Delvone Michael: In this moment, we must take Jack Evans at his own word
“We’ve come too far to turn back now” is a phrase I’ve heard Ward 2 DC Council member Jack Evans utter from the dais on dozens, if not hundreds, of occasions. He was absolutely right — and it’s time that we hold him accountable and make him live up to his own words.
The council member has often alluded to the early 1990s, when he first took office — an era when the District was on shaky financial footing and before downtown was the bustling oasis of business that it is today.
I love this city and I won’t see it go back to those dark days. That was essentially Evans’ argument, whether he was voting against progressive issue after issue that would help working families, or in favor of tax abatement after tax cut after tax abatement for the wealthy and well-connected. I always assumed he was simply more fiscally conservative than DC’s progressive community. Never did I question his motives — until news broke last month that he was under federal investigation for peddling influence.
The District code of ethical conduct states clearly that public officials “may not knowingly use the prestige of office or public position for that employee’s private gain.” Yet that’s exactly what Evans was doing when he offered to “cross market” the relationships and influence he gained from his elected office and chairmanship of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
It doesn’t end there. The District Dig reported that Evans and his staff moved a change in the tax code for the sole benefit of an associate — something he was waving as bait to secure employment with a new lobbying firm. Want more? Washington Post columnist Colbert King revealed another scheme in which Evans introduced a bill that would have helped a developer grossly overcharge the District in an eminent domain proceeding. It’s apparently good to be a friend of Jack’s.
I’m not sure what’s worse: that the council member appears to have abused his office, or that activists and advocates around DC now have to question the hundreds of votes he took over the years that seemed antithetical to Democratic values. Votes against universal paid family leave and stronger wage-theft protections. Votes in favor of tax abatements and a rush to legalize sports gambling. Even when Evans votes the right way on an issue, he often runs interference for big business in an attempt to water down progressive legislation. Why? That’s a question we find ourselves having to revisit.
In elections and legislative fights, it’s extremely important that both sides accept the outcome and believe that the process was fair and done by the book. For this to be a reality, the integrity of all parties must remain beyond reproach — especially that of those overseeing the process.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said recently, “The integrity of the council is a delicate thing.” Truer words were never spoken. That is why he must act now and remove Council member Evans as the chair of the Finance and Revenue Committee and a member of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, which has oversight over the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability. WMATA’s board of directors should do likewise.
The loss of public trust casts a shadow over council decisions — and that shadow is long, cold and impossible to shake.
Given the nature of the allegations and the perception of corruption, you’d have to be a joker to not take this matter seriously. I believe in due process and the presumption of innocence, which is why I’m not calling for Council member Evans’ resignation — yet.
Evans’ own words come to mind. In August 2017, when lobbying on behalf of a client, he wrote in an email, “… where there’s smoke, there’s often fire.” The allegations against Council member Evans are very serious, and a mere reprimand by the DC Council does not go far enough. As I said when I began, we’ve come too far to turn back now. Council member Evans needs to step down from his two most troublesome committee posts — or be removed from them — before we all get burned.
Delvone Michael is a Ward 2 resident, the founder of the DC Working Families Party and a senior political strategist for the organization.
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