already agencies out in the suburbs -- more out in the suburbs.

SHERWOODAre you opposed to the FBI going to Prince George's County?

HOYERNo. I'm for the FBI going to Prince George's County.

SHERWOODI thought you might be.

HOYERAnd the reason I'm for that -- and frankly, that's going to be a great advantage to the District of Columbia. This is a win-win situation for Prince George's and for Washington because, of course, that entire block of one of the most valuable blocks in America, on one of the most storied streets in America, we think is going to be sold for commercial use. And the property taxes from that development will be a very, very substantial appreciation to the District's tax base.

SHERWOODThat's right. You know, everybody's looking forward to that dead zone being gone.

HOYERYeah, so it's win-win for us. And I'm very much for that. But my point, Tom, is if you had a commuter tax, there would be a lot more incentive for those who represent contiguous states to be supportive of moving employment centers to the suburbs. Not in the FBI's case, where you're doing that because there's simply -- from a security standpoint the FBI needs a parcel of property that has appropriate setbacks and a large enough piece of property so they can consolidate activities to be more efficient and effective.

HOYERAnd I don't think there's a lot of controversy related to that. I don't think that's a problem. But I think you would see a lot of pressure on a lot of us to say, well, you can put this agency out in Prince George's, you can put this agency in Montgomery, you can put this agency in Fairfax. So I really think that it would not have a positive effect.

HOYERAnd, of course, being from Maryland, we believe that the commuter tax is a tax above and beyond the taxes that, in fact, our citizens, who come into the District of Columbia do pay in terms of sales tax when they buy food, when they buy products here in the District of Columbia, when they buy gasoline, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So obviously it is an extraordinary benefit to the District of Columbia that they have all these folks coming into their city on a daily basis. It's also an expense. I understand that, but I -- but the commuter tax is (unintelligible) the District complains about.

SHERWOODI think you've made it clear, you're against it. I think Kojo wants to reintroduce you.

NNAMDIIn case you're just joining us, our guest is Congressman Steny Hoyer. He's a Democrat from Maryland. He also serves as House Minority Whip. Tom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's an NBC 4 reporter and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. If you have questions for Congressman Steny Hoyer call us at 800-433-8850 or send email to kojo@wamu.org.

NNAMDICongressman Hoyer, Prince George's County is now home to 25 percent of federal workers, yet, as you advocate for the FBI moving to Prince George's County, that's not resulted in the county being home to a lot of federal workers. What do you think the county has not been doing or has not been doing enough of in terms of getting more federal agencies located in Prince George's County?

HOYERWell, again -- and, Kojo, I want to be very candid with you -- I'm very cognizant of my colleague Congresswoman Norton's desire -- correctly -- to have many of the agencies that are located here stay here. Department of Transportation is a perfect example of that, which has helped revitalize the Southeast, Southwest portion of the city. As you probably know, I was a big supporter of efforts to revitalize the Southeast, Southwest, which of course abuts Prince George's County.

HOYERAnd we're making real progress there. And the -- we have a substantial number -- I think represents 62,000 federal employees in the Fifth Congressional district who live in Prince George's County and in the four other counties I represent, Anne Arundel, St. Mary's, Charles and Calvert Counties. All but St. Mary's County are commuter counties, which means that most of the workers in those counties -- or certainly in Prince George's and Charles and Calvert, most of those workers commute either to Washington -- which is the predominant -- or to some other jurisdiction.

HOYERBut I think we've been pretty successful over the years, Kojo, in putting federal facilities -- again, without having -- undermining Congressman Norton's or the District of Columbia's legitimate desire to have a corpus of the federal government in the central federal city.

SHERWOODCongressman, let's wrap up the FBI thing because we're expecting -- we were told -- NBC 4 was told this week that the General Services Administration may put out a short list today of where the FBI headquarters may go. And the Washington Post, Jonathan O'Connell was reporting that it may well include the Old Soldiers Home up off of North Capitol Street and/or the Walter Reed 60 acres there at -- off of 16th Street. Do you have any insights as to where we are in this process?

HOYERWe have heard, Tom, similar to you, that today was a possibility to come out with possible sites that the GSA thinks might be appropriate. But it does not appear they're coming out today. So…

SHERWOODOkay.

HOYER…our expectations would be that it may be, hopefully, next week. Bottom line is, as you know, we think we have a site that has all of the assets that the FBI is seeking, in a setting which will provide for security and a very quality consolidation.

