Jack Evans appears to qualify for public campaign funding in his bid to reclaim the D.C. Council seat he gave up amid an ethics scandal, according to new filings.
Evans’s filing showed he raised nearly $10,000 from more than 200 residents.
If regulators verify he met the requirements to qualify for public financing and this summer’s election ballots, Evans would receive $40,000 in grants and up to $50,000 in matching donations from the city treasury.
Public financing for Evans would mark a dramatic shift for the former councilman, who has relied on raising money from developers, businesses and moneyed interests over nearly three decades in office.
Three of his Democratic primary opponents have raised more money than him using the public financing program: Jordan Grossman, who is backed by local left-leaning groups, and advisory neighborhood commissioners Patrick Kennedy and Kishan Putta.
The public money Evans could receive would come from the Fair Elections Program. The District launched the program for the 2020 cycle with the intention of helping candidates run for office without relying on big donors and corporations.
Designed to incentivize grass-roots campaigns, the program provides candidates with public funding equal to five times the amount they’ve raised in small contributions from D.C. residents. Candidates cannot accept donations of more than $50 from individual donors.
Evans has long been one of the District’s most prolific fundraisers from business and real estate interests. But his political career was bruised after a series of investigations found that he abused public offices to help friends and paying consulting clients.
He resigned in January before his colleagues could expel him, and he filed to run for office again 10 days later in the June 2 primary and the June 16 special election to serve out the remainder of his term.
For his comeback bid, Evans’s donors included former council members LaRuby May and Bill Lightfoot, former Virginia congressional candidate and major Democratic donor LuAnn Bennett, Washington Nationals executive Gregory McCarthy and developer Phinis Jones.
Evans’s resignation and decision to run again also exposed a quirk in the new public financing program.
Candidates can qualify for public money for running in both the primary and the special election, even though they are just two weeks apart. That allows them to double-dip from city funds for what’s essentially the same campaign.
Mat Hanson, who was one of the leading advocates for the D.C. public financing system, said proponents did not envision candidates receiving public money for back-to-back elections.
“This is something we had honestly not anticipated,” Hanson said. “When we wrote the law, I don’t think anyone could have seen something like this coming.”
But he added that there are legitimate reasons for candidates to have access to public money for both regular and special elections, including campaign materials with different dates and voter outreach to remind them about the special election.
Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who championed public financing and has oversight over campaign finance regulators, said the law was meant to apply to both special and regular elections. He blamed Evans for the confusing situation.
“Because Jack Evans is trying to evade accountability for his repeated violations of D.C.’s ethics laws, his resignation, followed by a sudden decision to run for the very seat he vacated, has created a unique situation,” Allen said in a statement. “If anything, we should probably be evaluating whether someone should be allowed to run in a special election that their own resignation creates in the first place.”
Evans declined to comment on Allen’s statement and said Wednesday that he has not decided whether he will try to secure public money for the special election. He has raised only $200 for his special election fund, which is separate from what he’s raised for the primary.
Grossman and Putta have been certified to receive taxpayer money for their special election campaigns, while Kennedy appears to have qualified based on his latest filing.
Grossman is leading the Ward 2 council money race after raising nearly $300,000, including public funding. He said he expects to pull in an additional $50,000 from matching funds. Council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large), who is one of the furthest-left members of the council, endorsed Grossman on Tuesday.
Putta has pulled in nearly $200,000. He said he expects an additional $55,000 from the city.
Kennedy has raised about $150,000, which he said should grow by an additional $105,000 when public money for both campaign funds are included.
John Fanning, a Logan Circle-area neighborhood commissioner, has another week to collect enough contributions from D.C. residents to qualify for public money for the special election. He has raised $73,000 overall, which he said should grow to $100,000 with additional public funding.
Yilin Zhang, a health-care worker and political newcomer, has raised about $8,000 and is not seeking public financing for the special election. She stands to receive an additional $50,000 in public funds.
Brooke Pinto, a former official in the office of Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D), is the only Ward 2 council candidate who is not accepting public money. She has raised about $65,000 since declaring her candidacy a month ago, including $7,000 of her own money.
Another candidate, Daniel Hernandez, failed to raise enough contributions to qualify for public financing.
In other council races:
●Incumbent council member Brandon T. Todd (D-Ward 4) is the most prolific fundraiser of any candidate on the primary ballot. He used the traditional system to raise $450,000 — which is staggering for a ward-level council race — and has about $340,000 in the bank. His challenger, Janeese Lewis George, is using the public finance system, and her campaign says she’s on track to raise about $327,000 with matching funds.
●Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) has raised $137,000 through traditional channels with $94,000 in the bank. His top challengers’ reports were not available Wednesday afternoon.
●Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) is the only incumbent using public financing. He is set to hit nearly $100,000 in fundraising if he is certified and receives matching funds.
●Council member Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large) is sitting on more than $200,000 with no competition. He originally planned to use public financing but said he changed his mind to have enough money for both a primary and general election.