Jack Evans welcomes old friends to Ward 2 Democrats’ slate of new officers

The day after FBI agents raided his home as part of an ongoing federal corruption investigation, Ward 2 DC Council member Jack Evans drew a warm welcome at the Ward 2 Democrats elections — and a positive result at the ballot box, with past and present allies voted into several key spots.

Both Evans and John Lazar — who was voted in at the group’s June 22 convention as the new chair — greeted the election as a turning point for the Ward 2 Democrats in developing a more active presence in their ward, which encompasses most of downtown DC and neighborhoods such as Georgetown, Burleith, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Foggy Bottom, West End, Sheridan-Kalorama and Shaw.

The organization has gone through “ups and downs,” Evans said, addressing the ward’s Democratic activists gathered at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Thomas Circle. “Sometimes it’s very active and sometimes not so much, but with the energy in the room today, I’m very excited to see it coming back to being active again.”

Steering clear of mentioning the ethical scandal that has kept him in the headlines since March, Evans instead took the opportunity to reflect on the history of the Ward 2 Democrats. Evans told the convention that he and several others were personally asked by then-Ward 2 Council member John Wilson to start the organization in 1982, and that he was proud of the path the organization had taken since then.

As the ward’s council member and a Democrat, Evans automatically serves as an ex-officio board member of the Ward 2 Democrats.

In addition to Lazar’s election that day to succeed Patrick Allen as chair, Sherri Kimbel was elected vice chair; Monica Roaché, corresponding secretary; Austin Naughton, recording secretary; and Brandon Frye, treasurer. All of the races were uncontested. Roaché lives in Georgetown, and the other officers live in Logan Circle.

Evans congratulated the new officers, some of whom he has known for years. Evans officiated Lazar’s wedding in 2013, and Kimbel is Evans’ director of constituent services. Roaché worked with Evans when she served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Georgetown to secure funding for the Mount Zion cemetery. 

Many of the new officers have also been involved in the DC Democratic State Committee, the party’s citywide organization. In May, Lazar, Kimbel and Roaché voted against a State Committee resolution calling on Evans to resign as one of DC’s representatives to the Democratic National Committee. Frye voted in support of that resolution, and Naughton is not a member of the State Committee.

Frye, a lifelong Ward 2 resident, is co-chair of the State Committee’s voter outreach effort and vice president for administration and finance for the DC Young Democrats. Naughton is a newcomer to DC politics, with a background as a volunteer for the grassroots Democratic canvassing group Swing Left.

Kimbel said the Ward 2 Democrats, like the DC State Committee, had not turned its back on Evans. “The Ward 2 Democrats have always been supportive of Jack,” Kimbel said in an interview with The DC Line. “I think there are questions now because of issues that have arisen.”

Evans is under federal and DC council investigation into alleged influence-peddling; a separate Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority probe conducted by outside attorneys concluded he had violated Metro’s ethics rules. In June, he resigned from his position on the Metro board, which he had chaired since 2016. Evans faces removal as chair of the council’s Finance and Revenue Committee — with a council vote scheduled for Tuesday — and a recall petition from Ward 2 residents. 

Evans hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek re-election next year, but June’s Democratic primary is already shaping up as the most contested Ward 2 race in years, with five announced challengers in the running for the seat Evans has held since 1991. All five — John Fanning, Jordan Grossman, Daniel Hernandez, Patrick Kennedy and Kishan Putta  — were present at the convention, though Putta had not yet entered the race.

Lazar and Evans both emphasized the need to revamp the Ward 2 Democrats’ voter mobilization. Lazar said he was “flabbergasted” by the number of independent voters in Ward 2.  According to the DC Board of Elections, the ward has a lower rate of registered Democratsand a higher rate of independents than the city as a whole.

The June 22 convention itself suggests a relatively unengaged voter base in Ward 2. With only 39 ballots cast, the election for the new officers was a fraction of the size of the March election for the Ward 7 Democrats election, which tallied 390 ballots. (Unlike the Ward 2 election, the one in Ward 7 featured contested races.)

“I just want to do something more to get people registered in the Democratic Party and involved,” Lazar said, adding that greater visibility at community events within Ward 2 like block parties and the Capital Pride parade could increase awareness and fundraising.