NNAMDIIs that a parking area of the Greenbelt Metro station?

HOYERYes. Greenbelt Metro station. Metro is adjacent, as is I-95, as is Amtrak and the Metro itself. BWI, National…

SHERWOODWell, you represent Maryland. And I don't…

HOYER…(unintelligible) Air Force Base and close proximity where FBI agents who, as you have seen recently, go many places in the world, can be deployed immediately. So we believe we have a lot of assets, including educational assets, cyber security, NSA, a tremendous number of assets that would be in proximity to the FBI, which will make it a -- which makes our site, I think, just an excellent site.

NNAMDICongressman Hoyer, this is an election year. The clock is ticking very fast on anything that can be accomplished on the Hill. What are your priorities and expectations for the months ahead?

HOYERWell, of course we want to continue to focus on jobs. Kojo, as you may know -- and Tom probably knows -- I have what I call "Make it in America" agenda. We had a victory of sorts. Not a big victory, but a positive piece of legislation passed out of conference and through the House and will be going to the president shortly, on the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act, which is a skills act, if you will. Making sure that people have the skills necessary for the jobs that are available.

HOYERWe are hopeful that we can do more "Make it in America" pieces of agenda, including adopting a national plan of how we facilitate and encourage and create and environment in which manufacturing can be established and expand because we think that creates the kinds of jobs that people want. We think the minimum wage needs to be raised. We are very hopeful -- and I mentioned on the floor today in colloquy with the new majority leader, Kevin McCarthy, that we need to see unemployment insurance giving some degree of support to those who have worked, lost their jobs and can't find another one.

HOYERWe think that comprehensive immigration reform is a critically important issue. And what's happening at our border and the humanitarian crisis is related directly to that.

NNAMDIWell, let me ask you about that. Because Senator Barbara Mikulski chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. She's pushing hard for the president's emergency request for funds to address the crisis caused by the flood of minors coming from Central America over the border. How do you see it playing out in Congress in the weeks ahead?

HOYERWell, I'm hopeful that we pass a supplemental because this is a crisis. The numbers have spiked very substantially, in part because we have not passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill. And there is not a working system. And almost every Republican admits the system's broken, but that being broken encourages people to come, in effect, outside a system because it's broken.

HOYERI am for the supplemental appropriation bill because we have a humanitarian crisis on our hands. We've got literally thousands of children that we need to treat, as we would want our own children treated. These are children. These are not criminals. They're not trying to avoid anything. They show up at the gate and they say, you know, "Here we are." And we're not going to let them go back out into the desert.

NNAMDIBut you have to persuade Republicans to join you on this issue. And they look at what happened to Eric Cantor in Virginia last month. How do you think that will affect their posture on this issue?

HOYERWell, what happened to Eric Cantor, of course, happened before the humanitarian crisis was really on anybody's radar screen to the extent it is now. As a result, we have a crisis. That may affect their view on comprehensive immigration reform. They may think it's less likely that they want to go down that path. However, I think, Kojo and Tom -- I know what your analysis is -- we believe very strongly that there are the votes to pass comprehensive immigration reform on the floor if the Republicans would put it on the floor.

SHERWOODCongressman, on this issue, the president's plan I think includes the money to hire additionally like 40 immigration judges.

HOYERYes.

SHERWOODA senator -- and I apologize, I'm blanking his name. I saw him on a report, who was saying it sounds like this is money just to round them up and ship them back. That it's not humanitarian to force these thousands of children back into a violent areas of Mexico or other countries.

HOYERWell, Tom, the whole purpose of the process, which you have judges sufficient to hear, in a substantive way, cases. The whole purpose of the process and the 2008 law, which was, by the way, sponsored primarily by a Republican, Chris Smith, signed by George Bush, and was passed in a bipartisan fashion. We agreed on that. And the whole premise was you would treat children in a humanitarian way and would have a process whereby children would not be sent back into a situation of great danger.

HOYERBut the purpose of the expansion of the number of hearing officers -- judges, if you will -- is to make sure that the system can, in fact, hear and make a determination whether or not there is a safety issue involved.

SHERWOODI have a -- Terry Gainer, who's a retired Senate at Arms person, former D.C. Police official and very well respected, raised a lot of hackles -- well, he raised mine -- let me be clear -- when he wrote that maybe the whole Congress campus should be expanded and several streets on Capitol Hill should be taken over. I kind of compared it to "The Dome" program on CBS. And to further isolate the Congress from the real life of Washington.

