Archives - Phil in the News
 

October 2011

10.26.11 - D.C. area's interim emergency plan: Tiny steps 'to nowhere' (Washington Post)
“This is what’s characterized the last 10 years: very hesitant moves towards progress,” Mendelson said. “9/11 was characterized by gridlock, and so was the [August] earthquake and Jan. 26: no clear message what to do, no clear message where to go. It’s kind of incremental steps to nowhere.”

10.7.11 - Sen Webb, AAA wants review of DC policy on arrest for expired tags (Fox 5)
"People have a duty, if you have a car you have a duty to have your tags current," said Mendelson ... “So people were complaining police were stopping them--tough because they should keep their tags current, on the other hand a person shouldn’t be locked up, sent down to central cell block but my understanding is that's not what happens."

 

September 2011

9.23.11 - Mendelson slams GU campus plan (The Hoya)
"I join the adjacent communities in expressing serious concern that the university's proposed plan does not adequately address and mitigate [the adverse impact to surrounding neighborhoods of enrollment increase]," he wrote. "I urge the Zoning Commission to reject the plan as filed and protect the quality of life in our communities."

 

August 2011

8.24.11 - Charlie Sheen's police escort in DC under investigation (Chicago Sun Times)
“It especially looks bad given that citizens are concerned about cutbacks in the size of the force,” Mendelson said. “Not only is it inappropriate to be escorting celebrities, it just amazes me that somebody who was the recipient of this would then go and broadcast it the way he did.”

 

July 2011

 

June 2011

6.20.11 - Fight brews over firefighter pregnancy policy (ABC 7)
D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson is hoping to get the policy reversed and disputes the idea that moving the women from the truck to the desk would increase overtime costs.“MPD doesn't do this, and Fire and EMS didn't used to do this, so I think they're on thin ice,” he said.

6.1.11 - DC Chief Toxicologist: urine samples not a reliable source of blood alcohol content (Fox 5)
"We basically wasted a year with nothing happening other than this program, which is key to drink driving enforcement just going into decline, but it looks like finally the government is turning this around.  I wish it would happen faster," Mendelson said.

6.1.11 - No DC alcohol breath tests until March (Examiner)
During a D.C. Council hearing on Wednesday, though, all three agencies said they don't expect to have the breath-test equipment back on the street until March.  "Basically, we wasted a year getting to this point," said [Mendelson], who heads the committee that oversees the three agencies. "There's every indication that we've lost our deterrent for drunk drivers.

 

May 2011

5.27.11 - Mayor Gray looking to boost executive pay scales (Washington City Paper)
[Mendelson] said [interim DCHR Director] Stokes' analysis of why the city should keep paying these salaries was "bush league."

5.25.11 - DC budget passes with combined reporting, muni tax (Washington Business Journal)
But Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-At large, warned his colleagues will “rue the day” they repealed the exemption, as D.C. residents on fixed incomes, those with tax free, out-of-state municipal bonds in their portfolios, will be outraged.  “We’ll be revisiting this very soon,” Mendelson said.

5.19.11 - DC medical examiner's office loses accreditation (Washington Post)
[Mendelson], who oversees the office and other public safety agencies, said he was “concerned” about the loss of accreditation.  “In terms of prestige, it’s a step backwards,” he said.  But  [he] expressed confidence in [Chief Medical Examiner] Pierre-Louis, crediting her for turning around what had been a trouble-wracked agency...".

5.19.11 - Medical Examiner Loses Key Approval (Washington Times)
[Mendelson] said defense attorneys may use the lack of accreditation [of the Chief Medical Examiner] in court as leverage, but "that only goes so far," he said.  "Do you win because you're board-certified? Probably not. Do we lose a case because we're not? Probably not," he added. "But would the prosecutor rather say we're accredited? Yes."

5.18.11 - Police escorts given to celebs in DC (Bloomberg Businessweek)
"Most troubling is (the) lack of a consistent story," Mendelson said. "How many conflicting explanations have we gotten from officials regarding what is the truth?"

 

April 2011

4.27.11 - Orange's win may add to likelihood of stalemates on DC Council (Washington Post)
Mendelson said the results show that Northwest residents are anxious.  “Anyone who dismisses what is going on is going to be in trouble” politically, said Mendelson, adding that Northwest residents are tired of “government as usual.”

4.23.11 - Charlie Sheen's Police Escort Investigated in DC (ABC)
"It especially looks bad given that citizens are concerned about cutbacks in the size of the force," Mendelson said. "Not only is it inappropriate to be escorting celebrities, it just amazes me that somebody who was the recipient of this would then go and broadcast it the way he did."

