Govern Yourself
Dear Governors:
In the last issue of themail, I wrote, “The city council is unable
to govern itself, much less govern the city. The council is unable even
to pretend to be interested in cleaning up the funding scandals and
staffing scandals and conflicts of interest of Michael Brown, and Kwame
Brown, and Harry Thomas, and Yvette Alexander, and Jim Graham, and Jack
Evans, and — well, add your favorite councilmember here.” This week,
day by day, we’ve been buffeted from one scandal to another, from
Councilmember Michael Brown’s conflict of interest in the bill he
introduced to legalize Internet gambling; to the DC Attorney General’s
charges against Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., for diverting earmarked
tax funds from sports programs for youths to his own personal use; to
the US Attorney’s revelation in the sentencing phase of council
staffer Ted Loza’s trial that Loza presented a cash bribe, intended to
promote a bill that would force taxicab owners to buy government
medallions, to Councilmember Jim Graham, and that Graham never reported
the bribe attempt, but instead continued to employ Loza and to provide a
character reference for Loza vouching for his trustworthiness and
honesty.
In 2009, Graham was the Chairman of the Public Services and
Transportation Committee. In October 2009, after Loza was arrested,
Graham agreed to give up his committee’s authority over the Taxicab
Commission, which was moved to the Committee of the Whole. In March
2010, after the Bennett Report detailed Councilmember Barry’s
conflicts of interest and misuse of government funds in personal service
contracts and earmarks, the council voted to remove Barry from all his
committee assignments and censure him. Today, after the Attorney General
filed his complaint against Harry Thomas, Thomas agreed to resign from
his chairmanship of the Economic Development Committee, and the
Committee’s duties were moved to the Committee of the Whole. As
Dorothy and I wrote in themail on February 28, 2010, “Although there
had previously been several laws and rules scattered throughout the DC
Code and Municipal Regulations concerning inappropriate conduct by
elected officials and other government employees, it wasn’t until
September 2009 that the council adopted a formal Code of Conduct for the
first time (http://www.dcwatch.com/council18/conduct.htm)
However, that Code of Conduct is toothless. It doesn’t specify any
punishments or penalties for violating the code. Chairman Vincent Gray
promised at the time that the code was passed that the council would
adopt further rules, including punishments and penalties for
councilmembers, and establishing a procedure by which it could
investigate and monitor itself, but that hasn’t been done.”
The Code of Conduct is still toothless. There are still no
punishments and penalties, no procedures by which the council can
investigate, monitor, and discipline itself. Columnist Marc Fisher
suggests that “the scandals reflect . . . a growing propensity among
city politicians to live beyond their means, taking improper advantage
of the surge in campaign cash and city contracts in recent years.” It
also reflects the public’s reluctance to vote out politicians who are
involved in scandals and the politicians’ reluctance to discipline
their colleagues. If we’re going to prevent the spread of corruption,
we’re going to have to change the system that doesn’t punish it and
implicitly allows it.
New links: Office of the Attorney General, Complaint for Relief
against Harry Thomas, Jr., October 6, 2011, http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/occ110606.pdf
Marc Fisher, “Scandals Are Taking DC Back to the Bad Old Days, Some
Say,” http://tinyurl.com/6lx4bxk
Alan Suderman, “Did Jim Graham Break City Rules By Not Reporting Ted
Loza,” http://tinyurl.com/6b8d45f
“Did Jim Graham Do Enough in Turning Down a Cash-Filled Envelope?” Washington
Post editorial, http://tinyurl.com/66fo9mc
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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During his inaugural address on January 2, Kwame Brown indicated that
ethics reform was one of the new policy initiatives he intended to
undertake as the chair of the city council. Weeks after the
inauguration, Brown would often tell me how he had directed his staff to
research ethics laws and regulations across the United States and how
other governmental jurisdictions and, especially, legislative bodies
enforced those laws and regulations. After concluding that he could not
rely solely on his council staff and transition committee, on March 2
Brown issued a press release announcing “a novel partnership with the
Georgetown University Public Policy Institute (GPPI)” in order “to
bring greater transparency and accountability to the council.” The
press release goes on to state that “Chairman Brown has tasked Dr.
Edward Montgomery, Dean of the GPPI, with reviewing best practices
nationwide, and recommending options for the establishment of a council
body to conduct ethics investigations and to provide advice to council
members regarding ethics regulations.” The press release also suggests
that a goal of the pro bono research is to assist in the creation
of a single District agency so as to streamline the “ethics review and
investigations of councilmembers.”