SHERWOODAnd I'm just wondering have you paid attention to this idea to expand the campus, bar commercial traffic? I mean, I have a lot of respect for Terry Gainer, but I just didn't like this idea at all. What's your thought?

HOYERI don't think that's going to happen. Frankly, I understand what Terry is saying. I have great respect myself for Mr. Gainer. He was a leader here on law enforcement. Has been a leader in law enforcement in Washington. And is a very well respected individual. What he is saying is he wants to try to keep -- have the perimeter be larger so that people who would want to bring explosives or weapons of terror into the Capitol proper, would be prevented from doing so.

HOYERWe have, as you know, now we have this Congressional Visitor Center. We have an entranceway for visitors. They go through metal detectors. They're screened so they can't get into the Capitol without having been screened. But I can tell you when we put up the barriers that we now have, so that you can't drive through. As you know, they're -- the steel barriers come up and so you can't drive through. And we've limited parking on the front -- the east front of the Capitol, which was not the case in the past.

HOYERI think those were prudent steps to take post 9/11, but I think the Senate and the House members will be reluctant to make a broader perimeter that will make the people's Capitol less accessible to them.

SHERWOODWell, I hope you keep the Congress as part of America and not isolated like the NSA and other places.

HOYERRight.

SHERWOODAnd just listen to us on the phone and the radio.

NNAMDISteny Hoyer is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He's a Democrat from Maryland who also serves as House Minority Whip. Congressman Hoyer, thank you for joining us.

HOYERWell, it's been great to be with you. Now, Kojo, I want you to know that Alexis Covey-Brandt, you know, my chief of staff…

NNAMDIYes.

HOYER…enjoyed her trip with you to Ethiopia.

NNAMDIYes. We certainly did a lot of work there. Even though we did find some time…

SHERWOODWe can't end on a positive note. What do you think about the football team's name?

NNAMDIYou know, he's not going to go there.

HOYERI think that it is controversial. I think Mr. Snyder would be well disposed to think about seriously moving to a name not nearly as controversial. Obviously it has a historical context. None of us really focused on it, but I am sympathetic with those Native Americans who believe that the term itself is a pejorative term, not a positive term.

NNAMDIWell, from football to soccer, your aid who accompanied us on that trip was, able to see some of my soccer playing skills, Congressman Hoyer. So she can tell you about that.

HOYEROh, great. Well, she was very impressed with you. She -- but I will tell you, she said…

NNAMDITom is disgusted.

HOYER(unintelligible).

SHERWOODI hope there's no YouTube video of that.

NNAMDICongressman Hoyer, thank you for joining us.

HOYERAll right. Good to be with you. Bye, bye.

NNAMDIYou're listening to "The Politics Hour." Tom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's an NBC 4 reporter and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. Tom, is there or is there not a controversy over the decision by Washington City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson to account -- to appoint his live-in partner to the, I guess, the commission, the body…

SHERWOODJust that informal review panel.

NNAMDIAnd informal review panel that will be evaluating the city's proposed deal to build a pro-soccer stadium. It is a non-paying position and the councilmember says she is an expert on this issue. Other panelists will include Councilmembers Jack Evans, Muriel Bowser and a staffer to Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Jennifer Budoff. But is there any real controversy here?

SHERWOODWell, the controversy is that everyone is…

NNAMDIIs there possible conflict of interest?

SHERWOODWell, first of all, Carol Mitten is an experienced veteran government official who's worked for the feds, for Amtrak, for the city and even a number of -- she was on the zoning commission. No one is questioning Carol Mitten's commitment to this. She works for Homeland Security now, Federal Homeland Security there on Nebraska Avenue. No one, not one person -- including the mayor -- is questioning her ability and her track record and her capability. And -- to vet the people who want to be the consultants to the Council to study the mayor's soccer program.

SHERWOODWhat they don't like about it is that Carol Mitten and the chairman of the Council have been together for six years. They live together in a house in Tacoma, D.C. And not Tacoma Park, Md.

NNAMDIHow come you know every detail of people's relationships in this city?

SHERWOODI do not…

NNAMDIYou know how long -- six years, two months, three days, 17 hours.

SHERWOODAnd so the issue -- it just surprised people. And the chairman, when I interviewed him, he said, "Well, you know, I don't know anybody smarter or more involved than Carol in land-use issues, in values. And this is a very complicated land-swap issue with the soccer stadium deal." But it just looked too close for comfort. And so, no, she's not being paid. And, frankly, they were supposed to meet today, right now I think they're deciding to rank the four or five bids on who is going to be the consultant.

