D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson vocally opposed the decision by former Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans to run for the seat he resigned less than two weeks ago amid an ongoing ethics scandal.
On Monday, Evans filed paperwork with the Board of Elections to seek in November the seat he held for 29 years, as well as to run in the June special election to fill the position he resigned Jan. 17, the day before an expulsion vote by the council.
“We’re still in the month of January,” Mendelson told reporters in a news briefing with the mayor Tuesday. “We’re at a point where we’re trying to rebuild the trust in government and in the Council of the District of Columbia.”
Mendelson said he would oppose an Evans run but did not say whether he would campaign for another candidate.
Bowser said she has not talked with Evans since he filed the paperwork.
“I think he knows very clearly how I feel about getting on with the business of the District,” Bowser said. “We should all call on Jack to do not what’s best for Jack, but what’s best for the District of Columbia.”
Asked what he would do if Evans were reelected, Mendelson declined to specify whether he would work to re-expel him.
“The council went through a very lengthy and difficult process of analyzing the [ethics] allegations, and came to the conclusion that the allegations were substantiated,” Mendelson said.
Though Bowser encouraged council members to act with unity in opposition of a return by Evans, she acknowledged the matter may ultimately be decided at the ballot box.
“At the end of the day, this may be a question for the voters of Ward 2,” she said.