4.22.11 - Charlie Sheen Granted 80mph Police Motorcade in Washington (Telegraph UK)
"Citizens of the District don't want to see their police force used to escort private citizens and that Charlie Sheen, of all people, is getting a personal escort," Phil Mendelson [said].

4.13.11 - DC Mayor Defends Proposed Police Budget (Washington Post)
“If you do the math, you’ll find that hiring just 120 officers means we don’t keep up,” Mendelson said. “If that happens, it will affect deployment. Something will suffer.”

4.7.11 - DC Councilman Phil Mendelson to meet with Rep. Danny Davis to discuss gun violence in the District (Washington Post)
Mendelson’s chief of staff, Denise Tolliver, says both elected leaders wanted to meet to discuss the problem of gun violence in the city.

4.1.11 - New concerns over shrinking police force (MyFoxDC)
“We are going to do what we can to make sure the resources are put to continuing recruitment. We don't want to have gaps in recruitment that have long term consequences, plus there is a commitment to maintaining the strength of the department above 3800 [," Mendelson said].

4.1.11 - DC Mayor unveils big program cuts and tax hikes in first budget plan (Washington Post)
[Mendelson] said the public is not aware that, under Fenty, the budget was structured in a way he described as inappropriate. “My initial reaction is that Vince has done the right thing in trying to right-size the budget,” he said.

 

March 2011

3.31.11 - Tax increases likely in Gray's budget, sources say (Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson's eye will go straight to the police department, he told The Examiner.  "The police department has seen cuts in the last several years, and we're at the point at which we can no longer sustain reductions," Mendelson said.  

3.15.11 - Councilman pushing for 'living wage' from big retailers (Washington Examiner - blog)
"This would protect the community from a race to the bottom in terms of wages," Mendelson said.

3.1.11 - D.C. attorney general's office vows new timeline for restoring breath testing (Washington Post)
The promise came as Mendelson (D-At Large), who heads the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, vented frustration that a year after inflated testing results were discovered in drunken-driving convictions, there still is no clear process for getting accurate machines back in service.  "This is quite disturbing," Mendelson said.

 

February 2011

2.28.11 - D.C. officers say peers now war of making DWI arrests (Examiner)
"I feel like we're going forward with one hand tied behind our back," said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D at-large and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

2.25.11 - D.C. alcohol breath test program faulty for more than a decade, documents say (Examiner)
Meanwhile, at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson has called a hearing on the dozens of drunken driving cases dropped by the attorney general in recent weeks.[  ] "A similar hearing was held last July 14th and nothing has changed, except to get worse" said Mendelson, who chair the council's public safety committee. 

 

January 2011

1.6.11 - Gray takes the helm (Informer)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) [said] "D.C. citizens have the same rights as the 50 states have" and that D.C. voting rights should be reinvigorated.

1.4.11 - D.C. considering taking crime lab away from police control (DC Examiner)
"[MPD] should not run the forensic lab," Mendelson said. "Police are collecting evidence, then analyze it and then testify. It's more credible if police collect the evidence, give it to scientist and then have the scientist testify."

 

December 2010

12.21.19 - D.C. Council ends Vincent Gray era and year with a flourish (Washington Post)
"The legislature has strengthened," said council member Phil Mendelson[At Large]. "Our response during the Fenty administration was to pass laws and impose new requirements on budgeting, financial planning and policy analysis."

 

November 2010

11.10.10 - D.C. sues Peebles over $1.2 million in alleged overbilling (DC Examiner)
Phil Mendelson [said] the entire situation could have been avoided if the city kept better track of its bills.  "Anytime the city has a bill, it should be sent to an auditor to make sure its accurate. ... It's a systemic problem[.]  Now, in a high-profile dramatic way, we're trying to get back what's owed," he said, noting that he's not excusing Peebles if he did, in fact, overbill the city.

 

October 2010

10.19.10 - D.C. Council seeks to name young, violent offenders (DC Examiner)
"This is not so much about the juveniles being held accountable as it is about the government being held accountable because there's less secrecy to hide behind," Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, told The Washington Examiner.

10.18.10 - Neighborhood firefighters celebrate centennial (GW Hatchet)
Mendelson said it was nice to be able to say thanks to the firefighters, and noted that, "the firefighters had to go into their own pockets to pull this off."

10.14.10 - Vince Gray: It's all about Nickles (Loose Lips)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson says he introduced the proposal before Nickles was even nominated because it's a good idea on its own. But, he adds, "one could say the council is willing to go there" because of their low opinion of Nickles.

10.7.10 - Bill Would Cut D.C. Early-voting Period in Half (DC Examiner)
"We want to expand access to voting, but on the other hand I believe elections are about focusing on issues and candidates, which is better serviced when the vote is at one point in time," [Mendelson] said.