SHERWOODIt's a $200,000 contract to advise the Council before early September on whether the mayor's soccer stadium deal for financing and land swaps makes sense. But the issue was -- it's just like me, if when I write a story about ABC laws and stuff, I don't go to my son's restaurant.

NNAMDIWell, he says there's no conflict of interest. And obviously the concern is not only with appearance, but whether or not the Council chairman will have an undue influence on the process (unintelligible).

SHERWOODYeah, you know -- well, if you know Carol Mitten she will do her -- she will do the job, but there is the appearance. And that's what makes everyone I have spoken to uncomfortable.

NNAMDIThis year I was not fortunate enough to attend the July 4th Palisades Parade. I don't know if you were in attendance this year.

SHERWOODI was there.

NNAMDIYou were in attendance this year?

SHERWOODI wasn't in it. I was there.

NNAMDIAnd it was on this occasion that followed the endorsement of candidate for mayor, Muriel Bowser, by former mayor Anthony Williams, apparently that got quite a bit of coverage. And she was represented. Her opponent, Independent opponent David Catania, her other Independent opponent Carol Schwartz, all there.

SHERWOODYes, they were there. Mayor Williams, who runs the federal city council, I'm told -- I haven't talked to everybody there, but raised a few eyebrows. The federal city council doesn't generally kind of get out like that on…

NNAMDIThis is true.

SHERWOOD…endorsements. And so I was a little surprised…

NNAMDIThis is not usually chaired by a former mayor either.

SHERWOODAnd also, Tony Williams doesn't particularly like marching in parades, but he did it for Muriel. You know, the good thing about that -- as I watched them go by and spoke to them -- Muriel Bowser had a very good crowd with her green and white signs, a very good crowd. David Catania had I think a larger crowd. Not significantly larger, but he had a lot of parents who are supporting his education agenda.

SHERWOODAnd Carol Schwartz, who only recently got into the race, had a, you know, it looked like a dozen people with her, as opposed to a couple of hundred. So I thought that was an interesting visual on where we stand in this race. But, no, Tony Williams says he…

NNAMDISee, we get back to what you know about people's personal preferences. How do you know that Tony Williams doesn't like marching in parades?

SHERWOODHaven't you ever spoken to -- you know Tony Williams. You know, when he first got to be mayor you said he was going…

NNAMDIYeah, he's not -- he's not a parade-marching kind of guy.

SHERWOOD…he was going to canoe on the Anacostia. I said, "We've got to send a camera crew because he's going to drown." You know, he's not the most outgoing person in the world.

NNAMDIThis is true.

SHERWOODAnd he's very awkward in public, as you well know. And he would agree with me if he were here.

NNAMDIAlthough, he's very funny.

SHERWOODHe is funny. He's got a great sense of humor, but he just is afraid to show it.

NNAMDIHe's not a parade kind of guy.

SHERWOODHe's not a parade guy, but he was there with Bowser, and that was good for her. Because her campaign is pretty much on hold for the summer while she's waiting for the other candidates to be official.

NNAMDIPaul Zukerberg, were you there?

MR. PAUL ZUKERBERGI certainly was there. Hi, Kojo, Tom.

NNAMDIAnd he was there because he is -- well, he likes parades, but he -- do you like parades?

ZUKERBERGLove them.

NNAMDIHe is also a Democratic candidate for attorney general of the District of Columbia, who joins us in studio. Paul Zukerberg, thank you very much for joining us.

ZUKERBERGThank you for having me.

NNAMDIIf you have comments or questions for this candidate, Paul Zukerberg, call us 800-433-8850 or send email to kojo@wamu.org. During the past year or so we've had several conversations with you about your effort to force an election for attorney general this year. The Council tried to delay that election, but voters said they wanted it in a referendum several years ago. Now, it's back on, in large measure because of you.

NNAMDIWe have not spent as much time talking to you about why you want to run for this seat and why you feel you'd be good for the job. Now that the election is going to be a reality, what's your case to voters for why they should choose Paul Zukerberg?

ZUKERBERGWell, thank you, Kojo. I have been fighting for fairness in the District of Columbia for over 30 years. I don't represent corporations. I'm not a lobbyist. I don't represent political insiders. I just represent regular people and try to help them with their legal problems. And we have an opportunity now to have an independent elected attorney general. And I'm asking voters to look at my past record, look what I've done as a private citizen and give me their support to become D.C. first elected attorney general.

