A campaign to recall D.C. Councilman Jack Evans is expected to begin Wednesday.
The petitions will be issued and presumably adopted by the proponent of the recall at Wednesday’s meeting, said Rachel Coll, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections.
The recall effort is being led by Adam Eidinger, a Ward 2 resident who also helped lead the effort to decriminalize marijuana in the city.
Evans is under federal investigation over allegations he dangled the influence of his seat in office to companies he was seeking legal and consulting work. It was implied — in emails sometimes sent from city accounts — that he could benefit other clients those companies had.
A slew of subpoenas have been issued to the council as a whole, as well as others in city government.
Evans has denied he did anything illegal. Nonetheless, the council sanctioned him, including stripping him of some committee assignments.
Eidinger said Evans has clearly tried to profit off his job in office.
“Evans behaves as if there is no legal or ethical distinction between being an elected representative and pursuing his own financial self-interest,” Eldinger wrote in a recall statement, according to The Washington Post.
Those pushing the recall effort will have six months to collect signatures from Ward 2 residents.
“The number of signatures needed will be 10 percent of the registered voters within Ward 2,” said Coll.
That comes out to about 5,200 signatures.
If the effort succeeds, a vote will be taken to formally recall Evans. If successful, another vote would be called to determine his replacement.
A recall effort has never succeeded in D.C. before.
