Philip Heath Mendelson (born November 8,1952[1]) is an American politician from Washington,D.C. He is currently Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia,elected by the Council on June 13,2012,following the resignation of Kwame R. Brown. He was elected to serve the remainder of Brown's term in a citywide special election on November 6,2012,[2] and re-elected to a full term in 2014 and 2018.[3]
Mendelson fought against a developer who wanted to build an office building on Wisconsin Avenue near Upton Street NW.[11] Mendelson was opposed to the developer building an access road over a forested area.[11] After his community group filed a lawsuit to block the road,a court determined that the developer had the right to build the access road.[12] Mendelson tried to block the work using his own body,for which he was arrested.[13] The wooded area was razed,and the access road was built.[13]
Mendelson was critical of a policy of not assessing property taxes on a building until the roof is sealed.[14] One particular developer saved $500,000 of property taxes from delaying the sealing of the roof until later in the construction timeline.[14] Mendelson said the District of Columbia was losing significant amounts of tax revenue from what he called a loophole.[14]
In 1988,Mendelson was elected to the D.C. Democratic State Committee,representing Ward 3,in 1988.[15] He ran unopposed for reelection as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner,[16] and he won the election.[17] He was elected chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C soon thereafter.[18]
Also in 1990,Mendelson voiced his opposition to iron fences on the Duke Ellington Bridge in Rock Creek Park that were intended to prevent people from jumping off the bridge.[20] He said the fences did not prevent suicide because there were more suicide attempts from the bridge after the fences were erected.[20] An increase in suicide attempts from the nearby Taft Bridge demonstrated that the fences merely diverted,rather than deterred,suicide attempts in his opinion.[20] Mendelson argued against putting fences up again after the Duke Ellington Bridge's scheduled reconstruction and instead post phone numbers for suicide prevention hotlines on the bridge.[20] He was also opposed to building fences on the Taft Bridge.[21] A group of local mental health physicians was in favor of the fences,saying the fences were worthwhile even if they did not deter every suicide attempt.[21]
Mendelson ran unopposed for reelection as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in 1990;[22] he won the election.[23]
When the owner of a residential building proposed constructing townhouses in front of the apartments,Mendelson opposed the idea,saying,"It makes no sense to put eight townhouses on the lawn of an apartment building."[24]
In 1992,MayorSharon Pratt Kelly's task force on the homeless made a recommendation that shelter beds should be located equally throughout the District.[25] Other than a few churches,there were no homeless shelters located in Ward 3 at the time.[25] The ward's council member Jim Nathanson opposed establishing homeless shelters in Ward 3.[25] Mendelson was also opposed,saying,"There's no right for the homeless to get shelter in any neighborhood they want."[25]
In 1996,Mendelson ran for an at-large seat on the Council.[29] Mendelson's campaign focused on holding government employees accountable,hiring qualified individuals for government positions,and cutting wasteful and ineffective programs.[6] Mendelson criticized incumbent Harold Brazil for conspicuously leaving a Council meeting just before a vote on whether to reduce pension benefits for newly hired police officers,firefighters,and teachers.[29] Mendelson said Brazil's absence was in line with many other important votes that Brazil for which was absent.[29] He said all Council members should accept a cut in salary due to recent poor performance of the Council.[30]
Brazil won the Democratic primary election.[31] Mendelson came in fourth place[31] with seven percent of the vote.[32] While Mendelson did not appear on the ballot for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner,he was only individual to notify the Board of Elections that he was willing to represent Single Member District 3C06,and therefore the Board certified him the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for that district.[33]
When Congress began moving more and more responsibilities from the District Government to the District of Columbia Financial Control Board,Mendelson argued against doing so,saying that only removes accountability from MayorMarion Barry.[34] Mendelson said that Mayor Barry should have enough control over the District in order for voters to be able to judge his actions.[34] "These end runs,so to speak,in a way empower Barry,because they get him off the hook and play into the voters' reliance on other people to solve our problems."[34]
In 1997,the District Department of Recreation tore down a playground in McLean Gardens because it was rotting,splintered,and dangerous.[35] Mendelson criticized the Department of Recreation for not informing residents ahead of time and for not replacing the equipment immediately.[35] A spokesperson for the Department said that the new playground equipment would be installed within two weeks.[35]
The Washington Post wrote an article detailing how the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs does not consistently enforce District laws,does not consistently collect the fees it is due,and has insufficient authority to do either.[36] Mendelson noted that residents build decks without permits and receive no penalty,and neighbors have no recourse.[36] Mendelson said that the Department could only advise residents of the law,and he advocated for giving the Department more authority to enforce the laws that it has purview over.[36] Mendelson later advocated against the Council's confirmation of W. David Watts as the agency's director,saying that the Council was not confirming the best individual for the position.[37] Mendelson continued to advocate for simplifying regulatory requirements and increasing enforcement.[38] When the Council unanimously passed a bill to reform the regulatory process,Mendelson said it was hastily written and had not been opened to enough public opinion.[39] Mendelson asked the Financial Control Board to overturn the Council's bill.[39] While Council member David Catania admitted the bill was not perfect,he also took issue with Mendelson's approach,saying it undermined District home rule.[39]