SHERWOODWhen you got into the race, Mr. Zukerberg, when the -- well, the court essentially allowed the race, you said, well, you know, you'd welcome -- I talked to you -- I think you called it a vigorous campaign, a full and open campaign. Well, you've got some pretty good people getting into the race now. Karl Racine is getting in. He's a distinguished lawyer. Lateefah Williams has a long history here in activism in town.

SHERWOODAnd I don't know much yet about Edward Smith, but he's a Harvard law school graduate. He's had a lot of federal jobs. It's -- there are some real candidates out there. Mark Toohey got in and then got out and supports Karl Racine. How do you think you'll do about these, some of these fairly well-established people in town who've been more active, I think, on social issues in the city than you?

NNAMDIFeel free to start attacking them now.

ZUKERBERGWell, first of all, I'm happy -- I am so pleased that this is going to be a full, competitive race. Voters will have a choice. And that's what I was fighting for, to have an elected attorney general and to have a choice. And I think the choices are clear. None of the other candidates or potential candidates did anything to protect the voters' rights to elect attorney general. They did not assist in the lawsuit. They did not call to encourage me. They did not speak out publicly or privately when the law -- when the election was illegally canceled.

ZUKERBERGThe court of appeals said the cancellation of the election was illegal. So while they are coming out now, I think they have some -- have to give some explanation about why they were silent and passive when the election was being illegally canceled.

SHERWOODThey're coming late to the dinner table.

ZUKERBERGWell, after all the work has been done. And we worked -- myself and a small team of pro-bono lawyers -- worked for 10 months, nights and weekends. And when all the work was done and they saw how the case came out in our favor, then they expressed their commitment to voting rights.

SHERWOODWhat can the city -- the District of Columbia attorney general do? Major crimes are prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office. What powers are there? I mean, there's all worries about whether the assistant attorney generals who are in the agencies or cover the agencies, will work for the mayor, will they work for the department heads, would they work for the attorney general, would the attorney general be able to stick his hands into everything in the city and become his own political force? What are the powers of the attorney general?

ZUKERBERGThe attorney general position is a huge position and it's vitally important in bringing fairness to the District of Columbia government.

SHERWOODBut what does it do?

ZUKERBERGThe primary role of the attorney general is juveniles. It handles all juvenile adjudications, that includes prosecutions. It's responsible for truancy. We have an incredible truancy and school attendance problems. It helps kids who have been abused or neglected. It helps with housing. So it does everything with regard to minors in the District of Columbia. It also represent the city in lawsuits, such as the attorney general election suit. In that case, the attorney general was against the people, was against the charter amendment, and against the election.

ZUKERBERGAs the attorney general was against marijuana reform, the attorney general was against budget autonomy. So all these important legal decisions are made by the attorney general. And if that person is elected and represents the people, there's a chance that we can have greater democracy and transparency in government.

NNAMDIYou mention that the attorney general represents the city. Does the attorney general have any responsibility in protecting consumers in the city at all? Because, if they do, then I have a caller who may have a question for you.

ZUKERBERGYes. The attorney general is responsible for consumer protection. And one of the biggest problems is the tax lien sales -- people are having their houses sold out from under them on tax sales, which the attorney general has failed to address. And there's other consumer issues, and I'd be happy to listen to this question.

NNAMDIWell, Emily is in Arlington, Va., not in the District of Columbia, but she may be a District resident. Either way, she's addressing an issue that a lot of District residents do complain about. So, Emily, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

EMILYOK. My comment is about the possible fallout after the Supreme Court's decision against Aereo TV last week. And the fallout appears to already be starting with Comcast. And that is that I and tens of thousands of others have been long-term Comcast customers with a basic care package of one sort or another for cable TV channels, plus the basic UHF and VHF channels for the local stations, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS...

NNAMDIGot it. What's the problem now?

EMILYThe problem now is that Comcast is now claiming that its monthly fee for cable service no longer includes those UHF and VHF channels, and it now wants to start charging an additional $18.95 a month for those channels. And, guess what, on Tuesday morning, I found those channels missing from my channel lineup.

EMILYI called Philadelphia, the escalation team there. They hemmed, they hawed, they stalled me for 24 hours, and came back with a sheepish response that there had been an error in their software programming, and customers were receiving channels that they were not paying for. So this is a dirty trick. It is fodder...

