A majority of D.C. Council members pressured Councilman Harry Thomas to step down as chairman of a powerful committee during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, one day after he was accused of funneling to his wallet city dollars meant for kids, several council members told The Washington Examiner. Council Chairman Kwame Brown called the midafternoon meeting. When it was over, Brown would only say there would be a “decision announcement” Wednesday. Council members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said no decision was reached during the meeting, and that it was left to Thomas and Brown to decide the next step. If Thomas chooses not to step down as chairman of the Economic Development Committee, Brown could ask the council to vote him out. The committee oversees billions of dollars in city development projects.
“People were concerned about his ability to lead the committee,” one council member told The Examiner. “Council members want him to resign, and wanted him to know it.”
On Tuesday, the Ward 5 councilman said he’ll do “what’s best for the institution.” Thomas had said Monday that he wouldn’t give up his chairmanship because doing so would make him look guilty.
D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan filed a lawsuit against Thomas on Monday that alleges the councilman directed a $400,000 earmark meant for youth baseball to a nonprofit and a for-profit company Thomas ran. He then used the cash to buy a $70,000 Audi sport utility vehicle and to take golfing trips to Las Vegas and Pebble Beach, the suit says. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have confirmed they were already investigating Thomas for the same issue.
If Thomas is stripped of his chairmanship by the council, he’ll be the second councilman in a little more than a year to meet that fate. In March 2010, Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry lost his committee after a report found Barry had breached ethics rules by giving a city contract to his girlfriend.
Some council staffers pointed out that Thomas’ situation differs from Barry’s because Thomas has only been accused so far. Barry made the same argument last year, pleading with the council to hold off until after a second report was finished by the Office of Campaign Finance.
“You don’t want to be known as the person who took Mr. Barry’s due process away,” Barry pleaded with then-Council Chairman Vincent Gray.
But as one council member said Tuesday, the question of whether Thomas keeps his committee isn’t about what’s best for Thomas, it’s about the council’s image.
“When these things happen, even when they’re accusations, it drags all of us through the mud,” the council member said.
