Our veterans put their lives on the line for this country. They deserve dignity, concrete support, and the kind of follow-through our elected officials promise in campaign speeches. Instead, we’re being told that good policy meant to help them was allegedly sacrificed not because it lacked merit, but because of a personal beef, a petty retaliation that put political spite ahead of service.
“Veterans legislation was deliberately sacrificed to carry out a personal vendetta against me, and our veterans were collateral damage,” said Councilman Robert Holden, who has repeatedly sparred with the speaker over her tenure. “The Speaker and Council leadership killed good policy out of spite, not principle, and chose petty retaliation over doing their jobs,” he added. Those are blunt charges and if accurate, they are an indictment of priorities that should shame every person in a position of authority.
What exactly was at stake? The proposed package was far from symbolic. The bills would have:
- Established property tax exemptions for veterans;
- Expanded veterans’ access to affordable housing;
- Launched a mental-health pilot targeted to veterans;
- Increased funding to veterans’ organizations; and more.
These are tangible, life-changing measures. Property tax relief can stabilize households. Housing access prevents homelessness. Dedicated mental-health pilots can reach veterans who slip through the cracks of mainstream services. And increased funding empowers the nonprofits that translate policy into help on the ground. Organizations like Black Vets for Social Justice which centers the needs of Black veterans, advances advocacy and civic engagement, and pushes for equitable policy solutions would have been better positioned to serve their communities with this support. A stalled vote is not an abstract procedural hiccup; it’s a closed door on people already carrying burdens most of us cannot imagine.
Of course, the Council has its talking points. A spokesperson said it would be “fiscally irresponsible” to advance the package without running it through the finance committee, a curious defense, given that the bills had already undergone review by the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget. If the concern is fiscal prudence, then explain the discrepancy: why was the finance committee invoked now after OMB review? If the answer is genuinely budgetary, show the math. If the answer is retribution, own up to it and let the public judge.
Adrienne Adams has described herself as the child of a veteran. That personal connection should be an anchor, not an alibi. If you carry the legacy of service in your family, you do not weaponize parliamentary process in ways that hurt veterans. Saying you honor military service while allowing veterans’ bills to languish because of a grudge is hollow.
Black Vets for Social Justice is a grassroots advocacy and service organization that centers the needs of Black veterans — offering outreach, peer-to-peer support, policy advocacy, civic engagement work, and programs that connect veterans to housing, jobs, and mental-health care. When legislation that expands housing access, launches a targeted mental-health pilot, increases funding for veteran organizations, and creates property-tax relief is blocked, groups like this don’t lose an abstract line item — they lose the means to serve people.
This is not merely an intra-council drama. It’s about accountability and the basic decency we owe to people who served. The council must: explain why these measures were stopped, put the veterans’ package back on the floor, and let every member’s vote reflect their stated values, not someone’s vendetta.
To Speaker Adams: if you truly believe in honoring veterans, demonstrate it with action, not rhetoric. To the rest of city leadership: stop playing games. To residents and veteran advocates: demand transparency, show up at hearings, and make it politically costly to put petty politics ahead of people. Our veterans deserve more than symbolic gratitude; they deserve policy, resources, and respect. If our leaders claim to value service, now is the time to prove it!!!