10.4.10 - Mendelson Defends D.C. Police for Pot Bust (DC Wire)
"It is the law, and the District of Columbia is not the place where it can lead the country in legalizing marijuana, so the police are doing what they are suppose to do, " said Mendelson, who has oversight over the police department.

10.4.10 - Fenty Freezes D.C. Spending as City Targets $175 Million Budget Gap (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson [ ] said he thought the council would "look at spending" before it considered a tax increase.

 

September 2010

9.22.10 - D.C. Fire Department Busts Overtime Budget By $4 Million (DC Examiner)
"We're going to ask for a road map from them to which we can hold them accountable in the coming months," Mendelson told The Examiner.  [ ] Mendelson said that despite the new regulations, there's still room for the department to overspend.  If it does so, [ ]"we'll be happy to look at additional limitations as we go through the year."

9.20.10 - Nickles Under Investigation (DC Examiner)
The referral to bar counsel is serious," Mendelson said. "Nickles needs to come forward and explain what's going on."

9.20.10 - D.C.'s Mendelson to Unveil Concussion Bill (Washington Post (Blog))
A D.C. Council member says he will introduce a bill that would require kids to be examined by a professional if they are suspected of getting a concussion while playing a sport.  Council member Phil Mendelson [ ] will join with the general manager of the Washington Redskins and others to introduce the bill at a news conference today.

 

August 2010

8.18.10 - Gun-toting Soccer Moms a Scary Thought in D.C. Area, But Not Out West (Washington Post)
"The national debate about guns just misses that they are very different cultures," Mendelson said of the District and much of the rest of the country. "It's like a psychology, a mind-set, as to how people as a group think about guns."

8.17.10 - D.C. to Reconsider Picking Up the Event Tab (Washington Times)
"We can't afford to have fees waived for everybody [and] we can't afford to look the other way," [Mendelson] said. "What are the criteria? I will look at it … because in my view it's not fair."

8.13.10 - Marathon Organizer's CEO Gets Hefty, City-Subsidized Paychecks (City Paper)
“They’re pretty comfortable, and here we are waiving fees,” says Mendelson, who heads the council’s public safety committee. “It’s just hard to defend.”

8.11.10 - Feds: D.C. Police Have Lost Evidence in More Than 200 Rape Cases (DC Examiner)
"There are real people and real victims behind these case numbers and real criminals who are not being caught," Mendelson said.

8.9.10 - Amid Metro Brawl, Family's Night Out Turns Into "Pandemonium" (Washington Post)
"I think the police should be looking at a very focused strategy targeted on that problem," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson [ ], who heads the public safety committee.

8.3.10 - Council Rejects Fenty's Bid to Extend Summer Jobs (DC Wire)
Council member Phil Mendelson ... called it "political theater" and said he expected the administration to characterize the council's vote as voting against youths. But he said the council had to stick with the budget. "He's coming here to try to get bailed out of fiscal irresponsibility," Mendelson said.

 

July 2010

7.28.10 - Report: DYRS Could Have Kept Alleged Killer Behind Bars (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson said the rapid succession of DYRS heads has caused "enormous instability."

7.19.10 - Jury Orders District to Pay $900,000 to 4 Police Officers in Retaliation Case (Washington Post)
Noting the rise of whistleblower complaints, [Mendelson stated] "[t]he bigger question to me is why the government continues to litigate measures which cost tens of thousands of dollars, when it would be better to just settle these cases."

7.13.10 - Councilman Proposes Less Secrecy About Violent Juveniles (NBC)
"The intent of the bill is to pierce the veil of confidentially, to pierce the veil of secrecy that surrounds the juvenile justice system," [Mendelson] said.

7.6.10 - Council Questions Parks Contract Settlement (Washington Post)
"Your decision to settle at this particular time appears to be poor judgment and motivated by something other than the best interests of the District of Columbia," [Councilmembers Mendelson, Cheh, and Thomas] wrote in a letter to Nickles .... It goes on to suggest that the agreement was signed "for no other reason than to bring this matter rapidly to a close."

7.5.10 - Some D.C. Residents Say It's Too Hard to Get a Gun (NPR Morning Edition)
"For the Metropolitan Police Department, when they find somebody with a gun, if the person doesn't have a registration certificate, which is typically the case, they can arrest the person on the spot because they know that person has an illegal gun," Mendelson says.

7.3.10 - Should Maryland Open Juvenile Records? (Baltimore Sun)
"I believe that confidentiality has made it more difficult to hold the system accountable," ...Mendelson said. "...  But more broadly, if the system is more accountable, then I hope the system will make better decisions. And that will benefit the kids more."

