One of D.C.’s Democratic city council members, who is also the chair of the board of directors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was given 200,000 shares of stock from a company wishing to supply digital signs for the city of Washington DC.
At the same time, Councilman Jack Evans of Ward opened a consulting company. He used his position on the council and at the WMATA to push for the company, Digi Outdoor Media, to receive contracts both from the city and the WMATA.
According to financial disclosure forms, Evans made between %0,001 and 100,000 in just the first six months that it was opened.
Digi’s founder Donald E. MacCord has a long history of financial dealings with Evans, including helping the councilman gather contributions for a Hillary Clinton campaign fundraiser held on Nantucket Island at the home of one of Evans’ Georgetown constituents. Evans was co-chair of Hillary Clinton for DC in both 2008 and 2016.
Other monetary dealings included MacCord donating money to Evans’ constituent services fund, a fund normally used to help with the general welfare of persons living within the ward. Though this money is often doled out in the form of financial assistance with unpaid utility bills or other emergencies, disclosure filings showed that Evans often used his constituent services fund to buy tickets to sporting events.
Apart from financial dealings, Evans also sought to secure a summer internship for his then 19-year-old son through his relationship with MacCord, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. His son did not end up taking the internship because his interests were in art, not advertising, said Evans.
“For 20 years Jack Evans has been the gateway to every big business wanting to deal with DC gov, from Ted Lerner to Donald Trump to Leonsis to Marriott plus almost every local developer,” tweeted Jonathan O’Connell, who covers real estate for The Washington Post. “All of that may be viewed differently now.”
But, he’s a Democrat, so there will be no price to pay for corruption.