While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has been trying to push through her plan to gift Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris with $1 billion in city cash and upwards of $6 billion in tax breaks and rent discounts, D.C. council president Phil Mendelson has been adamant: Any council vote would need to wait until after hearings at the end of July to get public comments and ask team officials hard questions about the deal, and until economic analyses from the council’s budget office and the D.C. CFO’s office are complete. This was basic due diligence, and no one was going to rush him and the council into a hasty approval.
Or, you know, hell with all that, let’s just approve whatever the team is offering now:
The head of the D.C. Council has reached an agreement with the Washington Commanders to adjust the financial terms of the stadium deal, opening the door for the Council to vote on the deal in a matter of days, multiple sources familiar with the negotiations told News4.
News4 learned Wednesday morning that Chairman Phil Mendelson, who has voiced concerns about the stadium deal for months, came to an agreement with the Commanders to change the financial terms. The details of those changes are not yet clear.
Without knowing exactly how many pieces of silver Mendelson was able to pry loose from Harris, possibly over dinner, it’s hard to say how egregious this turn of events is, but it’s up there: The council is set to hold public hearings on the Commanders stadium plan next Tuesday and Wednesday, but anything said then — disclosure, I was planning to testify, as were several sports economists — now can’t have any impact on the shape of the deal, beyond possibly encouraging councilmembers to vote yes or no. Likewise, anyone working on those city studies may as well toss out their spreadsheets, as they’ll arrive too late to influence any council changes to the Commanders deal. The unanswered questions bingo card, meanwhile, remains entirely unfilled.
Bowser has said there’s a “rumor” councilmembers could vote next Friday, though Mendelson said no date has yet been set. WUSA says Mendelson — who hasn’t yet informed his own council colleagues what he’s negotiated, according to the Washington Business Journal —is expected to reveal more about what concessions he won later today; everybody stay tuned.
Seems like an F you to Trump for trying to get in the middle of it.
Yes, we can say it’s cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Trump getting involved might be the monkey paw way of killing it.
So…. not only are presidents Kings now but mayors & council chairs are as well?
Um. I’m not sure this is what the founding fathers had in mind.
DC had 14 public meetings and even more government commission meetings over more than two years to develop a city owned half block at 1617 U st into apartments (while also getting a new fire and police station facility there). But when a billionaire wants free land on top of transit station with some of the best access in the country, we get two perfunctory hearings that everyone knows won’t matter. Pretty discouraging.
Membership has its privileges.
Small editing/title fix, the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia is the “Chairman” – not a president.
The Chairman of the Council is a separately elected position here in DC.
Thank you Bryan for the correction. As a resident of DC I hate when the basics are missed like saying Bethesda is a neighborhood in the District.
Fixed, thanks!