D.C. needs Jack Evans more than Jack needs D.C.
Washington’s Ward 2 might be the city’s most diverse political district; it’s certainly the capital’s heart of gold.
It stretches across the city’s midsection, from the Potomac River east to North Capitol Street. It encompasses Georgetown, home of the well-heeled elite; Shaw and U Street, once known as D.C.’s Black Broadway; the Golden Triangle and all of the central business district; and last, but not least, the White House.
It’s not a stretch to say Ward 2 provides the lion’s share of tax revenues that drive the District’s $5.7 billion budget. Facts are that commercial real estate property taxes account for most city revenues, and most of the city’s office buildings are downtown, in the heart of Ward 2.
Next Tuesday voters will get a chance to cast ballots for the person who will represent the ward on the city council. Would you entrust the job to a young lawyer who showed up in the capital 11 years ago to attend law school? Whose most recent accomplishment is serving as Ward 2 captain for D.C. School Beautification Day?
Bad idea.
This is my backhanded way of saying Cary Silverman, the law student turned politician, is no match for the incumbent, Jack Evans.
Message to voters in Ward 2: Vote for Evans. You will be doing a service to yourself and to the rest of the city, which now depends on
Evans as the longest-serving member of the city council. Lord knows the gang of 13 needs an adult in the room.
“It would be tragic if Jack lost,” a top aide to Mayor Adrian Fenty told me.
Jack Evans has represented Ward 2 for 17 years. He dreamed of being mayor. He ran twice but didn’t get very far. A more ambitious soul might have quit and stuck to the law business, where he could make much more money. Evans has stuck with the council, not out of greed but because he actually cares about the city and doesn’t mind the shenanigans that take place in council chambers.
Critics claim Evans is pro-development, to which I say — thank the Lord. Someone on the council has to make deals with developers. No deals, no developers, no dough for roads or schools or libraries. It’s that simple.
Evans brought baseball to town. Sure, dozens of pols and businessmen helped, but Evans was there from the start in 1986 and stuck with it until D.C. won a team and built a stadium. Shaw is reborn, Chinatown has become D.C.’s version of Times Square, downtown is being rebuilt, one office building at a time. Evans gets credit in each case.
I am vulnerable to pitches from new political leaders who want to clean house, but they must come from D.C., like Fenty or Kwame Brown or Harry Thomas Jr., or Muriel Bowser. Silverman arrived here from Brooklyn just over a decade ago. And some distracted pols needed to go — like Harold Brazil and Kevin Chavous.
Jack Evans needs to stay.