7.1.10 - D.C.'s Anti-Ambulance-Chasers Law Not Working, Trial Lawyers and Cops Say (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson pressed the police department to tighten up its controls of police accident reports and initiate investigations into possible violations of District law. "I'm really troubled by the fact that ambulance chasing continues." Mendelson said. "It's not fair to the victims."

 

June 2010

6.29.10 - Proposal Would Identify Youths After Second Serious Crime (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the public safety committee, is set to propose legislation this week that would make public the identity of any juvenile offender after a second serious crime. ... "It's about the community being able to get some information and the responsible government agencies having to answer for their actions," Mendelson said.

6.2.10 - D.C. Voters to Decide on Election of Attorney General (Washington Post)
The city's chief legal officer needs to represent the public's interest and not any particular branch of government," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "This makes the AG more independent."

6.1.10 - City Council Postpones Vote on New Zoning Commission Chair (City Paper)
D.C. City Council voted to put off its decision on the confirmation of developer Stanley Wall to chair the Zoning Commission… , who would replace esteemed civic figure Anthony Hood … .  “There is no evidence of any community activism on his part,” Mendelson said of Wall. “There would be a resounding silence on the zoning commission with his appointment.”

 

May 2010

5.21.10 - Slaying Case Calls Attention to D.C. Court Agency (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said the lack of transparency and accountability plagues many part of the criminal justice system in the District. "It's not just the juvenile justice system," he said.

5.21.10 - Mendelson Aims to Derail Fenty Zoning Commission Nominee (Washington Business Journal)
“I don’t see the zoning experience,” Mendelson told the Washington Business Journal. “He is taking the place of Anthony Hood, who held what many consider to be the community representative seat and Mr. Wall is not community representative. And Mr. Wall is involved in private development; we don’t need more of that on the Zoning Commission. And Mr. Wall does significant business with the District government. I’m troubled by that.”

5.20.10 - D.C. Council, Fire Chief Battle Over Overtime Pay (DC Examiner)
Mendelson, who has been an outspoken critic of the department's chronic overtime problems … said there's no need for any service cuts related to a reduction in overtime pay. "It's a management issue," Mendelson said.  

5.19.10 - Council Balks at Increases to Slew of Fees (DC Examiner)
The D.C. Council on Tuesday came close to passing Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposed increases for more than 600 fees and fines -- including a tenfold increase for some driving tickets -- before having second thoughts and telling the mayor to do it himself. "If you want to nickel-and-dime residents ... then take full responsibility for it," said Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large.

5.6.10 - Arrest of 3 Teens in Brian Betts’ Death Puts Scrutiny on D.C. Juvenile Justice System (Washington Post)
Communication and coordination are lacking, said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council's public safety committee. "It's not working, because the agencies are not working together as well as they need to," he said. "It's a mess."

5.5.10 - D.C. Council Blocking Immigration Enforcement Program (Washington Examiner)
The Metropolitan Police Department has its hands full dealing with violent crimes in the District, and the issue of immigration is not the MPD's responsibility," Mendelson told the Washington Examiner. He also expressed concern that the Secure Communities program "lends itself to racial profiling" because it allows police to initiate an immigration check on a person before they've been convicted of a crime. 

5.4.10 - D.C. Council: Boycott Arizona, Don’t Share Arrest Data With Feds (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a lead sponsor of the bill, said an undocumented immigrant should not be subject to deportation when they may ultimately be cleared of the crime they were picked up for.

5.2.10 - Mendelson Blasts Fire Chief Over Budget, Urges Sanction (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said that the fire department's budget is out of control and is breaking federal spending laws. In a letter written last week, he urged the finance office to "act aggressively" and "instill financial discipline." "In short, the chief of the fire and EMS department has made decisions that violate anti-deficiency, has failed to manage overtime and allowed its abuse or misuse and has chosen not to adopt strategies that would reduce costs," Mendelson said in a letter to Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi. "If an agency director cannot be sanctioned in a case like this, then the law is toothless."

 

April 2010

4.27.10 - Bill Opposes D.C. Police Joining Fingerprint Program (DC Examiner)
Council members Phil Mendelson and Jim Graham are sponsoring a bill that seeks to uphold the city's policy that local police stay out of immigration enforcement …

4.20.10 - House Abandons Vote Bill for US Capital (ABC News)
"We cannot walk into a stick-up job by the NRA, and the gun amendment would have been a Faustian bargain at the expense of public safety," said council member Phil Mendelson.

4.20.10 - Hoyer: D.C. Voting Rights Bill Likely Dead for This Session (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, will introduce a resolution at the council meeting stating that Congress "must not adopt" the gun amendment if the bill advances.

