WASHINGTON — Longtime D.C. Councilman Vincent Orange plans to resign later this month, a D.C. Council staffer familiar with the decision tells the Associated Press.
The lame duck at-large council member plans to leave on Aug. 15 after he was criticized for conflicts of interest with his new job. Orange has not confirmed to WTOP he is resigning.
Orange, a Democrat, is set to start his new job as the head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 15 too.
Orange has faced scrutiny after his colleagues have said it’s a conflict of interest for Orange to serve as the business community’s chief advocate while voting on legislation that affects his employer.
On Wednesday, Orange asked Council Chairman Phil Mendelson to absorb the responsibility of the council’s business committee into the Committee of the Whole, which Mendelson chairs. Orange said in a statement that he was making the request in part “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”
Orange lost his re-election bid for his at-large seat in the June Democratic primary to Robert White.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
