Chairman’s race profile: Mendelson stresses need for oversight over new spending

As he campaigns for re-election this summer, Phil Mendelson is telling the story of the Anacostia properties. The DC Council chairman had a protracted dispute last year with Mayor Muriel Bowser, a fellow Democrat, over the fate of four vacant, derelict houses the District owned in the Southeast neighborhood. Mendelson and the rest of the council wanted to give these houses to the nonprofit L’Enfant Trust to rehabilitate them free of charge, but Bowser wanted to spend $2 million from DC’s Housing Production Trust Fund to rehabilitate them another way.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Mendelson said. “A completely unnecessary expense. I got the council behind me, and we managed to stand our ground, and the mayor finally agreed to dispose of the houses to the [L’Enfant Trust], free of charge to the government.”

The chairman is clear about why he believes this story matters: He was looking out for taxpayer dollars. He may be a liberal, his campaign proclaims, but he won’t stand for waste or mismanagement. He may say “nobody out-progressives me,” but he wants to be known as a prudent, practical progressive.

This is Mendelson’s pitch to voters ahead of the June 19 Democratic primary, in which he’s facing a challenge from Ed Lazere, the longtime executive director of the influential DC Fiscal Policy Institute. Lazere is running to Mendelson’s left, and says the District shouldn’t be “giving tax breaks where they’re not needed to wealthy residents and successful businesses.” Lazere says he would “double the city’s investment in affordable housing,” moving beyond the “incremental steps” taken by current lawmakers, he said.

Mendelson counters that Lazere hasn’t said how he’ll pay for this — and that simply spending more money isn’t the answer.

“He says we should double the investment in the Housing Production Trust Fund, as if we haven’t substantially increased dollars already,” Mendelson said. “There also needs to be a focus on spending the money effectively. I have never heard my opponent criticize how the dollars are spent, even though the auditor has pointed out that millions of dollars have been wasted, and that translates to a significant number of units that could have been built.”

Mendelson suggests this is emblematic of a fundamental difference between him and Lazere. “The stereotypical challenge in any election is candidates who make promises,” the chairman said. “Promises are just words and hope. That’s why I think my record is invaluable. It’s what I’ve actually done, what my values are, and what I hope to continue doing.”

Mendelson notes that DC roughly doubled its investment in the Housing Production Trust Fund over the past decade. Moving forward, he pledges to fight for affordable housing covenants “to preserve existing housing at affordable levels,” maintain and potentially expand inclusionary zoning, and increase oversight of the the Housing Production Trust Fund.

Mendelson argues that his debate with Lazere over housing funding is a luxury of a strong local economy and sound District finances — both of which he helped to create.

“We have the ability to argue over whether $100 million is enough for affordable housing in the Housing Production Trust Fund,” Mendelson said. “We wouldn’t have the ability to argue over this if we weren’t doing so well financially.”

Mendelson has served on the DC Council since 1999, initially as an at-large member. He has served as chairman since 2012, when his colleagues selected him to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kwame Brown. His campaign website is philmendelson.com.