A third local politician will challenge Ward 2 D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans for his office in 2020.
John Fanning, the chair of the Logan Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission, will join two local public figures vying to unseat Evans, who is currently under federal criminal investigation for abusing his office, the Washington City Paper reported Friday. Fanning, who has served as the Ward 2 mayoral liaison for four D.C. mayors, will officially enter the race Monday after he resigns from his position with the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development.
“I know the dynamics and inner workings of government,” Fanning told the Washington City Paper. “And I’ve developed a lot of personal relationships and friendships, and I have got a lot done in the last six terms that I served on the ANC.”
Fanning, a six-term ANC commissioner, joins Patrick Kennedy, a Foggy Bottom ANC commissioner, and Jordan Grosso, a former staffer to President Barack Obama, in contesting Evans for the Democratic party nomination. Evans, who has taken flak in recent months for misusing his position of authority to negotiate private business deals, has not faced an opponent in more than 10 years.
The Logan Circle chair has challenged Evans for the Ward 2 seat before. In 2000, Evans defeated Fanning in the Democratic primary by an almost 50-percentage-point margin.
Fanning, like Kennedy and Grossman, said he will participate in D.C.’s new Fair Elections Program. The government program matches small donations from D.C. residents to candidates at a 5-to-1 ratio if candidates refuse gifts from businesses and political action committees, agree to lower contribution limits and participate in debates.