In 1998,the Financial Control Board considered repealing a law that required environmental impact statements for private projects costing more than $1 million.[40] The Financial Control Board said repealing the law would make it easier to do business in the District.[40] Mendelson opposed the repeal,saying that environmental impact statements can reveal potential public health hazards before they occur and that preparation of the statements is not sufficiently onerous to offset the potential benefits.[40] The Financial Control Board ended up increasing the threshold from $1 million to $5 million.[41]
Council of the District of Columbia
On June 14,1998,Mendelson announced he would run again for an at-large seat on the Council of the District of Columbia.[42] Mendelson said the public needed to be better informed about the incumbent Council's meetings and votes.[43] He said residents only hear from Council members when they are up for reelection.[43]
Mendelson said the District should be proactive about recruiting developers and businesses,and he thought he could play a role in doing so as a member of the Council.[44] He also said the Council should do more during debates on education.[44]
Mendelson came in first place in the Democratic primary election with 17 percent of the vote,advancing to the general election.[47]
MayorMarion Barry endorsed Mendelson's candidacy in the general election.[48] The editorial board of The Washington Post endorsed independent candidate Beverly Wilbourn and Republican incumbent David Catania in the general election.[49]
Mendelson won the general election with 37 percent of the vote.[50][51] He was sworn in on January 2,1999.[52] Because Mendelson had no seniority on the Council,Council Chair Linda W. Cropp did not assign him to chair any committees,but he was appointed as a representative to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.[53]
In 1999,Mendelson and Catania sponsored a bill to amend a law that required most contractors to hire a majority of District residents to complete contracts with the District government.[54] The new bill would reduce monetary penalties for noncompliance,and ban non-compliant companies from doing business with the District for three years.[54]
Mendelson criticized the Council for passing acts as emergency legislation,which bypasses Congressional review and lasts for a short amount of time,even though the acts were not intended to fill temporary or urgent needs.[55] Mendelson was opposed to Mayor Anthony Williams' proposal to have a children's theme park on islands in the Anacostia River.[56]
From 2005 to 2012[57] Mendelson served as the chair of the DC Council's Committee on the Judiciary. In 2011 he supported the effort to establish an elected attorney general[58][59] and pushed for an independent Forensic Science Crime Lab.[60]
Mendelson was re-elected in 2002,[61] 2006,[62] and 2010.[63]
In 2012,Kwame Brown resigned from the position of Chair of the Council.[64] In a vote of 11 to 1,the Council voted to appoint Mendelson to the position of interim Chair of the Council.[65] In a special election held in November 2012,Mendelson was elected by District voters to the position of Chair of the Council.[66] He was elected to a full term as chair in 2014.[3]
From a regional standpoint,Mendelson worked with his counterparts in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties to increase the minimum wage.[67][68]
Mendelson has received national attention for his work to bring Budget Autonomy for the District,[69][70] the city's laws on gun control[71] and same-sex marriage legalization.[72][73]
2016
In 2016 Mendelson overhauled Mayor Bowser's plan to close DC General homeless shelter and build multiple smaller shelters in its place. He shepherded Universal Paid Leave through the Council.[74][75]
2018
Mendelson ran for a third term,facing progressive challenger Ed Lazere,and won renomination with 63% of the vote.[76] He won the general election over Libertarian candidate Ethan Bishop-Henchman.[77]
In 2019,Mendelson proposed changes that would significantly limit the ability for the public to access government records through the Freedom of Information Act. Mendelson claimed that the changes were necessary to limit frivolous requests while activists insisted that the changes would prevent the public from uncovering fraud,waste,and abuses. Mendelson was also criticized for introducing the changes as a technical amendment,not separate legislation,which would require a public hearing.[78]
Mendelson was an active proponent for a no-bid,sole-source contract to launch the District's sports betting program. Mendelson insisted that a competitive bid for the $215 million contract would result in unacceptable delays of two to three years. He downplayed the inexperience of local partners and claimed that any award would risk conflicts of interest.[79] After the Council narrowly approved the bid,it was discovered that the main local partner had no employees and was led by a Maryland resident.[80]
2021
Mendelson in 2020
After 3 years of budget battles,Mendelson was finally able to fully fund the Tipped Worker Fairness Act of 2018[81] a long-sought compromise bill stemming from the battle over Initiative 77. Among the many additional regulations surrounding hospitality venue operations,this bill formed the Tipped Workers Coordinating Council within the DC government to oversee the implementation of the law and act as a formal body to make policy recommendations to the appropriate District agency.[82] Importantly this council is made up of directors of several District agencies along with 4 seats reserved for workers,2 appointed by the Mayor and 2 by the DC Council Chairman.[83] Mendelson appointed known hospitality advocate Zachary Hoffman in May 2021[82] with the other seat vacant for some time.
