It’s time for DC’s Donald Trump to Go
As a millennial in DC, I know December is a great time for racking up credit card debt, avoiding homophobic family members, and holding corrupt politicians accountable. On Tuesday, December 3rd, the DC Council committee investigating Councilmember Jack Evans will consider what punishments to recommend for his gross corruption and violations of the Council’s ethics code. Nothing says holiday spirit like consequences for abusive men!
If you’ve been living under a rock that is your desk/bed/phone, you may have missed the allegations against Councilman Evans, who has been enjoying public office since before I was born. You can check out a great summary here. Some highlights: the law firm hired by the Council to investigate Jack’s misconduct found 11 conflict-of-interest violations over the last 5 years alone. The report also found that private clients with business before the Council paid Evans $400,000 in that time period. A WMATA report found that Evans harassed and intimidated female employees who tried to investigate his misconduct. His non-apology, that he “may have said things in the heat of the moment that he regretted,” may sound familiar if you’ve ever dealt with a man with too much power and too little emotional intelligence. He also tried to start an investigation into a competitor of one of his clients.
Thankfully, these abuses have not gone unnoticed. A recent poll found that 64% of DC voters want Jack to resign and that he has only a 4% approval rating. A Ward 2 constituent even led a successful campaign to gather nearly 6,000 signatures to place a recall of Jack on the ballot. Based on how quickly I dodge anyone with a clipboard, that is a lot of signatures.
At this point, you might be thinking that any politician with a shred of self-respect would have resigned by now. Like President Trump, his neighbor on Pennsylvania Avenue, he doesn’t have the decency to do the right thing for his constituents, his colleagues on the DC Council, or the residents of the District. He doesn’t care that Congressional Republicans pointed to his corruption as an argument against DC Statehood, asking how we can govern ourselves when we allow someone as corrupt as Jack to hold power.
Fortunately, ten of his colleagues have called on him to resign, and three have stated publicly that they support his expulsion. Unfortunately, calls for resignation don’t go far enough when it comes to someone like Jack. A supermajority of DC Councilmembers can vote to expel him, meaning either 10 or 11 votes of the 13-member body are needed, depending on whether Jack is once again allowed to vote on his own case. If Evans wasn’t an older white man with deep ties to much of the District’s political and economic establishment, he would have been forced to resign in disgrace ages ago.
Some have argued that removing Mr. Evans would disenfranchise Ward 2 voters. However, a special election will ensure a new Councilmember is sworn in within months. In the meantime, Ward 2 residents will be represented by the four at-large Councilmembers and Council Chair Phil Mendelson.
The committee investigating Jack Evans will recommend on Tuesday, December 3 what punishments, up to and including expulsion, the Council should vote on. I urge residents in Ward 2 and across the District to send emails, call their Councilmembers, and make their voices heard in favor of expulsion before the Council takes a final vote in December or January. Those on the Council hesitant to hold one of their own accountable will use any perceived public apathy as an excuse, so we can’t let up now. It’s time to #SackJack.
Madeleine Stirling is an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in ANC 2F and currently resides in Logan Circle with her fiance. She is focused on policing reform, access to healthcare and housing, and LGBTQIA issues.