NNAMDII am sure...

EMILYIt's fodder for a future show of yours, Kojo.

NNAMDII am sure that there are a lot of listeners who are Comcast subscribers who will be affected by that. But we haven't had a chance to research it to know whether, Emily, what -- whether Emily say is what is actually taking place. But in a situation like that, would the attorney general be interested?

ZUKERBERGThe attorney general would be interested. And the Comcast issue dovetails with other issues, including all utilities, water, electric, gas. The prices are going up. They are monopolies. And they are feeding into the problem with housing and homelessness because it increases the housing cost. Comcast, of course, is an option. But to the extent that they provide telephone service, it may be a necessity for many people. And to address these issues and to make sure that rates are fair is an important concern.

NNAMDIEmily, thank you very much for your call. Tom.

SHERWOODIt -- well, if you don't mind, I will just not jump into this conversation. Comcast owns NBC, which owns WRC, which owns me. So just leave me out of this one for the moment.

NNAMDILet's see if we can get Tom fired by dragging him into this conversation.

SHERWOODNo, I -- I'd be happy to give my opinion of Comcast for people. But I think on this kind of situation, I will not do it.

NNAMDIYes. I agree with you. If you have questions or comments for Paul Zukerberg, call us at 800-433-8850. Paul Zukerberg, what do you feel is the appropriate role for the city's attorney general? You talked a little bit about that, but how do you feel the present and past attorney generals have lived up to your view of what the roles should be?

ZUKERBERGWell, we've had many fine attorney generals. And the problem is not particular attorney generals, but the system. Right now, the attorney general is an employee of the mayor, works for the mayor, takes directions directly from the mayor, and that has prevented the attorney general, in my view, from giving independent advice to the mayor and representing the citizens as opposed to the mayor or the office of the mayor. So with an elected system, like they have in Maryland or Virginia and 43 states, we'll have an independent person who can share his independent opinions and also enforce the law fairly for all people, whether you're a big shot or a little shot.

SHERWOODIf you're the assistant D.C. attorney general and your area of expertise is the Department of Human Services and all the critical issues that that agency covers, and you want to make a decision, do you report to the attorney general of the District of Columbia? Or do you report to the mayor of the District of Columbia? 'Cause, if I understand, there was some effort to make it, even under the new system, the elected attorney general, that those attorneys that are assigned to the agencies will be directly responsible to the mayor, not to you.

ZUKERBERGYes.

SHERWOODThat -- do I have that right?

ZUKERBERGYou do have that right, as usual.

SHERWOODGood.

ZUKERBERGThe bill that created the elected attorney general also broke off about 30 percent of the employees and created a new office of legal counsel for the mayor. So the mayor -- the next mayor will get their own office of legal counsel. And all of the employees working directly for the agencies will report to that legal counsel and report to the mayor.

ZUKERBERGThe rest of the office, the majority of the office, will be under the attorney general. It's a system that's going to have to be worked out. And it is going to require, frankly, someone who's willing to fight and stand up for the attorney general to make sure the office has meaning and can investigate corruption, can fight for District of Columbia citizens' rights, and is not just going to be an ineffective office.

SHERWOODAgain, in my example of the Human Services, if you, as the elected attorney general, feel, believe, see, or find that the office is not doing something correctly and that the attorney general assistant assigned to that and reporting the mayor is not acting, is there room for you to act?

ZUKERBERGYes, there is room.

SHERWOODYou know what the subject is, of course.

ZUKERBERGYeah. There is room to act. But, as I said earlier, it isn't well defined.

SHERWOODRight.

ZUKERBERGIt's a brand-new system.

SHERWOODI'm worried about you being toothless.

ZUKERBERGToothless?

SHERWOODToothless.

ZUKERBERGWell, that's the last thing you have to worry about, Tom. My wife is a dentist, as you know, so she'll keep me from being completely toothless.

ZUKERBERGBut I am a fighter for fairness.

SHERWOODAnd she's going to improve your coats and your suits. You know, there's been criticism of your attire.

ZUKERBERGI...

NNAMDIWell, forget the bonus. But go ahead, please.

ZUKERBERGI will fight. I will take on the council. I have taken on the council. I've taken on the mayor. I will take on Congress. I will fight anyone for fairness. And if I believe they're being unfair or violating the law, I will step in.

NNAMDIFor those who are not familiar with you, how would you explain your legal experience? People who have only followed the news tangentially might only think of you as, well, the pot guy.

