31 Facts About David Grosso

David Grosso is a former at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia who lives in Brookland.

David Grosso graduated from Earlham College with a degree in philosophy.

David Grosso received a JD from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001.

David Grosso spent a year as a full-time volunteer building a transitional housing program for homeless women in San Antonio, Texas, where he met his wife, Serra Sippel, a native Washingtonian and president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity.

David Grosso worked for DC Councilmember Sharon Ambrose working as a clerk for the District's Economic Development Committee.

David Grosso worked as Chief Counsel to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and was a vice president of public policy for health insurance carrier CareFirst for several years.

David Grosso said he supported the five-cent tax on disposable bags, and he said he does not support school vouchers.

David Grosso said he would vote to censure Councilmember Jim Graham for violations of Metro's code of ethics.

David Grosso supports giving tax incentives for private employers to move to the District.

David Grosso earned the endorsements of the Current Newspapers, the DC chapter of the Sierra Club, and Greater Greater Washington.

David Grosso won one of two at-large seats on the council with twenty percent of the vote.

David Grosso was sworn into office as an at-Large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia on January 2,2013.

In 2013, as a member of the council's Committee on Education, David Grosso sponsored a measure on school suspensions and expulsions that was added to the Attendance Accountability Amendment Act of 2013.

Fellow Councilmember Mary Cheh criticized David Grosso's vote, characterizing it as a favor to health insurance companies.

David Grosso introduced a nonbinding resolution calling upon the Washington Redskins NFL team to change its name, stating that the current name is "racist and derogatory".

David Grosso suggested that the team adopt the name "Redtails" in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen.

David Grosso proposed amendments to the District of Columbia Human Rights Act of 1977 to ensure that individuals are protected from discrimination by an employer or employment based on an individual's or dependent's reproductive health decision making.

David Grosso successfully sought the repeal of Prostitution Free Zones Amendment Act of 2014, which repealed the law allowing the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to declare a specific location as a "prostitution-free zone" for 20 days.

David Grosso argued that the designation of zones were fueled by bias.

David Grosso introduced the DC Urban Farming and Food Security Act of 2014 to establish an urban farming land leasing initiative and a real property tax abatement for small-scale urban farming.

David Grosso introduced the Fair Leave Act of 2014, to provide DC government employees up to six weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child, or the care of a family member who has a serious medical condition.

In 2014, David Grosso introduced an elections reform package consisting of instant-runoff voting, open primaries, and a "clean hands" provision.

In support of the bill, David Grosso said that IRV would result in higher voter turnout, promote positive and more widespread campaigning, and ensure that the elected candidate has true majority support.

David Grosso introduced the Local Resident Voting Rights Act, a bill to grant voting rights for municipal elections to legal permanent non-citizen DC residents.

In 2014, David Grosso formed Arts Action DC, a coalition of DC residents in the creative economy sector, in an effort to advocate for funding, support, and growth of the arts.

David Grosso was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on Education for the Council Period 21.

David Grosso is the second chair to have jurisdiction over education after the Committee became stand-alone.

David Grosso said that his education priorities were age-appropriate school discipline, attendance and truancy, mental health services, improving literacy, ending the school to prison pipeline, promoting quality early childhood education, and expanding community and family engagement.

David Grosso was sworn into office for the new four-year council term at noon on January 2,2017.

In October 2018, David Grosso voted to repeal Initiative 77, a referendum passed by the majority of DC voters months earlier that would phase out a tipped minimum wage.

In July 2019, David Grosso was the first member of the DC Council to call for Jack Evans' resignation following revelations about his outside employment.