Ten days after officially resigning amid an ongoing ethics scandal, Jack Evans is making moves to reclaim his D.C. Council seat.
Evans filed paperwork Monday for a special June 16 election that will fill the Ward 2 seat he officially gave up Jan. 17. In addition, he’s on the ballot for the June 2 Democratic primary for that same seat.
If he were to prevail, it would set up a decidedly awkward dynamic on the D.C. Council. Evans’ resignation was announced Jan. 7, right before his colleagues were set to expel him.
Last month, an ad hoc committee — comprising every council member but Evans — found he had engaged in “prolonged and egregious wrongdoing.”
That followed a report late last year that said he “displayed a generally casual attitude towards the ethical responsibilities of a public official … which contributed to his repeated failures to comply with a number of basic ethical duties.”
And before his resignation, Evans had even faced opposition from his own constituents, with a recall petition being circulated.
Evans has also drawn the scrutiny of federal investigators: The FBI raided his Georgetown home back in June. Months later, the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability fined him $20,000 for his activities.
Local leaders reacted to the news on Twitter:
He hasn’t even received his last paycheck from a job he had to quit to avoid being fired from. The District will spend $1 million on a special election to replace him – and he says he’s running in it? This is unbelievable. DC deserves better than this. https://t.co/4tEGnHgcOG
— Charles Allen (@charlesallen) January 27, 2020
This is a great story for reporters and a very bad story for the residents and businesses of Ward 2, as well as the entire city. I hope my colleagues have a unified voice speaking against this willful, selfish disregard for ethics and the public’s trust. https://t.co/TV0Dwt0WgN
— Elissa Silverman (@tweetelissa) January 28, 2020
Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh called Evans’ decision to run again “preposterous” and “arrogant.”
I thought we turned the page on that chapter of DC history. Preposterous. https://t.co/Tb6T4cH8UB
— Brandon T. Todd (@brandonttodd) January 27, 2020
This is beyond arrogant. Mr. Evans is treating the ad hoc committee’s unanimous expulsion vote as a minor inconvenience rather than the condemnation that it was and is.
His contempt for the people of DC and for the Council is on full display. https://t.co/qyQUGqfv8A
— Mary M. Cheh (@marycheh) January 28, 2020