It is against this backdrop that on May 17 Kwame Brown and Mary Cheh
introduced Bill 19-297, the Comprehensive Ethics Reform Act of 2011,
which doesn’t just focus on the council, but instead seeks to reform
the District’s ethics, public integrity, and lobbying laws as they
apply to all District employees and officials. For anyone concerned
about truly improving ethics in the District government, the draft bill
is sorely wanting. For example, the bill creates an Office of Government
Accountability (OGA) and an Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC). The OGA is
a toothless entity that will be “established within the District of
Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics,” with a director appointed by
the mayor. Under the bill, the OGA can investigate “any violation of
laws, rules, regulations, or policies within the OGA’s jurisdiction,”
including lobbying, conflict of interest, financial disclosure, and
other ethical matters and standards of conduct; and the OGA shall then
“forward to the appropriate authority a report.” The term “appropriate
authority” is never defined in the bill.
The Ethics Advisory Committee will consist of five members; “the
mayor, or his or her designee . . . shall serve as chair.” Other
members of the EAC are two individuals appointed by the mayor, the
Chairman of the council (or his or her designee), and one member
appointed by council resolution. In addition to not being independent of
the District’s elected officials, the committee’s role is very
limited. According to the bill, the EAC “shall, from time to time,
make recommendations to the council and the mayor about proposed changes
and updates to District laws, rules, regulations, or policies concerning
conduct of lobbyists, government employees, conflicts of interest,
ethical conduct of public officials, and other ethics matters.”
After Bill 19-297 was introduced, I wrote to Kwame Brown and to Dean
Edward Montgomery of the GPPI, to get a copy of any research that was
done on how to reform or improve ethics in the District. My curiously
stemmed from the fact that I couldn’t believe that the Comprehensive
Ethics Reform Act of 2011 was based on the best practices of
jurisdictions across the nation. Despite repeated requests, Brown’s
office never provided the Georgetown “report.” GPPI did respond,
however. In an E-mail dated June 8, Mark Carl Rom, an Associate
Professor of Government and Public Policy at Georgetown University,
stated that, “At the request of Chairman Brown’s office, I provided
the opportunity for my graduate students in the class ‘Ethics and
Values in Public Policy’ to conduct group research projects on DC
ethics reform. Three teams of students volunteered to work on this
project. Brown’s office provided us some background briefing
materials. Each team wrote a memo offering recommendations on ethics
reform as a class project for part of their grade. We shared
these memos with Brown’s office per our agreement. Brown’s office
then had the opportunity to use these memos to inform their reasoning
and decisions.”
The council’s Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Mary
Cheh, will hold a public hearing on Bill 19-297 on June 13 at 12:00 noon
in the Council Chambers.
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DC Councilmember Under Investigation
Robert Kabel, info@dcgop.com
Last October, the DCGOP and the Tim Day campaign requested that the
DC Attorney General investigate Ward 5 DC Councilmember Harry Thomas.
Yesterday, the DC Attorney General released a blistering report, and is
suing Mr. Thomas for a million dollars. The DCGOP and the Tim Day
campaign spent months researching Mr. Thomas, his LLC, his unregistered
nonprofit and his luxury SUV vehicle. We knew that Mr. Thomas was using
his DC council office to promote an unregistered nonprofit he operated.
We felt certain DC government earmarks were being awarded to legitimate
nonprofits and in return some nonprofits would give money to Mr. Thomas’s
unregistered nonprofit, but we didn’t know how shameful the story
would get.
The Attorney General held a press conference Monday and filed a civil
lawsuit for a million dollars in damages. Yesterday, the US Attorney and
the FBI confirmed they have also launched their own investigations. Mr.
Thomas held a press conference and showed no remorse. Rather, he showed
a defiance to defend his “reputation, legacy, and heritage.” Mr.
Thomas, who allegedly funneled money to buy an expensive SUV, arrived to
his press conference in the SUV that is in question.
Monday, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and
the Washington Examiner all had front page stories on Mr. Thomas,
and many give credit to the DCGOP and the Tim Day campaign. The truth is
that our city is better served with a strong two party system, when
checks and balances are in place. Mr. Thomas is refusing to resign but
we believe justice will be served. We have stated, as has the Washington
Post editorial board, that Mr. Thomas should resign. The Attorney
General and the city believe money is owed to them by Mr. Thomas. If you
have any questions, please contact Paul at (202) 407-7069 or at paul@dcgop.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Ward Three Democratic Committee, June 14
Shelley Tomkin, shelltomk@aol.com
The Ward Three Democratic Committee is proud to welcome speakers
Alice M. Rivlin, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, to speak on
the financial implications of DC budget autonomy or statehood, DC
Councilmember Phil Mendelson to speak on the DC redistricting process;
and Elissa Silverman of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute and Edward Cowan,
author of Reports to DC Voters, to speak on the 2012 DC budget.
