Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans will step down from the D.C. Council more than a month after councilmembers called for his expulsion amid multiple ethics investigations.
Evans, who has represented Foggy Bottom since 1992, announced he will resign next Friday in a letter addressed to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson Tuesday afternoon. He wrote that representing Ward 2 has been an “honor” and a “privilege” but did not provide a reason for his resignation.
“I believe Washington, D.C. to be the pride of the nation and I am proud of the contributions I have made in helping create a vibrant city,” he said in the letter.
Prior to his resignation, the council had recommended his removal and scheduled a final expulsion vote Jan. 21. Evans was invited Tuesday to testify on his expulsion.
D.C. law states that officials must hold a special election to replace Evans for the rest of his term on a Tuesday between March 27 and July 23. Six Ward 2 residents had announced plans to challenge Evans for the next term in a Democratic primary scheduled June 2.
Evans first fell under investigation in January 2019 for possible connections between his public seat and private business dealings. He introduced emergency legislation to benefit sign construction company Digi Media a month after the group awarded him 200,000 shares of stock.
The D.C. ethics board formally opened an investigation last January and later found that Evans violated Metro’s ethics codes. He stepped down from his position as Metro chair about a week after the board released its findings.
In July, the council voted to remove Evans from his position as the chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue as a result of the probe and opened its own ethics investigation into the councilmember. The council revealed in November that he violated the body’s ethics codes at least 11 times since 2014.
Ward 2 Citizens Recall, a group that sought to remove Evans from the council, collected thousands of signatures opposing Evans but failed to trigger a recall election.
