Photo by Benjamin R. Freed
The contest to determine the next mayor of the District of Columbia became a three-way fight Saturday when Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), entered the field. Evans, 59, made his announcement standing with his family and about 70 supporters outside Le Diplomate, a new French restaurant at 14th and Q streets NW, a location Evans said was emblematic of the changes Washington has undergone since he joined the D.C. Council in 1991.
Evans joins a Democratic primary that already includes his D.C. Council colleagues Muriel Bowser, of Ward 4, and Tommy Wells, of Ward 6. Mayor Vince Gray, elected in 2010, has not indicated if he will seek a second term. The primary, scheduled for next April 1, is effectively the whole election in overwhelmingly Democratic D.C., though Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) has been rumored as a possible entrant in the general election.
Evans used the phrase “rich tapestry” repeatedly to describe D.C.’s population, saying that the many different groups who make up the city have “common goals, common needs.” And while he remarked on the District’s history, Evans’ speech aspired toward continuing the economic trend line that D.C. has followed in recent years.
“My vision is necessary in order to establish Washington as one of the great cities of the world,” he said. “It’s very important that we recognize and encourage Washington’s growth as a cosmopolitan city.”
Evans said that his administration would promote “school-to-work” programs and a mix of public and charter schools. The bulk of his speech focused on the broader theme of a transforming city. Evans said in an interview after the speech that while the influx of new residential developments and commercial amenities is encouraging, he wants to ensure it is not at the expense of the residents who lived through D.C.’s leaner years.
“This area used to be known for drug dealing and prostitution,” he said in reference to the 14th Street corridor that runs between U Street NW and the Logan Circle neighborhood. He credited business improvement districts and the D.C. government’s tax increment financing program with spurring much of the development, and said that approach applies to other parts of the city.
“At the same time, we have to protect people who live there during difficult years,” he said.
Ibrahim Mumin, a Shaw activist who owns a community development firm, said that Evans has show a good track record on public safety, education, and affordable housing. “He creates a lot of opportunities for citizens to be engaged,” Mumin, sporting a campaign sticker on his jacket, said. Mumin added that he feels “disengaged” under the current administration.
This campaign is Evans’ second attempt at the mayoralty. He mounted a campaign in 1998, and finished third in that year’s Democratic primary behind eventual winner Anthony Williams and Kevin Chavous Sr.
Evans, who grew up in Nanticoke, Pa., came to D.C. in the 1970s as a lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was elected to the D.C. Council’s seat for Ward 2 in a special election in 1991. Evans is also one of a handful of councilmembers who also have outside employment, serving as counsel at Patton Boggs LLP, which pays him $190,000 a year in addition to the $125,000 salary he draws as a member of the Council.
Many in the crowd outside Le Diplomate saw Evans’ two decades as a D.C. legislator as one of his most valuable attributes, even if they were not fully supporting him. Gloria Hightower, a civic activist and president of the Friends of Carter Barron organization, said that Evans is the second-best member of the Council.
“After Marion Barry, as it comes to expertise, Jack is the man,” Hightower said. “However, he has to reach back more with black and Hispanic people.”
Evans rounded out his speech by hitting on the city’s finances—he chairs the Council’s Finance and Revenue Committee—and political ethics, or lack thereof. “Our budgets will continue to be balanced, government will remain fiscally stable,” he said.
But Evans’ take on the D.C. government’s public reputation was far less rosy. An Evans administration, he said, would take “an uncompromising focus on ethics and transparency and what we have lost.
“I will do whatever is necessary to regain the confidence of the citizens of this city,” he continued.
The line resonated with the news that former At-Large Councilmember Michael A. Brown intends to plead guilty on Monday to a federal bribery charge, and that Barry (D-Ward 8) listed on recent financial disclosure forms that he accepted thousands of dollars in gifts from two firms that do business with the city.
“It’s inexcusable,” Evans later told DCist. “I feel sorry for Michael. We just have to redouble our efforts.”
Evans closed out his speech returning to his broader themes of modernization and economic growth and that he would promote D.C. as a “model of what urban living can and should be.” As the overcast skies opened a light drizzle, handfuls of his supporters who turned out for the announcement headed into Le Diplomate for brunch.
