Willie Hardy

Willie J. Hardy (July 18, 1922 – August 18, 2007) was a Democratic politician and activist in Washington, D.C. She was elected as one of the original members of the Council of the District of Columbia in 1974 when D.C. gained home rule. She represented Ward 7 on the council from 1975 to 1981.

Early years Willie White was born in St. Louis to James and Willie V. White (née Dixon). The family moved to Deanwood in Washington, D.C., when she was five-years-old. White attended D.C. public schools. She attended Atlantic Business School at night in order to qualify for a promotion. which was known for helping families whose applications for welfare had been declined or who had lost eligibility due to changes initiated by Senator Robert Byrd. and the Democratic Central Committee of the District of Columbia.

By 1965, Hardy was volunteering for the Metropolitan Community Aid Council, Inc., helping homeless people find affordable homes. The Council also collected used clothing and sold it for little to nothing to families in need from its headquarters in Deanwood.

As part of the Citizen's Committee on Glen Echo, Hardy advocated for the end of Glen Echo Park's whites-only policy in 1966.

Hardy was elected the head of the University Neighborhood Council in 1966. Established by Howard University, the Council helped people in need in Cardozo. She organized Operation Checkmate, a group of older teenagers who would report violations committed by police officers and sanitation workers. She agreed with the principles of nonviolence in concept while still reserving the right to defend oneself from physical violence. She characterized the murder as a "declaration of war".

After the riots, youths asked Hardy how they could help rebuild the city. Hardy and the Metropolitan Community Aid Council applied for, and were awarded, a federal grant to connect young adults with skilled tradesman who renovate dilapidated houses together. She won the Democratic Party primary election with 30 percent of the vote. Hardy won the general election with 80 percent of the vote On the Council, Hardy chaired the committees on Public Safety, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, Housing and Economic Development, Finance and Revenue, and the Judiciary. In the Democratic Party primary election, she was challenged by Walter E. Bayard, a financial advisor living in Deanwood; and Barbara A. Morgan, a public school teacher. Bayard said that the Council's vote to allow the District to issue bonds in the future would inevitably mean a future increase in real estate taxes; Hardy said that was false. Morgan said that Hardy had not increase social services in Ward 7; Hardy said that was false. Hardy won the Democratic Party primary election with 61% of the vote. Hardy was reelected for a four-year term, receiving 83 percent of the vote in the general election. In 1978, the District of Columbia brought a lawsuit against the organization, saying the organization had not provided documentation that it had spent the grant funds for the grant's intended purpose. The Greater Washington Central Labor Council criticized the bill, saying injured workers would no longer be able to choose their own doctors; presume the employee was not injured on the job unless evidence proves otherwise; eliminate benefits for employees who are partially disabled; Workers compensation insurance costs had indeed increased for businesses in the District due to new legislation passed by United States Congress. Hardy said the bill was her own work, but large portions of it had actually been taken from lobbying documents from the Washington Board of Trade.

On June 30, 1980, Hardy announced she would not run again for reelection. Instead she would start a consulting firm that would contract with the federal government to examine urban policy programs.

1976