District Links
The comprehensive DC politics roundup, by Cuneyt Dil.
Send tips, links, events, things to cuneytdil@thedcline.org.
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TGIF. Over the summer, Attorney General Karl Racine surveyed city residents over how they felt about drug kingpin Rayful Edmond III getting a reduced sentence.
Judge Emmet Sullivan bestowed Racine’s office with the unusual task of compiling residents’ feedback, decades after Edmond was put behind bars and his cocaine operation was thwarted, which authorities blamed for the crack and murder epidemic of the 1980s. The views of residents were divided on a reduced jail sentence.
In the meantime, DL reckons Racine’s views on Edmond’s defense attorney, Jason Downs, only grew more positive.
Last month in DC court, Downs even pushed back against Racine’s survey, saying those polled didn’t know Edmond helped secure 100 indictments against 340 defendants during his 24 years cooperating with feds, Courthouse News Service reported.
“To be quite candid, you’re asking for a lot. But I’m going to keep an open mind,” Judge Sullivan said, the news outlet reported.
“You have an excellent lawyer,” Sullivan told Edmond.
Less than a month later, Racine hired Downs to be his next general counsel. Downs will report directly to the AG, his office announced Tuesday.
“I have known Jason for nearly 10 years and have always been impressed with his litigation and trial lawyering skills,” Racine tells DL through a spokesperson. “In his career, Jason has earned a high level of respect in the courts and among the legal community. I am proud to have him on board and look forward to his contributions on behalf of the District and our residents.”
The office confirms Downs no longer represents Edmond.
Downs was most recently founding partner at Downs Collins. Last February Downs negotiated a $3.5 million settlement with DC after filing a wrongful death suit for Terrence Sterling, shot and killed by a Metropolitan Police Department officer. Downs was previously part of the Public Defender Service for DC.
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TODAY: There's more on Evans' ties to digital sign company he tried to help; plus, Evans vents about reporters; WaPo said to be polling local issues; your weekend reads ...
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MORE ENDORSEMENTS - Progressive group DC for Democracy votes 87% to endorse Janeese Lewis George in Ward 4 race.
— In the Ward 2 race, Jordan Grossman came short of the 2/3 vote needed for a DC for Democracy endorsement. He stands out with receiving 46%, however …
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CORRECTION: Yesterday DL wrote that nonprofit Jews United for Justice endorsed candidates George and Grossman. In fact, the endorsement was from its offshoot Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund, a sister group that is not bound by 501(c)3 restrictions on endorsing candidates.
‘Report ties Evans more firmly to sign company’ is below the fold on the WaPo Metro front. Steve Thompson: “The investigation into ethics allegations against D.C. Council member Jack Evans released by the council last week provided fresh details about his dealings with a digital sign company at the heart of several probes into whether Evans used his office to benefit his private clients and employers.
“… New details in the report include a finding that two months after Evans acknowledged that his private relationship with Digi posed a potential conflict of interest — prompting him to return a $50,000 retainer fee, he said — the lawmaker inquired about receiving stock in the company.
“… The report also says that when Evans agreed to consult for Digi Outdoor, he was aware of MacCord’s potential aim of persuading the D.C. Council to pass legislation that would help the company.
“… Evans told investigators that, given his return of the money and stock and the proposed legislation’s failure to advance, he felt he hadn’t done anything wrong, according to the transcript. ‘I can’t imagine what else I could have done that was more right than what I did.’” [WaPo]
— In interviews with the law firm, Evans rails against reporters on his tail ...
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— Evans blames former Bowser official for how his business proposals were worded:
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‘After Ethiopia trip, Bowser touts renewed bond with homeland of many D.C. residents.’ WaPo’s Paul Schwartzman and Fenit Nirappil: “She met with the president and the prime minister, talked transportation and health care with local officials, visited an orphanage and an ancient church, and smiled broadly as a street was christened for her more than 7,000 miles from her hometown.
“D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), back from a five-day diplomatic and trade mission to Ethiopia, described the trip on Thursday as a way to solidify ties with a country where an estimated 30,000 Ethiopians have relocated from to the District.
“… Her delegation included two council members, Brandon T. Todd (D-Ward 4) and Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), nine administration officials, two members of her security detail and the mayor’s official photographer. The $77,000 in travel expenses was paid by the D.C. government, said Chanda Washington, spokeswoman for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, which organized the trip along with the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.” [WaPo]
🚨 POLL ALERT …
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NEW - ‘Whitman-Walker unveils plan for massive new healthcare facility in Southeast.’ DCist’s Rachel Kurzius: “Whitman-Walker Health is planning a new healthcare center at the St. Elizabeths East Campus, which will allow the healthcare provider to triple the number of people it can see annually in Southeast to 15,000 patients.
