Photo by sally henny penny.

You know, if you polled this editor and as to what the next big D.C. government scandal would be centered on, a landscaping contract wouldn’t have been near the top of the list. But, alas, here we are.

Last night, the Post editorial board — which, apparently, is trying to prove to its news desk that it can do its fair share of reporting too — wrote about the strange split in contracted citywide landscaping duties between Lorenz Inc., a Maryland company who produced a far superior bid for the work in 2010, and Community Bridge Inc., “a Washington-based business,” who proposed to do the work for twice the cost of Lorenz. In the end, Lorenz got a contract for six of the city’s wards, while CBI was awarded work in Wards 1 and 2. The Post’s story alleges that the split was likely due to the fact that CBI is buddy-buddy with under fire Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. Thomas’ objections to the Lorenz contract, visible in Council hearings about the contract, really came to a head when it came time to extend the arrangement:

But Janene Jackson, director of the mayor’s office of policy and legislative affairs, e-mailed on April 28 that “it is my understanding that the mayor does not want a complete year contract.” […] On the morning of May 2, Warner Session sent an e-mail to Rob Miller, the deputy director of the mayor’s office of policy and legislative affairs, requesting time to talk about the contract and attaching a “fact sheet” previously distributed by Mr. Thomas disparaging Lorenz and extolling CBI. Mr. Session is counsel for CBI, a contributor to Mr. Gray’s campaign and Mr. Gray’s recent appointee to the Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority. Later that day, an e-mail circulated within the mayor’s office with the subject line “Lorenz!!!” — but the version released by the mayor is, again, completely redacted.

On June 2, Lolita Alston, director of the office of legislative support for the mayor, inquired about the Lorenz contract awaiting approval and was told by Ms. Jackson, “Lorenz is not going forward.”

The Gray administration, for its part, is sloughing off the issue as a “misunderstanding,” but there are a lot of questions here, not the least of which involve issues which have long-plagued the city government like the bureaucracy hanging over public service agencies and the enforcement of the definitions of a “local” business. (The Post reported that CBI holds a “substantial construction yard” in Prince George’s County.)

This morning, while noshing on Denny’s and Starbucks with her colleagues, Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) — who now chairs the committee which oversees the Department of Public Works — said she would hold a hearing on Friday regarding the matter. Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) objected, which was then followed by an back-and-forth between Chair Kwame Brown and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) regarding the “shell game” played by some local businesses with city contracts

“There are a number of issues I’m concerned about,” concluded Cheh, who also noted that CBI holds seperate contracts for maintenance of city fields.