Jonetta Rose Barras: Realigning D.C. council committees

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown swallowed the Committee on Economic Development last year after Harry Thomas Jr. was forced to step down. Thomas had been accused, and later pleaded guilty to, federal charges of stealing more than $353,000 of taxpayers’ funds intended for disadvantaged youth. Brown’s move added to his considerable power.

His Committee of the Whole already had oversight of education, property management, zoning, and the budget. Economic development came with a huge multi-billion dollar portfolio. Consolidating that kind of power in the hands of one individual — even the legislature’s chairman — seemed reckless at the time.