Mark Plotkin — a longtime WTOP contributor, analyst, political columnist and passionate advocate for D.C. statehood — will lie in repose at the John A. Wilson Building, the D.C. Council announced Wednesday.
The public can remember Plotkin from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room G9).
“Perhaps one of his greatest contributions to the District was his insistence that the federal government return the John A. Wilson Building to local control during the Clinton Administration,” the Council said in a release.
“The Wilson Building … is the center of the District government today because of Mark’s advocacy.”
There will also be a memorial service for the local legend at George Washington University Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Jack Morton Auditorium at 805 21st Street, NW.
Plotkin passed away Sept. 22.
He was a staple on WTOP for 10 years. He hosted “The Politics Program with Mark Plotkin” on Fridays, through which he delivered commentaries on air.
Plotkin came to WTOP in 2002 and left in 2012. Before that, he was at WAMU, did commentary for Fox5 and would write columns for various publications.
WTOP’s former Vice President of Programming Jim Farley described Plotkin as “one of the feistiest guys I had ever met.”
“He was a bulldog when he got on a story or on an issue … He was rough on everybody because he wanted to get things done,” Farley told WTOP. “He was a character. He had some rough edges, but was so memorable.”
Watch Plotkin in action interviewing then-senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama about issues that impact residents in the D.C. area.
WTOP’s Saeko Robinson and Jennifer Ortiz contributed to this report.
