David A. Catania (born January 16, 1968) is an American politician and lawyer from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was formerly an at-large

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Council of the District of Columbia, which he gave up to pursue an unsuccessful run in the 2014 mayoral election.

Early life and education

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Catania is a graduate of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at bot ...

and

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

D.C. Council

He was elected to the council as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in a 1997

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

with 7%

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

, but elected to a full term in 1998, and re-elected in 2002 and 2006. Catania lives in the

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...

neighborhood. Catania was the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

member of the D.C. Council and one of a small number of openly gay Republican office-holders. This led to a conflict within his party when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

spoke in favor of an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

to the United States Constitution to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Catania opposed the amendment and became a vocal opponent of Bush's 2004 re-election. In response, the

District of Columbia Republican Committee The District of Columbia Republican Party (DC GOP) is the District of Columbia affiliate of the United States Republican Party. It was founded on June 19, 1855 and is made up of registered Republican voters living in Washington, D.C. elected to s ...

decertified him as a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

. Catania announced his endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate,

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

, one week prior to the convention. In September 2004, Catania left the party and became an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, citing his displeasure with its direction on urban and social issues. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2010 as an independent. Catania was most recently the chairperson of the council's Committee on Education and was a member of the Committee on Government Operations, the Committee on Finance and Revenue, and the Committee on Health. Catania chaired the Committee on Health between 2005 and 2012. As one of two openly gay members then serving on the council, Catania played a major role in the city's recognition of same-sex unions and

legalization Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...

Positions

Catania opposed terms limits for elected officials. In 2001, Catania voted in favor of legislation that overturned the results of a popular referendum limiting members of the D.C. Council to two terms.

Post-Council career

David Catania - DC Capital Pride - 2014-06-07 (14191591368)

In 2014, Catania was unsuccessful in a bid for mayor of Washington, D.C. In 2015, he joined the international law firm

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

, where he focuses his practice on healthcare, government law and strategy, and public policy. In 2018, he served as the U.S. Head of Public Affairs for Starship Technologies, a robotic delivery company. In February, Catania opened a District-based lobbying firm with Benjamin Young, his former chief of staff and campaign manager. In 2018, Catania was campaign co-chair for S. Kathryn Allen, a former insurance executive who sought Catania's former seat on the council, held by

Elissa Silverman Elissa Silverman is an American politician and reporter from Washington, D.C., the United States capital. She has served as an independent at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia since January 2, 2015. Before 2014, she was a ...

. An investigation determined that more than half of Allen's signatures were fraudulently collected and her name was not included on the ballot.

Personal

Catania married floral designer Bill Enright on August 5, 2017, in a ceremony officiated by his former Council colleague

Mary Cheh Mary M. Cheh (born 1950) is an American Democratic politician from Washington, D.C. In November 2006, she won a seat on the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 3. Background and family Mary Cheh was born in Elizabeth, New ...

. Catania and Enright finalized their divorce on July 21, 2021.

References

External links

Councilmember David A. Catania
''official website'' (archived)

photo essay by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Catania, David 1968 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians American lobbyists Gay politicians Georgetown University Law Center alumni LGBT city councillors from the United States LGBT people from Missouri LGBT people from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Living people Members of the Council of the District of Columbia People from Dupont Circle Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Washington, D.C., Independents Washington, D.C., Republicans 21st-century LGBT people