District Links
The comprehensive DC politics roundup, by Cuneyt Dil.
Send tips, links, events, things to cuneytdil@thedcline.org.
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Happy Thursday. Lefty groups aren't waiting until 2020 to make endorsements for the June primary.
Jews United for Justice and Black Lives Matter DC both said they endorse Janeese Lewis George in Ward 4, over incumbent Brandon Todd.
“We are confident that Janeese’s vision for DC is one that redefines safety to include affordable housing and childcare, access to affordable and quality healthcare, transportation equity and living wages, not more police and mass incarceration,” BLM DC wrote in a statement. The group also previously said it backs advisory neighborhood commissioner Anthony Lorenzo Green against Ward 7 incumbent Vincent Gray.
“She has a plan to win,” Jews United for Justice says about George, who also got DC Working Families' endorsement last night.
Jews United for Justice also endorsed Jordan Grossman in the crowded Ward 2 race. That could help Grossman break out in a contest with six Democrats running for the seat of Jack Evans, who hasn’t announced whether he will seek re-election amid a federal investigation. Using the public campaign financing program, Grossman reported having $132,993 on hand in an Oct. 10 campaign finance report.
“He’ll speak out for all Ward 2 residents and will be a strong progressive voice on the Council,” Jews United for Justice says.
Meanwhile, Ward 2 resident and Obama-era U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy endorses Kishan Putta, his campaign announced this morning.
Murthy says Putta, a former outreach staffer for DC Health Link, helped his family sign up for health care coverage after the birth of his daughter. “I know how hard he has worked to help so many others in need including immigrants, the underemployed, people of color, LGBTQIA+ neighbors, and low income residents citywide,” Murthy says.
Progressive activists at DC for Democracy may also endorse in the Ward 2 and 4 races tonight …
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Other races will wait until the new year:
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TODAY: Mendelson defends putting 11 members on ad hoc committee: jonetta rose barras' column; long read on affordable housing in DC; rent control extension likely ...
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CONTRACT DISPUTE - Internal doc contradicts basis for awarding $13M contract. City Paper’s Mitch Ryals: “In October, D.C. chief contracting officer Derrick White emailed Dash Kiridena, the CEO of a local IT company, CODICE, with some bad news.
“Kiridena’s bid for a $13 million dollar contract to modernize the District’s unemployment insurance tax system was rejected. White wrote in the Oct. 9 email that although Kiridena’s proposal was impressive, ‘the contract has been awarded to the highest ranked offeror, Sagitec Solutions, LLC.’
“But an internal government document leaked to LL says otherwise.
“The 30-page document, dated April 30, 2019, lists the six companies that bid on the contract to modernize D.C.’s unemployment insurance tax system and spells out their proposals. The document then ranks the bidders based on technical criteria, pricing, and any extra points from D.C.’s Certified Business Enterprise program, which is designed to tip the scales in favor of local, minority-owned businesses.
“Kiridena’s company, a joint venture with the Illinois-based On Point Technology, LLC, is ranked number one overall due to a boost from its CBE preference points, according to the leaked document. But Sagitec ranked higher in terms of its technical evaluation. Now, Kiridena is crying foul.” [LL]
COLUMN - ‘Behind the scenes of the Evans ethics mess’ by jonetta rose barras spoke to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson at length: “Evans clearly violated the council’s rules and Code of Official Conduct. As I wrote last week, don’t expect me to defend him. However, it’s hard not to be at least somewhat critical of how things have been handled. I wanted to understand what Mendelson may have been up against as he sought to navigate the politics while attempting to protect the trust the public has placed in its elected officials.
“… The ad hoc panel is expected to hold a public session on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to receive testimony from O’Melveny & Myers. … Sources told me that Evans and his two attorneys — Abbe David Lowell with Winston & Strawn and Mark Tuohey, of counsel with BakerHostetler — have requested that they be allowed to present their case on the same day; they have already submitted a written rebuttal of the O’Melveny report. It’s unclear whether ad hoc committee chair Mary Cheh will honor that request since she had scheduled Evans’ appearance for Dec. 3. Council rules allow up to 90 days for the committee to complete its work, which could also include additional fact-finding and preparation of a report and recommendations for punitive action.
“… ‘The public reaction has broadened from where it was a few months ago,’ continued Mendelson, referring to when the council voted in March to reprimand. ‘I am being hammered on both sides.’
“He said one group of people, mostly allied with political progressives, believe things are moving too slowly. Another group wants to slow the pace, claiming that what’s happening is not fair. He didn’t mention a third group: African Americans who believe Evans is receiving special treatment, drawing a contrast to the experience of former Council members Harry Thomas Jr., Michael Brown and Kwame Brown.” [The DC Line]
‘With rent control likely to stay in D.C., tenant advocates urge stronger legal protections.’ WAMU’s Ally Schweitzer after yesterday's lengthy DC Council hearing: “With the District’s rent control law up for renewal next year, tenant advocates are calling for changes that would deepen protections for the city’s most vulnerable renters.
“But it’s not yet clear whether most members of the D.C. Council are on board to revise the law, rather than simply renew it.