4.12.10 - Fenty’s Budget Plan Under Fire (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson … says he has several priorities that aren't necessarily aligned with the mayor's, chief among them a fiscally sound budget that does "as little damage as possible to law enforcement," belt-tightening, leadership from the executive branch and more help for offenders and ex-offenders.

4.8.10 - D.C. Police Regularly Sealing Off Streets Near Ballou (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chairs the public safety committee. He said he has no objection to "temporary" school safety zones, as long as "there's a credible threat of violence."

4.6.10 - Washington Firehouse Could Be Left Unstaffed (DC Examiner)
“I think it sounds like a risky proposition, that it's a backhanded way of closing a firehouse without closing it," said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson…

4.5.10 - Alleged D.C. Shooters Let Go Days Before Rampage (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said that last week's violence "shows the cracks in the system."  "One of the things that needs to happen -- and I don't know if it's on D.C. police or the U.S. Attorney's Office -- they need to be checking court records and see if they've got a guy they can get off the streets," Mendelson said. "You look at all of these folks: They have these long criminal records. Why are we not getting them off the street?"

4.2.10 - Fenty Proposes Raft of Fees, Job Cuts (DC Examiner)
[Fenty proposes] increasing the E-911 tax -- a monthly charge on every phone line in the District -- from 76 cents to $1.15, … Councilman Phil Mendelson vowed to oppose the increase, as he has done successfully for nearly a decade.  "Looks like a political budget to me," Mendelson said.

 

March 2010

3.24.10 - In DC, Grow Your Own at Home? (DC Examiner)
But Councilman Phil Mendelson, judiciary committee chairman, said the city must not "follow the mistakes of Los Angeles, which opened the door so wide it was tantamount to legalized pot."

3.23.10 - DC Halts Plans to Expand Police Force (DC Examiner)
The District has the most police officers per capita of any major city...said Councilman Phil Mendelson, public safety committee chairman. The MPD has never studied how many officers are needed on the force, Mendelson said, and it ought to.

3.23.10 - Medical Marijuana Bill Will Likely Allow Growing (WTOP/AP)
Council member Phil Mendelson, who chairs a committee with oversight over the bill, said Tuesday that a so-called "home cultivation" provision was being discussed. Mendelson's committee...could recommend language for the full council to adopt as early as next week.

3.18.10 - Conduct of DC Fire and EMS Department Probed (Washington Informer)
When Mendelson pressed Rubin on whether supervisory personnel will be disciplined regarding the Stephens’ incident, the Chief repeatedly said that the matter “was under investigation.”

3.17.10 - DC Fire/EMS Overtime Way, Way Over Budget (DC Examiner)
"I think the pressure's getting turned up on him," Mendelson said of Rubin. "The facts are making it increasingly difficult for a reasonable person not to see that there's a management problem."

3.14.10 - DC Fire Chief: EMS 'Not Broken' Despite 'Total Failures' (DC Examiner)
The District's EMS system, the chief said, "is not broken." But nearly four years after the IG report's release, Mendelson said, "I think to a lot of people it still rings true."

3.12.10 - DC Fire Chief 'Shocked' By Toddler's Death (DC Examiner/AP)
"That's not supposed to happen...there's a breakdown in supervision and quality control," Mendelson said. "I'm dissatisfied with the situation regarding EMS quality; the chief did not allay my dissatisfaction."

3.11.10 - DC Mayor Okays Smoking Permit for Two Events in District (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who introduced the 2006 smoking ban along with Fenty, said the mayor's seal of approval was "disappointing given his past record and the thin justification for making these exceptions."

3.4.10 - Same Sex Marriage in DC Follows Advocates' Long Fight (Washington Post)
"To push too far, too fast would have created a backlash that would have been hard to overcome," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who initiated many measures to add rights for domestic partners.

3.3.10 - Catholic Charities Limits Same-Sex Couple Benefits (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the Catholic Charities choice struck him "as unnecessary, given that other archdioceses have been able to continue to provide benefits."

 

February 2010

2.28.10 - Delays Hamper City's Striving to Cut Costs, Raise Revenue (DC Examiner)
"There were promised initiatives that were going to save millions of dollars, and halfway through the fiscal year they haven't done squat," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.

2.26.10 - Problems With DC's Breath Alcohol Machines Throw DWI Cases Into Chaos (DC Examiner)
"We need machines that work in order to get drunk drivers behind bars," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. "The city needs to fix this quickly -- if not sooner."

