Signs disparaging beleaguered Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans have started popping up in his ward.

Mike Maguire / Flickr

Controversial former Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kathy Henderson put out the call: “We will meet on the steps of the Wilson building on Thursday at noon, in support of clear cut rules and Councilmember Jack Evans,” she wrote in a press release.

But at the appointed time to rally for the Ward 2 councilmember amid an ethics scandal that has resulted in subpoenas for his fellow councilmembers and a potential recall election, no one aside from her and another former ANC showed up, according to Washington Post reporter Fenit Nirappil. Henderson tells DCist that “someone put out a false word it was canceled,” and that she would otherwise have expected around 50 people from across the city to attend. She says she’s planning a redux soon.

But those empty steps were an uncomfortable reminder that Evans isn’t exactly the most popular guy at the Wilson Building these days. He faces a reprimand vote next week from his colleagues chiding him for using a Council email to send business proposals to law firms offering to leverage the connections he has gleaned as the city’s longest-serving current councilmember and chair of the Metro Board. The emails were released by the Washington Post. Evans is also the subject of a separate federal investigation into his dealings with an electric sign company. Based on the subpoena memos D.C. councilmembers received last week, that investigation appears to be expanding in its scope

Around the same time as the scuttled rally, two Ward 2 civic groups—Dupont Circle Citizens Association and Foggy Bottom Association—released a letter they sent to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, in which they write they are “troubled by the allegations and recent news reports concerning the conduct of Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans.” The letter calls for the D.C. Council to appoint a special committee to investigate Evans, and temporarily remove him from his chairmanship of the Finance Committee and his spot on the Judiciary Committee pending the outcome of the probe. (Robin Diener, the president of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, is also helping in the effort to recall Evans.)

Even groups that have long supported Evans are rebuking him. On Monday night, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, which is the largest LGBT political group in the District and has previously endorsed Evans, approved a resolution that called for the councilmember to temporarily resign as Finance Committee chair and as a national committeeman for the Democratic National Committee. There was only one opposing vote.

“Even though we’ve endorsed Jack and he’s been a supporter, it’s a two-way street,” says John Capozzi, the member and longtime activist who wrote the resolution, which states that “we are deeply troubled by those allegations, his responses to them to date, and the ethical implications should they be proven true.”

Progressive advocacy group DC for Democracy also passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for a further investigation, and Evans’ removal from his committee roles, the Metro board, and the D.C. Democratic State Committee

Some of Evans’ colleagues on the Council have similarly called for consequences beyond next week’s reprimand, which is not technically punishment or discipline. A few Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have voted to endorse a special investigation into Evans, and the Washington Post editorial page called for a special committee to investigate the Ward 2 councilmember.

Parts of Evans’ ward have been papered with posters that read: “Jack Evans: New Laws Customized For You! Cash or Stock accepted.”

But the councilmember, who is up for reelection in 2020, has made no indication he plans to step down from any of his public roles, though he said he would close his consulting business.

There’s one longtime Evans tradition that appears to remain the same, despite the ongoing scandal—his penchant for parking illegally.

Previously:
Hit The Road Jack? Scandal-Plagued Councilmember Could Face Recall Vote
Reprimand? Investigate? Sanction? Here’s Where Local Officials Stand On Jack Evans’ Ethics Scandal
Councilmember Evans Will Face Reprimand For Emails Showing He Used Office For Personal Gain
Notes On A Scandal: WTF Is Going On With Ward 2’s Jack Evans?

Filed Under: d.c. council, jack evans,