Linda Cropp papers

Linda Cropp, born October 5, 1947, in Atlanta, Georgia, was a Democratic member of the Council of the District of Columbia from 1990-2006, where she served as the elected Council Chairman (1997-2006).

In 1980 she became the Ward 4 representative to the Board of Education, where she was later elected vice president and president.

In 1990, she was elected as an at-large member to the Council of the District of Columbia. Cropp also served as the Councilors representative to the Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. In that capacity, she held the position of Chair of the Budget Committee and played a major role in the expansion of the Metro Rail system.

In 1992, Cropp was selected to chair the Councilors Committee on Human Services. Under her oversight, the Department of Health was created. The re-organized agency focused on priorities including: controlling substance abuse, reducing infant mortality, eradicating tuberculosis, and fighting HIV/AIDS. She continued to chair the Committee after her 1994 re-election to the Council, but this time to an At-Large seat. With a desire to encourage self-sufficiency, Cropp introduced the Public Assistance Self-Sufficiency Program Amendment Act of 1996. She guided the act through the legislative process and oversaw the beginning of welfare reform in the District. In addition, Cropp oversaw the movement toward a comprehensive health care system that began with unification of D.C. General Hospital and the public health clinics.

Council colleagues chose her as acting chairman, in April 1997, following the death of David A. Clarke. After her victory in a special election, she was sworn in on August 8, 1997 as the first woman to chair the Council of the District of Columbia. In 1998, the voters of Washington, D.C. re-elected Linda Cropp to a full four-year term as Chairman of the Council. Again, by an overwhelming majority, Cropp was re-elected as Council Chairman in 2002. As chairman, Cropp has been instrumental in the District governments return to the John A. Wilson building, the historic home of the cities mayor and council.

On September 12, 2006, she lost the Democratic Primary for Mayor.