2.24.10 - DC Panel Approves Fenty Nominee for Homeland Security Chief (Washington Post)
Some council members had initial concerns, but Mendelson, who is known as a Fenty critic, said they were swayed by Williams's enthusiasm and the overwhelming support she drew at her confirmation hearing.

2.21.10 - Medical Marijuana in DC: The Council Gets it Right (Washington Post - Opinion)
With the ban lifted, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), along with council members David A. Catania (I-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), has introduced legislation to implement Initiative 59. It's a sound proposal that tracks the design and intent of the original initiative...

2.19.10 - Metro Official Says Fenty Should Have Treated Snowstorms as a Disaster (Washington Post)
"How much of this was the District government saying, 'We don't need help. We can do it ourselves'?" asked Mendelson, who said he thinks the city should have treated the storms as it would a hurricane.

2.19.10 - Fenty Offers Cuts, Strategies to Bridge $200M Gap (DC Examiner)
"This just seems like gimmicks to me," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. "This isn't dealing with the problem. Nobody's home. Nobody's taking responsibility for adhering to the budget."

2.19.10 - Snow Response Garners A Wintry Mix of Opinions (Voice of the Hill)
Council member Phil Mendelson also found the condition of a number of streets unacceptable. "Some people on neighborhood streets waited almost a week for a snowplow," he said Monday. "And we lost many of the curb lanes to snow, which continues to be the case on many streets..."

2.12.10 - Prosecutors Call for Stronger PCP Penalties (DC Examiner)
Prosecutors are backing DC Councilman Phil Mendelson's bid to increase possession of liquid PCP to a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

2.9.10 - Fenty Orders 100M Cut From DC Budget (DC Examiner)
Fenty should be held accountable for failing to rein in costs, like fire department overtime, and for loading his fiscal 2010 budget submission with unsuccessful savings initiatives, at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson said Monday.

2.3.10 - Council Clears Way to Allow Votes to Elect DC's Top Lawyer (Washington Post)
District voters, instead of the mayor, would be allowed to pick the city's top lawyer, under legislation approved yesterday by the D.C. Council.  The election would not take place until 2014 and would not apply to Nickles, according to council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the bill's sponsor.

 

January 2010

1.28.10 - DC Mayor Fenty's Associates Bypassed Rules in Donating Rescue Vehicles (Washington Post)
A friend and a staffer of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's skirted procurement rules when they orchestrated the delivery of a surplus city firetruck and ambulance to the Dominican Republic last year...

1.28.10 - Council: No Laws Broken in Firetruck Gift, But Policies Ignored (DC Examiner)
The investigation could have been avoided had the council gotten answers from the executive immediately, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson. But the council’s probe, he said, was repeatedly “frustrated” by the attorney general.

1.26.10 - DC Councilmember Questions 911 Response to Armed Robbery (Washington Post)
The tardy arrival of police probably helped the robbers get away, Mendelson said. "The desired response is for the police to get there immediately when there is a 911 call for a robbery in progress. That did not happen," he said.

1.25.10 - Many Workers Unaware of D.C. Sick-Leave Law Passed in 2008 (Washington Post)
"The law is ineffective if workers are unaware of their rights," D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) wrote in a Jan. 6 letter to Department of Employment Services Director Joseph P. Walsh.

1.22.10 - Little Accord on School, Transit Safety Zones for DC (DC Examiner)
"Both of these bills attempt to get at a problem of violence that involves minors, in particular minors who are attempting to attend school," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, public safety chairman.

1.21.10 - DC Fire Running Millions Over Budget (DC Examiner)
"I don't see how this cycle's getting any better," at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. Council's public safety panel, said Wednesday during his latest oversight hearing into pay and overtime problems at FEMS. "Where's the plan that shows how that number's going to be reduced?"

1.19.10 - DC Council Bill Proposes Up to 5 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries (Washington Post)
"We have seen an increasing number of states that have moved in the direction of permitting medical marijuana, so we are moving forward," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

1.13.10 - Circulator Would Cross Potomac, Not Anacostia (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson disagreed. The council should not wait to bring the Circulator to  poorer neighborhoods, he said. "People are tired of waiting," he said. "They want service."

1.12.10 - Terror Threat to City Water (DC Examiner)
The switch is "absolutely a good sign" for homeland security in the nation's capital, said Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee. But a broader fear remains: Dangerous materials are regularly transported through the District by rail, Mendelson said, and the federal government is far too secretive with that information.

1.9.10 - Man Who Reported Jail Beating Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charge (DC Agenda)
Burrows’ jail beating allegation has prompted LGBT activists and D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) to call on the city’s Department of Corrections to give a full account of the incident. Mendelson chairs a Council committee with jurisdiction over the jail.

