Vote! And then we got some work to do.

Unless you've been living in a cave, you know that tomorrow is election day. We’re happy to say that vans and walking teams will be heading out from Bread for the City's facilities tomorrow, taking people to their polling places. We’re really excited. Regardless of who wins, Obama or McCain, it will be historic.

Our future president has an uphill climb for the next four years. However, what often gets lost amid all the talk about the presidential election is that our DC City Council has its own uphill climb. The DC City Council controls all city legislation. These men and women control the budget, land use, and confirm all Mayor Fenty's major appointments. The Council wields a lot of power, yet it seems like many District residents can't even name their councilmember. (quick, quiz yourself!)

Here are just a few issues that will be debated by the City Council over the coming years-- issues that directly affect Bread for the City's clients:

• The Healthy DC Act has the potential to expand health insurance coverage for DC families.

• The District's Housing Production Trust Fund (PDF) is facing declining funding

• How will the projected $131 million shortfall in Washington, DC affect human services in general?

We wish that these critical issues received more attention in the course of the campaign; but since they rarely were discussed by the candidates, we’ll try to make the discussion happen here on our blog. In the meantime, don't forget to vote tomorrow-- for the next president and your councilmembers - you can find out all the hard info at the Washington Post’s DC Elections Page.