June 14 at 7:45 p.m. (after a short business meeting starting at 7:15
p.m.), at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle Street, NW,
in the Great Hall. For more information, contact Shelley Tomkin, Chair,
Ward Three Democratic Committee, 363-8387 and Shelltomk@aol.com
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Making Strides for MS is the new young professionals’ group at the
National MS Society’s National Capital Chapter. The group is dedicated
to raising awareness and funds through social events geared towards
young professionals in the greater DC metro area. Funds raised will
support research initiatives as well as local programs and services for
the more than eighteen thousand people affected by MS in our community.
We will be having a happy hour on Tuesday, June 14, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m., at Bar Louie’s in Gallery Place in Chinatown. Ten dollars at the
door will get you half price appetizers, $1 burgers, $3 drafts, $5 wine,
and $7 martinis! We’ll also be awarding fabulous door prizes: four
dugout tickets to the Washington Nationals game of your choice, three
$15 gift cards to Mixt Greens, a $50 gift certificate to Cleveland Park
Bar and Grill, tea for two at Teaism, and a Bar Louie martini party for
ten. The event is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190042531046800
You can find more information about Making Strides at http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/dcw/volunteer/making-strides/index.aspx
and at http://www.facebook.com/MakingStridesForMS
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Social Networks and the Courts Panel
Discussion, June 15
June Kress, info@courtexcellence.org
On Wednesday, June 15, from 7:00-8:30 p.m., the Council for Court
Excellence will host an exciting program with a panel of experts who
will discuss the use of social networks and computer technology in the
trial courtrooms in the District of Columbia. The program will be held
at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 7th Floor. Panelists
include Chief Judge Royce Lamberth, US District Court; Judge Herbert
Dixon, Jr., DC Superior Court; Scott Higham, The Washington Post;
Adam Liptak, New York Times; Mike Semel, The Washington Post;
Charles Tobin, Holland & Knight; Ronald Machen, US Attorney for DC
(invited); Michele Roberts, Skadden (invited); Pierre Thomas, ABC News
(invited); and Ashley Messenger, National Public Radio (invited). The
program will be moderated by Frank Sesno, former CNN anchor and Director
of the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public
Affairs.
There is no charge for this event. Please RSVP your attendance to
Peter Willner at willner@courtexcellence.org
or 785-5917.
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National Building Museum Events, June 16
Stacy Adamson, sadamson@nbm.org
June 16, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Smart Growth: Active Design Joins the Fight
Against Obesity. Free, registration required. Walk-in registration based
on availability. Active Design enlists our built environment, and those
who design it, in the struggle against the obesity epidemic and related
health problems. Jack L. Robbins, project architect and senior urban
designer at Perkins + Will, outlines how architects and planners can
help America shed pounds and save lives. At the National Building
Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for
events at http://www.nbm.org.
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CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS
During the month of June, you can book yourself a massage at the
Tenleytown-based Spa Room, and get a $5 discount, plus ensure that $5
goes to support the work of the Brightwood DC-based MOMIE’s TLC. To
schedule, use this link: http://spab.kr/n2ac6Zn. Or if you would like to
schedule your massage by phone, at 241-6095, make sure you use the code:
MOMIESTLC. The Spa Room offers a number of bodywork techniques, such as
Swedish, sports massage, or prenatal massage. Book one for yourself, and
then purchase a gift certificate for your partner, your child’s
teacher, or your friend.
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Capital Fringe Festival Free Store Donations
Lida, Capital Fringe Festival Coordination Intern, coordinator@capitalfringe.org
Greetings from the Capital Fringe Festival! Again this year we are
please to offer to the community The Free Store where — you guessed it
— everything is free. We present The Free Store as part of our
commitment to promoting recycling and reuse, so this community project
is funded 100 percent by the people, for the people. Bring clothes,
books and music you can’t use to The Free Store, and take any clothes,
books and music that you can use. We at the Capital Fringe Festival are
now accepting donations for The Free Store. Please check your closets,
check your bookshelves, check your garage. The Free Store can only
happen with your donations, so we need your help! We are accepting
clothing, books, and music at this time. All clothing must be washed and
in fair condition.
This year The Free Store will be open from July 7 to 24 at The
Apothecary (a Fringe venue located at 1013 7th Street, NW). Hours are
Tuesday through Friday, 5:00-8:00 p.m.; Saturday, 1:00-8:00 p.m.; and
Sunday, 1:00-5:00 p.m. We are now accepting donations. All donation
drop-offs will be at Fort Fringe, 607 New York Avenue. To schedule a
drop-off time, please E-mail me at coordinator@capitalfringe.org
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