1.8.10 - Fired DC Paramedic in Rosenbaum Case Ordered Back on the Job (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who helped lead the rescue agency's reforms, said Thursday's decision was a disaster. "No one benefits from this, except Ms. Walker -- who gets four years' back pay for not working -- and her lawyers," Mendelson said.

1.6.10 - DC Council Moves to Curb Sidewalk Smoking, Youths' Access to Tobacco (Washington Post)
"We are trying to reduce underage smoking, so we are putting in a penalty," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

1.6.10 - DC Jail Guards Accused of Beating Gay Inmate (DC Agenda)
When informed about Burrows’ alleged jail beating, D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chairs the Council committee that oversees the jail and Department of Corrections, said he, too, would make inquires to learn more about what happened.

1.5.10 - DC Council Seeks to Make Attorney General an Elected Job (Washington Post)
Nickles "is a typical spokesman for the mayor," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the committee and a co-sponsor of the bill. "The office has repeatedly issued letters as if they were independent opinions but clearly state the political positions of the mayor's administration."

1.5.10 - DC Council Takes Up Tighter Smoking Restrictions (DC Examiner)
"I think we can't get any further unless you want to ban smoking on sidewalks," at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee of Public Safety and the Judiciary, said last month.

1.4.10 - DC Cops Uncover Multiple Rapists (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, a longtime advocate for a modern crime lab, said the DNA matches "show the importance of the technology." "It'll make a big difference to lock these people up," he said.

 

December 2009

12.28.09 - DC Eyes Stiffer Penalties for PCP Possession (DC Examiner)
[Mendelson] drafted legislation before the Council that would increase possession of liquid PCP to a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.  "When an individual is arrested with liquid PCP, it's difficult for the U.S. attorney to get a conviction because the quantity is so small..."

12.27.09 - Top DNA Doctor Transferred Out of DC Police Amid Turmoil (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, a longtime advocate for a modern crime lab, says the Fenty administration is dithering. Fenty's predecessor, Anthony Williams, had promised to have a crime lab up and running by now, Mendelson said.  "That's not my opinion," he said. "The timelines don't lie."

12.18.09 - DC Councilmember to Probe Fire Deputy's Pension Agreement (Washington Times)
"The impression I have is that a special agreement was worked out for somebody high up to cheat the rule regarding retirement," said Mr. Mendelson, chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

12.18.09 - Council Gives Final Approval to Marriage Bill (DC Agenda)
“Today is the final step in a long march toward equality in the District of Columbia,” said Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chairs the committee that shepherded the bill through the Council.

12.16.09 - DC Council Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the committee that oversaw the legislation, said he was unable to reach an agreement with the church that would not lead to discrimination against same-sex couples, but church and city officials said they will continue their talks.

12.15.09 - DC Council Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill (Washington Times)
"Today is the final step in a long march toward equality," said Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

12.15.09 - Council Lashes Fenty Over "Questionable" Bonuses (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said the bonuses were "embarrassing."  "To see somebody who already has a big salary getting a fat bonus on top and then turning around and [firing] employees is a bad picture," he said.

12.15.09 - Final Vote Victory (Metro Weekly)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said more than 200 churches have expressed support for the measure.  ''Although some have said that this legislation restricts religious freedom, I would argue just the opposite, that it expands religious freedom.''

12.14.09 - DC Deputy Fire Chief Also Works in Florida (Washington Times)
"It doesn't sound right to me," said Mr. Mendelson, who chairs the Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. "It sends the wrong message to the others in the rank and file."

12.14.09 - DC Councilmembers Propose No Loitering Zones Near Schools (DC Examiner)
"This legislation is critical not just for public safety but for public education because it will ensure a greater likelihood that students can come to or leave school safely and not have to spend the school day in fear," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson.

12.14.09 - Despite Ban, Fenty Bonuses Keep Rolling (DC Examiner)
"The decision of the council was, with the economy and with reductions in force, the government should not be favoring a few," [Mendelson] told The Examiner. "I do know the council has found on issue after issue that regardless of what the law says, the attorney general finds a convenient interpretation to do otherwise."

12.4.09 - Council Casts "Historic" Vote for Marriage (DC Agenda)
“This bill is the next step, a logical step, in the progress we have made in significantly expanding our domestic partnership law over the last 17 years,” said Phil Mendelson, chair of the Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary, which shepherded the bill through the Council.

12.2.09 - DC Council Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill (Washington Post)
"Marriage is just not about two individuals who want to marry. It requires that . . . every third party recognize that couple being married," Mendelson said. "Exemptions are a very troublesome slope because it undoes what we are trying to do here."

