Paul Strauss facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Strauss
United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997 Serving with Ankit Jain
Preceded by	Jesse Jackson
Personal details
Born	Paul Eric Strauss (1964-04-11) April 11, 1964 (age 61) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	American University (BA, JD)

Paul Eric Strauss was born on April 11, 1964. He is an American politician and a lawyer. Since 1997, he has been the senior United States Shadow Senator for the District of Columbia. He took over this role from Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson was the first person to be elected as a shadow senator for D.C. Paul Strauss is a member of the Democratic Party.

Paul Strauss: Early Life and Education

Paul Strauss was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Manhattan and went to Dwight School. His father worked as a painting contractor for Yankee Stadium. When he was young, Paul Strauss was very interested in politics. He volunteered for the election campaigns of Mario Biaggi, Hugh Carey, and Jimmy Carter.

At 17, he worked as an intern for New York City mayor Ed Koch. He even had his own desk and phone at the Tweed Courthouse. In 1982, at age 18, he moved to Washington, D.C. He later earned his bachelor's degree in 1986 and his law degree in 1993 from American University.

Paul Strauss's Career

Before becoming a shadow senator, Paul Strauss held several important jobs. He was the chairperson of the District's Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals. He also worked as a union organizer for the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union Local 25.

Today, Paul Strauss is a lawyer. He is the main person at his own law firm, Paul Strauss & Associates, P.C. This firm helps people with real estate, business, and family law issues.

In his first political effort in Washington, D.C., he helped college students register to vote. This was to protest against raising the drinking age to 21.

What is a Shadow Senator?

Before being elected as a shadow senator in 1996, Paul Strauss held many local government positions. He was a member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee. He also chaired the Democratic Party's D.C. Statehood Committee. He was also the chairperson of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E and Neighborhood Planning Council #3. He was first elected to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in 1986. He was the youngest chairperson at that time and served until 1996.

As one of D.C.'s two shadow senators, Paul Strauss works to help the citizens of D.C. He talks to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. His main goal is to help D.C. gain full federal representation. This means D.C. would have the same rights as a state. He also works for D.C. to have more control over its own laws. Eventually, he hopes D.C. will become the 51st state in the U.S. As a shadow senator, he cannot vote on matters in the Senate.

In 2006, Paul Strauss ran for the Council of the District of Columbia. He wanted to represent Ward 3. He came in second place in the Democratic primary election. Mary Cheh won that election.

Paul Strauss was chosen as a superdelegate for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He supported Barack Obama in that election.

He was re-elected as shadow senator in 2008. He won with 65% of the vote in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he received 82% of the vote. This was his biggest win ever.

Paul Strauss was re-elected again in 2014. He won with 77.3% of the vote.

In 2014, he started the "51 Stars" campaign. This campaign aimed to get famous people to support D.C. becoming a state. The goal was for D.C. to become the fifty-first star on the U.S. flag. Famous people like Dave Chappelle, Rosario Dawson, and Jonathan Banks supported this campaign.

Paul Strauss spoke to the U.S. Senate Committee in 2014. He talked about the New Columbia Admission Act of 2013. He explained why D.C. should become a state. He said, "We are all Americans. We all deserve to participate in the democracy our nation’s founders set before us. To deny basic rights to the citizens of the National Capital makes a mockery of our attempts to act as a model of democracy for the rest of the world."

In February 2015, Paul Strauss went to Iowa. He encouraged both Democratic and Republican groups to talk about D.C. statehood. The Polk County Democrats passed a resolution supporting D.C. statehood that March. He visited Iowa again in 2016 for the Iowa caucuses. He ran political ads from the "51 Stars" campaign. He also worked with a new group called Iowans for D.C. Statehood. He spoke to Democratic groups in Iowa.

At the Iowa caucuses in 2020, Paul Strauss and shadow Senator Michael Donald Brown used a campaign bus. It was left by John Delaney who had left the presidential race. They decorated the bus with signs promoting D.C. as the 51st state. The bus was parked outside a hotel where many journalists were staying. Paul Strauss told The Washington Post that he expected most areas to support D.C. statehood.

International Diplomacy

Paul Strauss in January 2022

Paul Strauss has also worked on international issues. In 2014, he visited Nagaland in India. He took part in a large agriculture event there. Farmers, investors, and business people attended this event.

In 2015, Paul Strauss spoke to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). He explained that Washington, D.C., does not have statehood. He successfully asked for D.C. to join this international group. D.C. became the first and only North American member.

In June 2018, Paul Strauss spoke to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. He discussed the issue of D.C. statehood. This event was a formal "exchange of views." It was led by former Member of the European Parliament Alex Mayer. Lucia Parrucci from UNPO and actor Richard Schiff joined him. Mayer later supported D.C. Statehood in the European Union. She said, "The citizens of D.C. are denied the basic rights that others living in liberal democracies take for granted. It is time that this 200-year injustice was ended."

He is also an honorary member of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law.

Personal Life

Paul Strauss lives in the Observatory Circle/Glover Park neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

Images for kids

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  Paul Strauss in 2015.

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  Paul Strauss in January 2022.