ZUKERBERGWell, unfortunately, I'm the pot guy. But what decriminalization has done is it's prevented 6,000 young people from needlessly being arrested and getting permanent criminal records, most of whom are young black males who don't need criminal records. So people call me the marijuana candidate or the pot candidate.

ZUKERBERGI prefer if they call me the 6,000 young people's candidate because that's going to be the change if decriminalization goes forward next week as it's supposed to. But I have been working for fairness not only in decriminalization, which is legislative, but in the elected attorney general lawsuit. I've had victories in court. I have a long track record of winning cases and getting tangible results.

SHERWOODIt's not just the fact that African-Americans are being arrested and charged for marijuana crime but that there's a disparity that -- there's no equal arrest of white people or Hispanic people or any others. It's mainly African-Americans.

ZUKERBERGNinety-one percent of the arrests are -- in the District, have been African-Americans. And we lead the nation in arrests per capita. And these are still going on today despite the pendency of the decriminalization law.

SHERWOODAre you for legalization of marijuana? There's a -- you know, there's the group turned in 57,000 signatures to make legal marijuana available, no stores like Colorado, but that you could have your own plants and your own possession to be made legal.

NNAMDILed by Adam Eidinger.

ZUKERBERGWell, you...

SHERWOODAnd others.

ZUKERBERGWhen I started on decriminalization about two years ago, I was way out on the edge. Chairman Mendelson said we couldn't even talk about decriminalization. Now, we have decriminalization in D.C., Maryland. About a week after we passed decriminalization, Maryland stood up to the obstructionists there and passed decriminalization in Maryland. I think people are going to wait and see what happens in Colorado and Washington State.

SHERWOODWell, the voters likely will pass it this fall.

ZUKERBERGThey will pass it. We have time between now and November to see how it's going in those other states. The polls show that, among young people, the numbers are overwhelmingly in favor of taxing and regulating marijuana, like alcohol, and that's the way I believe it's going to go in the next five years around the country.

SHERWOODAnd Councilmember David Grosso has introduced legislation to set up some possible regulation and taxing thing, if it passes.

ZUKERBERGBut the future is the future. What we have to focus on now is decriminalization and make sure that these arrests stop now.

SHERWOODSteny Hoyer hasn't spoken to Andy Harris, the congressman -- I mean, the council -- oh, yeah, congressman from Maryland. Have you spoken to him or sent him a love note or sent anything?

ZUKERBERGI would like to send him something. It's not a love note. What a bully. It's outrageous what he's doing. There's decriminalization in his state. He is just trying to score political points among his fringe supporters by bullying and punishing. And I am so proud of Eleanor Holmes Norton for standing up to him. When she speaks, my heart just flutters.

NNAMDIYou've said that your interest in marijuana cases is grounded in a broader interest in civil rights. How so?

ZUKERBERGCivil rights -- and it's part of restorative justice. I'm in favor of decriminalization of marijuana. I believe I reducing the number of misdemeanors for which people get into the system. I want to fight the pipeline to prison. I want easier expungement and sealing of records. And I want to help returning citizens -- 10 percent of our population are returning citizens, people who have spent their time, done their -- paid their debt to society, and they deserve equal rights and opportunities for employment.

NNAMDIOur guest is Paul Zukerberg. He's a Democratic candidate for attorney general of the District of Columbia. If you have questions for him, call us at 800-433-8850. We have one such Peter in Washington, D.C. Peter, you are on the air. Go ahead, please.

PETERHello. Mr. Zukerberg, you referred a few minutes ago to the utility companies, their rates, and regulation of them. And it sounded as though you believe the attorney general would have some power in this respect. But I'm wondering how that relates to the authority of the Public Service Commission.

ZUKERBERGIt is the Public Service Commission that has primary authority. However, the attorney general has the right to look into consumer complaints as the caller had discussed with regard to individuals who are being affected on a case-by-case basis and also has a policy -- has an opportunity as an elected official to inform the public how these high utility rates are feeding into the problems of affordable housing and homelessness.

NNAMDIThank you very much for your call, Peter. How do you envision the way that you would engage with the D.C. Council? You've called its members tiny tyrants on one occasion?

ZUKERBERGThe council must follow the law. They are not a law unto themselves, and they must respect that they work for the people. The people don't work for them. And a perfect example is the attorney general election. The charter required -- there was a charter amendment which required an elected attorney general, and the council simply ignored the will of the voters as they've done on term limits and on other issues. And as attorney general, I will enforce the law for the regular person on the street, for the council, for the mayor, and for myself.