“The planned 118,000-square-foot facility will include primary, behavioral, dental, and substance misuse treatment care, as well as a pharmacy. It makes Whitman-Walker the first tenant on the vast, city-owned campus in Congress Heights, which also includes the city’s Entertainment and Sports Arena and The R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center.
“… John Falcicchio, the interim deputy mayor for planning and economic development, says he sees the forthcoming Whitman-Walker facility as contributing to develop a more diverse ‘healthcare ecosystem’ in Ward 8.” [DCist; also WBJ, Bisnow]
’Teachers on cusp of creating first-ever union at D.C. charter school.’ WAMU’s Martin Austermuhle: “Teachers, staff and management at one campus of the Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School in D.C. have agreed on a tentative union contract, putting the popular school a vote away from becoming the first charter school in the city’s history to unionize.
“The move to form a union — which now only needs final approval from teachers and staff at the campus on P Street NW — is significant because it departs from one of founding principles of the charter movement, which was to break free from the traditional constraints faced by public schools and their unionized workforce.
“… In D.C., an effort to unionize teachers at Paul Public Charter School fizzled in 2017, while another at a campus of the César Chávez Public Charter School resulted in teachers voting to form a union — but the campus then closed due to declining enrollment. (Teachers say the closure was an act of retaliation.)” [WAMU]
‘Alleged rapist arrested in S.C. — 8 cases from ‘90s linked by DNA — Series of attacks in Md., D.C.; one victim died’ leads the WaPo Metro front. Peter Hermann and Dan Morse: “A man suspected in brutal rapes in Montgomery County and in Georgetown in the 1990s, and in the killing of one of his victims, has been arrested in South Carolina, and authorities say they finally have the elusive ‘Potomac River Rapist’ in custody.
“The decades-old attacks along both sides of the District’s border with Maryland spanned eight years and left detectives with DNA evidence but no one to match it to.
“… New advances in genetic testing allowed police to have the genetic samples collected at crime scenes compared with people who submitted their DNA to explore their family lineage. That led police to five relatives, and detectives narrowed the list to a suspect who had lived in Maryland at the time of the attacks and worked as a landscaper.” [WaPo; also WTOP, WAMU]
REPORT - ‘The impact of occupational licensing requirements in D.C.’ D.C. Policy Center’s Yesim Sayin Taylor: “The District of Columbia has many factors in its favor making it attractive to workers: high average wages, a variety of employer benefits, strong worker protections, and relatively short commute times. At the same time, the concentration of D.C.’s employment opportunities in high-skill, high-paying jobs means that there are few opportunities for workers without professional degrees. In contrast, the rest of the Washington metropolitan area has a higher concentration of middle- and low-wage jobs, including sales occupations, and occupations in education, transportation, and construction.
“D.C. also has created additional barriers for workers who wish to break into middle-wage jobs through aggressive professional licensing: Nearly 12 percent of D.C.’s private sector employment is in occupations regulated by a professional licensing board. This piece gives an overview of the impact role of occupational licensing in D.C., including how many workers are affected and at what general wage and salary levels.” [D.C. Policy Center]
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WEEKEND READS …
— Capital Projections, The DC Line's film guide: Documentary about the National Enquirer, Scarlett Johansson stars in tear-jerker drama, and more. [The DC Line]
— Futurology: Privacy activists in jumpsuits strap phones on their heads to scan faces of DC residents, showing dangers of new surveillance tech. [Vice]
— Panda Express: Bei Bei to travel to China on a FedEx custom-decal Boeing 777 Freighter. [Commercial Appeal]
— Cities of Tomorrow: DC finishes pilot program to ease parking problems for delivery trucks, requiring curbside reservations on mobile app. [Streetsblog]
— Home Brew: ‘How does DC Brau’s new hard seltzer compare to White Claw and Truly?’ [Washingtonian]
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ICYMI — the top-two clicked stories from yesterday's newsletter: 'Smithsonian reveals more details on new headquarters' [WBJ]; Charles Allen: DC needs more local control of prison system [WTOP]
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'Metro still isn't ticketing fare evaders in D.C. amid ongoing clash with city lawmakers' [DCist]
‘Metro finishes $176M escalator replacement project after eight years’ [Curbed]
‘How household incomes in the D.C. area have changed since 1980’ [D.C. Policy Center]
’29 million square feet: DC development in 2019, by the numbers’ [UrbanTurf]
'The Robert Wone murder house has sold' [Washingtonian]
‘Riders call for more oversight of the Metro Transit Police at a DC Council hearing’ [GGW]
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Budget numbers from Events DC:
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DC-area chapter of Democratic Socialists of America balloting to endorse candidate in Ward 4:
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Land reclaimed for pedestrians ...
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Yesterday was Ruby Bridges Day in DC:
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