Carol Schwartz is an American politician and Perennial candidate from Washington,D.C.,who served as a Republican at-large member on the Council of the District of Columbia from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1997 to 2009. A five-time perennial candidate for mayor,she is the only Republican nominee since the restoration of home rule to garner more than 30 percent of the vote. She announced her fifth campaign for mayor on June 9,2014 finishing behind Muriel Bowser and David Catania. In 2015,she was appointed to the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability by Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Adrian Malik Fenty is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2011.
Vincent Bernard Orange,Sr. is a former American politician from Washington,D.C.,and former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. An attorney and a certified public accountant,Orange represented Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2007,and was an at-large member from 2011 to 2016. He lost the June 2016 Democratic primary election to Robert White. Although his term was not due to end until January 2,2017,Orange resigned from the council effective August 15,2016,in the wake of conflict of interest charges over his new employment at the Chamber of Commerce.
James McMillan Nielson Graham was a Scottish-born American politician and a member of the Council of the District of Columbia. As a Democrat he represented Ward 1 in Washington,D.C. from 1999 until 2015.
Paul Eric Strauss is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States shadow senator from the District of Columbia since 1997. He succeeded Jesse Jackson,the first person to hold the elected position of a shadow senator for Washington,D.C. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
John K. Evans III is an American lawyer and politician who served on the Council of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 2020 before resigning due to numerous ethics violations. Evans served as the chairman of the board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) until its ethics committee found he violated conflict of interest rules. A member of the Democratic Party,he represented Ward 2 of Washington,D.C. from May 1991 to January 2020,making him the D.C. Council's longest-serving lawmaker. He ran for Mayor in 1998 and 2014,but lost in the Democratic primary both times.
Michael Arrington Brown is an American politician in Washington,D.C. In 2008,he was elected an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia and served one four-year term.
The District of Columbia holds general elections every two years to fill various D.C. government offices,including mayor,attorney general,members of the D.C. Council,members of the D.C. State Board of Education,and members of its Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Additionally,citywide ballot measures may be proposed and voted on.
Michael Donald Brown is an American politician serving as the junior United States shadow senator from the District of Columbia,having served since 2007.
Muriel Elizabeth Bowser is an American politician who has been serving as the 8th and current Mayor of the District of Columbia since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the 4th ward as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2015. She is the second female mayor of the District of Columbia after Sharon Pratt,and the first woman to be reelected to that position.
Sandra C. Allen is a Democratic politician in Washington,D.C. She was elected as the Ward 8 member of the Council of the District of Columbia in 1996 and served in that position until 2005.
Harry Thomas Sr. was a Democratic politician in Washington,D.C. He was elected to represent Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia in 1986 and served three full terms until his defeat in the 1998 Democratic primary to Vincent Orange.
Patrick Mara is a former elected member of the District of Columbia Board of Education.
Kenyan R. McDuffie is an American lawyer and independent politician in Washington,D.C. He is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia since 2023,after previously representing Ward 5 from 2012 to 2023.
The Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia is a political party in the United States active in the District of Columbia. It is a recognized affiliate of the national Libertarian Party.
Anita Bonds is an American Democratic politician in Washington,D.C. She is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. She served as the Chair of the District of Columbia Democratic Party from 2006 to 2018. She worked as an executive at Fort Myer Construction,a District contractor.
Charles Allen is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party,Allen has served on the Council of the District of Columbia for Ward 6 since January 2,2015. Allen initially won office in the 2014 general election,and was re-elected in 2018.
Calvin H. Gurley is an accountant and perennial candidate living in Washington,D.C.
In 2020,a general election for Council of the District of Columbia was held on November 3,and a special election was held on June 27. Elections were held in four of the districts and one at-large. The Democratic Party retained its control of the city council and the council became majority female for the first time since the 1998 election.
On November 8,2022,a general election was held for the Council of the District of Columbia. Elections were held in four ward districts as well as for chairperson of the council and two at-large seats. Democrats remained in control of the council,electing six out of the seven positions that were on the ballot. Independent Kenyan McDuffin,formerly the Democratic councilperson for Ward 5,was also elected.
Italics indicate next-in-line of succession for states and territories without a directly elected lieutenant governor or whose lieutenant governor office is vacant:
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
