jonetta rose barras: The DC Council’s pot and skillet narrative

For nearly two years, at-large DC Council member David Grosso loved to criticize — some might say hate — fellow Council member Jack Evans. Grosso lambasted the Ward 2 representative for his constituent services fund, for his close relationship with big business, and for his so-called coziness with lobbyists. He was the first legislator to demand Evans’ resignation for violating council ethics rules. 

Grosso wasn’t any kinder to at-large Council member Vincent B. Orange. After losing his re-election bid in the 2016 Democratic primary, Orange was poised that August to accept a post as CEO and president of the DC Chamber of Commerce. There wasn’t anything illegal about the move; besides, he was heading out of the John A. Wilson Building at the end of the year.

Nevertheless, Council members such as Elissa Silverman, Anita Bonds, Mary Cheh and Grosso couldn’t wait that long. They demanded Orange step down immediately from the council.

Cheh told The Washington Post that Orange’s new job was so “laden with conflicts that he should probably resign his seat.” Silverman referenced the fact that the council was trying to restore confidence after multiple scandals and resignations only a few years earlier. “We are still rebuilding the public trust that we are an honest, ethical group of elected representatives, and I’m concerned a cloud of suspicion will remain over every vote council member Orange casts or any public statement he makes on legislation because there will be a question of who he’s speaking for and what are his motives,” she said back then.

In recent days, I have waited patiently for someone — anyone in the legislature — to raise similar issues after the public learned that Grosso, who has presented himself as Mr. Squeaky Clean, has accepted a job with Arent Fox as a partner in the firm’s Government Affairs Practice.

Terry Lynch, a longtime civic leader who has been involved in political activities for more than three decades, called the news about Grosso “shocking. It’s very disappointing [he’s] doing this given his career.” He compared council members’ silence with that of Republicans who failed to speak out against President Donald J. Trump.

“It’s such a double standard,” said one council source with whom I spoke. During an appearance last week on WAMU’s Politics Hour, Mayor Muriel Bowser made a similar point, noting that Grosso’s situation is nearly identical to what happened with Orange. Some people may say it’s a different situation because Grosso has said he won’t start the new position until he has left the council. I don’t see any real distinction between what he is doing and what Orange did.

In my view, Grosso should resign immediately. It doesn’t matter that it is near the end of the current Council Period 23. If legislators really are concerned about the perception of conflicts of interest, as they claimed with Orange, or they really do want to restore the public’s trust as they said they did after the Evans scandal, then they shouldn’t hesitate to insist that Grosso also step down. 

Their failure to make such a demand gives the impression that attention to ethics in the council is predicated on who is the violator. If it’s someone with whom council members have a contentious relationship, as many of them did with Evans and Orange, then it’s a swift boot. However, if it’s someone who is part of the circle, then everyone looks the other way and mum’s the word.

“Progressive lefties protect their own. They circle the wagons,” said one community leader.

DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson did not return multiple calls seeking a comment about how he intended to handle Grosso’s seemingly tainted continued presence on the council.

Arent Fox is no ordinary law firm. It operates one of the largest lobbying organizations in the country, with offices not only in DC but also in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston. On its website, it boasts that the firm’s government affairs practice, where Grosso will work, includes “a former U.S. Senator, a former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and a former ambassador, as well as lawyers and government relations professionals who have worked for members of the House and Senate, key Congressional committees, and numerous government agencies.”

“Our professionals use their firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch to meet our clients’ objectives,” the self-description continues. “The depth and breadth of our experience allows us to handle virtually any public policy issue for businesses of every size, nonprofit organizations, universities, government organizations, and trade and professional associations.”

Locally, Arent Fox has lobbied on behalf of organizations and businesses in the real estate, hospitality, health care and cannabis industries, along with charter schools. These are all areas in which Grosso has worked while serving as a council member. He has chaired the Committee on Education, most recently sharing oversight of the DC Public Schools, as well as charters, with Mendelson’s Committee of the Whole. He has held an annual arts showcase, featuring nonprofit organizations and individual artists, at the John A. Wilson Building. He also led the council in decriminalizing marijuana usage in the city. 

Translation: Grosso apparently is turning public service into private gain.

Jon Bouker, the firm’s government affairs practice co-leader, did the same thing. He once worked on Capitol Hill; he and Grosso were colleagues. 

Bouker collected a retainer of $4,500 per month from July 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2019, to lobby the District government on behalf of the social service organization Food & Friends; the cumulative annual bill was $54,000, according to government documents. That same year, Arent Fox also represented fantasy sports-betting companies FanDuel Inc. and DraftKings Inc.

According to government documents, the latter paid the firm $4,000 per month as a retainer from Oct. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019. Who can forget the slugfest over the contract for sports gambling, including the effort by those companies to prevent the Office of the Chief Financial Officer from implementing and controlling the Internet-based program and mobile app? Grosso voted against issuing the sole source contract, which was critical to the CFO launching the sports gambling mobile app.

Grosso filed a recusal on Nov. 9, 2020, related to revenue bond legislative resolutions for several groups, including National Public Radio, Studio Theatre and the Public Welfare Foundation — all of which are clients of Arent Fox. The District government often issues bonds in the name of organizations. However, those groups — not DC taxpayers — are responsible for repayment of the debt. 

The council member’s journey to Arent Fox began when he decided to develop a business plan for his post-council career. He told reporters that he showed that document to a friend at Arent Fox, who suggested he apply for a job there. He followed that advice, and voila — he was hired as a partner. All while serving as one of 13 members of the DC Council.

That game plan sounded awfully familiar to me. “He took a page straight out of the Jack Evans notebook,” said Lynch. “He was one of the main ones to call on Evans to resign. 

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” added Lynch.

The public learned in 2019 that Evans wrote a memorandum touting how he could potentially leverage his connections developed over years as a council member to bring clients to the law firms to which he applied. He later wrote a business plan and was encouraged by a friend to launch his own consulting firm. He was vilified for those actions, although as is now clear, the approach may not have been that unusual after all.

It’s unclear where and when Grosso created his business plan. Did he use any council resources in the creation or circulation of such a document? He recused himself only after it was clear he was in line to be hired at Arent Fox. But did he recuse himself while he was discussing options with his friend and others at the firm, which may also have had other clients with business before the DC government?

He did not reply to my email seeking answers to these questions.

In my review over the past two years of emails and other documents that were provided to me by the DC Council’s Office of the General Counsel in partial response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act, it became apparent there were more than a few times that Grosso used his council staff to set up meetings with people associated with his wife’s organization or even with contractors handling renovations on his home. He also secured discounted or free tickets to various theater and arts performances. 

Further, some advocates and political operatives complained to me about the close connection between Grosso’s legislative agenda — particularly his bill to decriminalize sex work in DC — and the work of his wife, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE). When I asked him about the criticism in early 2019 as I was considering reporting on these matters, he confirmed that his wife was on the advisory group for legislation involving decriminalization of sex workers. He declined to further discuss the issue and referred my request for documents to the council’s general counsel. Sippel never returned my call seeking a comment. 

These and other factors suggest that no one should be surprised by Grosso’s move to Arent Fox.

“What I would like to know is: What is his salary going to be?” said Lynch. 

I asked that question of Grosso. No answer yet.

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jonetta rose barras is an author and freelance journalist, covering national and local issues including politics, childhood trauma, public education, economic development and urban public policies. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.