Eleanor Holmes Norton

DemocratU.S. Representative, DC-0

Age	89 (b. 1937-06-13)
Gender	Female
In office since	1991-01-03 (~35 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	African American
Religion	Episcopalian
Education	B.A., Antioch College (1960); M.A. in American Studies, Yale University (1963); LL.B./J.D., Yale Law School (1964)
Prior occupation	Civil rights attorney (ACLU Assistant Legal Director 1965-1970), chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights (1970-1977), chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1977-1981), and professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center (from 1982)
Military service	No
Birthplace	Washington, D.C.
Marital status	Divorced — Edward Norton (married 1965, separated 1990, divorced 1993; he died 2014)
Children	2
Residence	Washington, D.C.

Wikipedia · Ballotpedia · OpenSecrets · Official site

Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	1990
Previous offices	Chair, New York City Commission on Human Rights (1970-1977) · Chair, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (1977-1981)
Committees	Committee on Oversight and Accountability · Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Subcommittee on Highways and Transit (Ranking Member)
Caucuses	Congressional Progressive Caucus · Congressional Black Caucus · Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment · Black Maternal Health Caucus · Congressional Arts Caucus · Climate Solutions Caucus · Medicare for All Caucus
Leadership	Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
Ideology	Consistently rated among the most liberal/progressive members of the House; member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. As a District of Columbia delegate she may vote in committee and on the House floor in the Committee of the Whole but cannot cast final floor votes.
Signature legislation	Washington, D.C. Admission Act / D.C. statehood legislation (lead sponsor across multiple Congresses) · District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (passed House 2007, Senate 2009) · Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act (introduced repeatedly since 1994)

Financial

Net worth: disclosed $1,380,040–$2,801,000 (2014) · estimate

No holdings recorded yet (from official Financial Disclosure filings).

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — Failure to file D.C. income tax returns (1982-1989); back taxes and fines paid

financial/corruption · 1982-1989 · Three days before the September 1990 Democratic primary for D.C. delegate, it was disclosed that Eleanor Holmes Norton and her husband, attorney Edward Norton, had not filed District of Columbia personal income tax returns for the years 1982 through 1989. Edward Norton publicly took responsibility, calling himself 'the villain,' saying he had handled the couple's finances and had assured his wife their affairs were in order. The Nortons subsequently paid more than $80,000 in back taxes and penalties to the D.C. government. No criminal charges were filed; the matter was resolved through payment of the delinquent taxes and associated fines/interest to D.C. tax authorities. The couple separated shortly afterward (November 1990). · Paid over $80,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest to the D.C. government; no criminal prosecution

Norton and her husband failed to file D.C. income tax returns for eight years (1982-1989), a matter disclosed just before the 1990 Democratic primary; they later paid over $80,000 in back taxes and fines to resolve it, and no criminal charges resulted. Norton was elected to Congress that November and has held the seat since.

Sources: The Washington Post · The Washington Post · The Baltimore Sun