SHERWOODKojo asked earlier about your legal background. I want people to know something more about you. You've had this law office in the townhouse there in Mount -- in Adams Morgan with a ridiculously number of steps going up to your office. I'll never go up those steps again. But who are you? I mean, tell us something you want people to know about who you are, Paul Zukerberg, as a person.

ZUKERBERGWell, I came to the District of Columbia in 1981 to go to American University Law School. I'm married. I have a wonderful wife...

SHERWOODWho's a dentist, who's going to protect your teeth.

ZUKERBERG...who's a dentist, Dr. Zukerberg. I have two great kids who are teens now. They went to charter schools. They went to public schools. People know me as a lawyer, but they also know me from the soccer leagues, from the basketball leagues, from the neighborhoods. So I have strong contacts with the city, and I love this city. This city is my home. I don't have another state to go home to, somewhere else where I can vote. Everything I have is here in the District of Columbia. And I have worked for 30 years. And you can Google all the cases, case after case, working for fairness.

SHERWOODAre you well -- are you...

NNAMDIHere...

SHERWOODExcuse me. Are you well to do, moderate income? I mean, you might have to file a disclosure statement if you get the elected office. What can you -- are you a working man, a poor man, a rich man? Who are you?

ZUKERBERGWell, let me say this. I have been blessed. I have what I need, and we have -- I don't think we're wealthy, but we have what we need. We've been blessed. We have a home. We have food. And that is why I believe I have to give back. I am privileged. I've had a privilege. I had a middle class childhood. I had two loving parents. I have a law degree. And I feel it's my obligation to use what I have to give back to others who are less privileged.

NNAMDIHere is Jonathan in Washington, D.C. Jonathan, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

JONATHANThank you, Kojo. Mr. Zukerberg, in your previous electoral campaign, you took positions against wage theft and for tenants' rights. And I wondered, and as attorney general, how you would be able to focus on those areas as well.

ZUKERBERGWell, that's a great question. I won, as a lawyer, the largest punitive damages in a wage theft case to that date, $1.4 million, on behalf of nursing home workers who were stiffed by the nursing home owner. I took him to court. I won a judgment. I went up on appeal. And by the -- the judgment was affirmed, and by the time the case got back down to the court, the nursing home owner transferred all of his assets to another nursing home to other people out of state.

ZUKERBERGI refiled that lawsuit all over again, got another judgment, won again in the court of appeals, and finally won a large verdict. So every single worker got not only their wages, back pay, interest, and treble damages. It took me six years. I didn't charge those people any fee, but I won it for them because I felt what was done to them was wrong. And that was at J.B. Johnson Nursing Home. And if any employee of that nursing home is out there now, they can call in or call me because they know what I did.

NNAMDIThank you very much for your call, Jonathan.

SHERWOODI wanted to, again, 'cause you speak very passionately. You've just done it about your job, of what you do in your life. What did you see about the future of the city, whether you're attorney general or not? People are worried that the income disparity is growing in the city, that gentrification has an ugly downside, and that people are displaced. I mean, you -- if you are elected, you will be a clear leader of the city, able to speak and get attention almost anything you do. What is your thought about the city?

NNAMDIOne minute left.

SHERWOODGet -- I had more of a question than that. But go ahead. You get the point.

ZUKERBERGWell, I love this city. My whole life is in this city. And I am going to be an attorney general for all of the people. I am going to be fair to all the people. It doesn't matter if you're a friend of the mayor, if you're a friend of -- or have no friends in the world. I am going to give you the same equal justice, and I'm going to work just as hard for the people who are big shots as the people who are little shots.

SHERWOODAnd do you like bikes?

ZUKERBERGI love bikes. I bike all the time. And I would hope to bring people together on this.

SHERWOODMaybe you can meet with Courtland.

ZUKERBERGI would like to meet with Courtland. I would like to meet with the bikers, the walkers.

NNAMDIPaul Zukerberg, he's a Democratic candidate for attorney general of the District of Columbia. You heard that, Courtland? Tom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's an NBC 4 reporter and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. Tom, always a pleasure. Paul Zukerberg, good luck to you.

ZUKERBERGThank you for having me, Kojo. Thank you, Tom.

NNAMDIAnd thank you all for listening.

SHERWOODHave a good weekend.

NNAMDII'm Kojo Nnamdi.