Dear District,
Dan Essrow here. I’m writing because you’ve responded kindly in the past to my DC election guides or I think you might be interested in local DC politics. I’m officially launching a new monthly-ish newsletter called Dear District. Think of it as a personal note, a cheat sheet, and a call to action for engaged citizens. It’ll be focused on local DC politics and written for folks who are plugged in nationally but haven’t found a jumping off point for DC yet. This is your jumping off point!
(I’ll be sending Dear District through Substack so you can subscribe/unsubscribe easily. Feel free to share your thoughts by replying directly to this email or to djessrow@gmail.com.)
This issue will cover Councilmember Jack Evans’s expanding corruption scandal, Councilmember Brandon Todd’s $38 million tax cut fail, and Attorney General Karl Racine’s weird trip to the White House. Both Evans and Todd are facing tough re-elections in 2020.
Ok, here goes...
Hit the road, Jack
DC Council member Jack Evans is in a downward spiral this week as more evidence was revealed about his various ethics scandals.
Jack’s district, Ward 2, encompasses much of downtown, Dupont, and Georgetown. Since DC is a city, county, and state all rolled into one, councilmembers here have more power than local officials in other parts of the country. As one of just 13 members on the Council (one from each of the eight wards, plus four at-large and one chair), Jack has a huge influence on policies that you care a lot about.
Jack has been for years one of the most conservative and business-friendly members on the Council. His proudest accomplishments are giving away hundreds of millions of public dollars to build stadiums for billionaire sports owners. Jack’s relationship with DC’s business community is not just friendly, it’s friendly with benefits.
Jack’s current problems began with reporting on his relationship with Digi Media, an advertising company (now defunct and under SEC fraud investigation) that was illegally installing giant digital billboards across the city. Digi paid Jack (he says he never cashed the check) to try to pass emergency legislation legalizing their signs. Read more about the whole mess here.
While that scandal was slowly plodding along, a new one dropped this week. For years, while serving on the Council, Jack has held a second job as a lawyer and lobbyist helping corporations navigate business in DC. (It is somehow still legal for Councilmembers to have second jobs—Jack and Ward 3 CM Mary Cheh both moonlight.) In 2018, Jack and his Council staff (using government email addresses) repeatedly emailed corporate law firms pitching Jack’s services to help them grow their lobbying businesses. In Jack’s own words:
“I am looking to continue my law practice while continuing to serve on the City Council... Given my tenure and standing in business and political circles here in DC and the region, I believe that I will be able to identify and contact potential clients who are seeking government relations and legal assistance… [The] strategy begins by 1) contacting my network of business relationships developed as an elected official, as the Chairman of WMATA, and through my professional and personal affiliations and relationships; 2) partnering with other professional services firms whose clients could benefit from my insight and relationships; and 3) crossmarketing my relationships and influence to [law firm] clients.”
This is standard revolving door politics. Get elected, make a bunch of friends, charge businesses to access those friends. Generally, politicians leave public office before growing their lobbying businesses. Jack’s situation is less revolving door and more the door has been removed entirely, the front wall knocked down, and everyone is partying on the lawn. Jack wants corporations to pay him to lobby himself (since he’s one of only 15 elected officials in DC) and those he works with. That’s not how public service works.
But here’s the good (?) thing. Jack is up for reelection in Spring/Summer 2020! And there are already dozens of activists working to unseat him. The corruption is the most newsworthy, but Jack’s voting record on issues like economic justice, racial justice, and equitable transportation is terrible. This makes Jack very vulnerable in his re-election—but he may not even make it that far. The Council is voting soon on an official reprimand, the Feds are circling, and advocates are calling on him to be stripped of his committee seats or step down.
What to do: Keep an eye on this situation and get ready to support a great progressive candidate in Ward 2 after Jack either steps down or faces tough re-election.
Where’s Karl? Karl, Karl? Hi, Karl.
DC Attorney General Karl Racine got a weird shoutout from Trump this week, as his multiple lawsuits against the President heat up.
Karl Racine was elected to DC’s new independent Attorney General position in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. Karl is awesome! He’s filing kickass lawsuits to fight slumlords, prosecute wage theft, and protect DC consumers from fraud. He’s also leading the Emoluments lawsuit against Trump and recently subpoenaed a bunch of documents from Trump’s inaugural committee.
Which is why it was odd when Racine was part of a delegation of attorneys general at a White House event about criminal justice reform. Trump addressed the assembled:
“And a special thanks to Attorney General Karl Racine. Where’s Karl? Karl, Karl? Hi, Karl. Great job. Thank you very much, you were very helpful. Everybody said Karl, I feel like you’re—like I know you. That’s pretty good.”
Racine quipped back, to the man he is suing the crap out of, “I feel like I know you as well, Mr. President.”
Don’t let Trump’s confused endorsement scare you off. If Racine isn’t appointed U.S. Attorney by a Democratic president in 2020 (something he wants), he will be a very competitive candidate for DC Mayor in 2022.
What to do: Pay attention to what Karl’s up to at the local level, and stay tuned for his future plans!
A tiny victory on tabling tax cuts for (wealthyish) homeowners
Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd’s bill to lower taxes for homeowners was tabled this week amid outcry from the local advocacy community.
Todd is DC’s Ward 4 councilmember, representing the northern tip of the city including Crestwood, Brightwood, Takoma, and Shepherd Park. CM Todd is closely aligned with Mayor Bowser and is friendly to the business community. He’s rated the third most conservative CM by the advocacy group Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund.
CM Todd’s bill would have been a $38 million tax cut for homeowners. Nearly half of the tax cut would have gone to households making more than $150K, and less than a quarter would have benefitted those making under $50k.
DC’s advocacy community was rightly up in arms (thanks JUFJ, DC4D, DCFPI!) about the cut since it was so poorly targeted to lower-income households. And it worked! The Council was concerned about the cost of the plan, and the bill was sent back to committee. It may come up again, but for now we get the revenue!
What to do: Brandon Todd is also up for re-election in 2020! If you live in Ward 4, keep an eye out for organizing around a challenger. And follow DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Jews United for Justice, DC for Democracy, and Fair Budget Coalition for action alerts on other crummy legislation like this.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have story ideas, things you want explained, corrections, or other suggestions to improve Dear District. You can reply to this email directly or to djessrow@gmail.com. And please forward to your friends and coworkers so they can subscribe :) You can also read/share the post online here. See you soon!
—Dan
P.S. There is actually an amazing wealth of local DC reporting—longform and on Twitter. Dear District relies entirely on work from dedicated DC journalists like Cuneyt Dil, Fenit Nirappil, Martin Austermuhle, Rachel Kurzius, Tom Sherwood, Morgan Baskin, Mitch Ryals, and Jeffrey Anderson.
Finally, some links in case you want more local DC content in your life:
District Links (daily! local DC email)