“During a committee hearing Wednesday, advocates with the Reclaim Rent Control campaign testified that the existing rules limiting annual rent increases are full of loopholes. They argued in favor of not just renewing rent control through 2030, but expanding and strengthening the law by applying it to more buildings and eliminating exceptions that allow landlords to increase rents above the rate established in the law."
"On the other side were real estate and industry groups, which offered the landlord’s perspective. None of them called for the dismantling of rent control — a tacit acknowledgment of political reality in the District, where an estimated 45% of all multifamily rental units are rent-stabilized, according to the Urban Institute. Instead, industry representatives asked lawmakers to extend the law for five years rather than 10, to study its impact on the housing market and increase government funding for housing subsidy programs." [WAMU]
LONG READ - ‘D.C. is rapidly gentrifying and the fare of its affordable housing hangs in the balance.’ City Paper’s Rachel Cohen: “For D.C., the problem is major and it is imminent: How can the city avoid the fate of San Francisco, where housing has grown so costly that barely anyone can afford to live in it? Though D.C. has not reached the notoriety of SF, where everyone from custodial staff to high-earning tech developers feel priced out, it’s already one of the most expensive cities in the country. And leaders know things could get much worse—if nothing changes.
“… City leaders say they grasp the stakes, are ready to act, and are committed to expanding affordable housing throughout the District. But some of the poorest residents, and those who have lived in the city for decades, are skeptical that the government’s money will ultimately be spent for their benefit instead of getting lost in the dense network of developers, consultants, and public agencies overseeing housing in D.C.
“… Alex Baca, a housing organizer with Greater Greater Washington—a local urban policy group that generally supports increased housing density—says ‘no one is ready to touch zoning right now’ in D.C., but thinks probably in a year or so, once the Comprehensive Plan is finished, there will be more bandwidth to take up the issue. … [S]ome housing advocates are uncomfortable by all the buzz around making it easier to build more homes, and question how affordable these units will really be.” [City Paper]
COLUMN - ‘This D.C. college student and DACA recipient could lose everything. She’s more worried about other immigrants.’ WaPo’s Theresa Vargas: “On a wall above a light switch, just inside the Washington dorm room of Arlin Karina Téllez Martínez, hangs a card no bigger than a man’s palm. It is not a decoration. It is a reminder.
“On one side is the image of a guardian angel. On the other, a prayer. The college sophomore was 4 years old when her grandmother in Mexico handed it to her and said goodbye. Martínez kept it close in the days and months that followed.
“… Martínez was a freshman in high school when she first qualified for the DACA program. She took honors and AP classes, but during her senior year, she realized she had no way to pay tuition at the colleges that accepted her. After graduation, she worked two jobs, hoping to save enough to attend community college. She knew her family had placed their hopes in her. Her grandmother was illiterate, and her mother’s schooling didn’t go beyond the fifth grade.” [WaPo]
‘Erdogan visit mobilizes Lafayette Square protest — “Turkey out of Syria” among rallying cries — No repeat of 2017 violence amid heavy security’ is center of WaPo’s Metro front. Marissa Lang and Peter Hermann: “The gathering came amid heightened security to avoid a repeat of Erdogan’s last visit in 2017, when clashes broke out between his security guards and a group protesting him outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence at Sheridan Circle.
“Demonstrators at Lafayette Square on Wednesday included people upset with Turkey’s invasion of northeast Syria targeting American-allied Syrian Kurds, which followed President Trump’s ordered withdrawal of troops along the border. Other protest points included the century-old mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, which the U.S. House of Representatives recently recognized as genocide.” [WaPo; also Wash Times]
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ICYMI — the top-two clicked links from yesterday's newsletter: 'Could Carver Langston get DC’s first RF-4 zone?' [UrbanTurf]. And tied for second: 'Historic West End school will reopen for the 20-21 school year' [the Wash] and 'The dramatic new plans for Union Market' [UrbanTurf]
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'Lawmaker calls for radical change in DC’s criminal justice system' [WTOP]
'Whitman-Walker to bring health center to St. E’s campus' [WBJ]
'Smithsonian reveals more details on new headquarters' [WBJ]
More on notorious landlord Sanford Capital paying $1.1M in settlement with DC [WaPo, WBJ]
'High cost of rent in DC forces families to live in dangerous conditions' [WUSA9]
Children's National Hospital to partner with Virginia Tech for new biomedical research facility at Walter Reed [WaPo, WBJ]
'Auto shop-turned-arts space and a dog park: The first phase of the Arts Park at Walter Reed' [UrbanTurf]
'D.C. veterans deserve political rights of statehood, activists say' [UPI]
'That special day when all the ginkgo tree leaves fall' [DCist]
'How ArtReach GW changes lives east of the river' [City Paper]
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Council committee publishing transcripts of interviews between law firm investigators and Jack Evans:
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Evans: side gigs make you a better legislator
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Take your pick: City Hall vs. Wilson Building vs. District Building vs. State Hall vs. County Hall vs. —
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Charter sector wants more buildings for schools:
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