12.2.09 - Head of DC's Ambulance Service Calls It Quits (DC Examiner)
"It says that the EMS function in the department is in disarray," Mendelson said. "It belies all the promises we've heard from the chief and the mayor in turning EMS around."

12.1.09 - Violence at DC Charter School Prompts More Police (Washington Post)
"The proof is in the pudding. They actually have to make the officers available," said Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who oversees the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. He questioned why changes aren't being made immediately.

12.1.09 - DC Gay Marriage Bill Passes First Vote (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson, chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, held more than 18 hours of public testimony on the subject...

12.1.09 - DC Council Votes to Legalize Gay Marriage (DC Examiner)
"There are some in opposition who have said that marriage equality is not a civil right," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who shepherded the bill through his judiciary committee. "I completely disagree with this. Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man."

 

November 2009

11.28.09 - Few Roadblocks Remain to Gay Marriage in DC (Wall Street Journal)
"The majority doesn't get to vote on whether a minority has equality," said council member Phil Mendelson.

11.24.09 - Lacking Liaison (Metro Weekly)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chairs the committee, was the only councilmember on the bench for the entirety of the approximately five-hour hearing.

11.22.09 - DC Charter Schools Put Out a Call for Protection (Washington Post)
"It's clearly a serious problem. In my view, a public school is entitled to public safety protection, regardless of whether it is a DCPS public school or a public charter school," [Mendelson] said.

11.20.09 - DC Official Push for Compromise on Catholic Charities (Washington Post)
Meanwhile, D.C. Council members David A. Catania (I-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) sent Wuerl a letter Wednesday urging that Catholic Charities embrace a policy similar to one in effect at Georgetown University.

11.19.09 - DC Council Proposes Transit Stop 'Safety Zone' (DC Examiner)
The council, in prior years, has adopted enhanced penalties for violent crimes against minors and transit officers and for threatening, stalking or assaulting public officials and their families. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee, shepherded each of those bills through the council...

11.19.09 - Open-House Anger (Metro Weekly)
The audience, which included Councilmembers Michael Brown (I-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)...deflated those figures, however, with questions about the numbers of officers on the force -- 4,050 -- meaning .6 percent of the force asked for GLLU training.

11.17.09 - DC Elections Board Rejects Gay Marriage Initiative (DC Examiner)
"Marriage is a fundamental civil right," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, whose judiciary committee approved the bill last week.

11.13.09 - Lawmakers Defy Church Pressure on DC Gay Marriage (AP)
"Allowing individual exemptions opens the door for anyone to discriminate based on assertions of religious principle," Mendelson said. "Let's not forget that during the civil rights era, many claimed separation of the races was ordained by God."

11.13.09 - Catholic Schools to Buck City Bill (Washington Times)
"The bottom line is the Catholic Church opposes the bill," Mr. Mendelson said. "They have embarked on a campaign of kicking up one issue after another."

11.13.09 - The Catholic Church vs the DC Council (DC Examiner)
"I don't want to be cavalier in dismissing them," he said. "On that other hand, I don't think the council will legislate by threats." He added, "I certainly don't want to drive anybody out of business. But equality is equality."

11.12.09 - Catholic Church Gives DC Ultimatum (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said the council "will not legislate based on threats."  The problem with the individual exemption is anybody could discriminate based on their assertion of religious principle," Mendelson said...

11.12.09 - New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage (New York Times)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, said the city would not, based on threats, broaden the exemptions the law offers to religious groups.

11.12.09 - Questions About Religious Freedoms in Gay Marriage Bill Remain (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, judiciary chairman, said the limited exemption was as far as the council should go. Alexander’s amendment, he said, ran counter to the intent of the legislation, “which is to establish under the law equality for same-sex couples.”

11.11.09 - Gay Marriage Advances in DC Council (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the chairman of the committee, called the legislation "both simple and monumental." The bill would allow any two legally qualified individuals to marry, "regardless of gender."

11.10.09 - Changes in Marriage Bill Offers Churches Leeway (Washington Post)
"It was just clear, as a result of the testimony and as a result of the result of the public process, there were some fixes that needed to be made," said Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

11.6.09 - DC Fire Department Again Exceeds Overtime Budget (DC Examiner)
"There are choices being made and they're choices to spend rather than live within the budget," [Mendelson] said. The committee has tentatively planned another oversight hearing in December.

11.6.09 - DC Same-Sex Marriage Supporters Press Case (Washington Blade)
Mendelson said the hearing record would be left open until 5 p.m. Nov. 9 and anyone wishing to submit written testimony could do so up until that time. He said his committee would hold a markup hearing Nov. 10 to consider possible changes to the bill before voting to send the bill to the full Council. He said the Council’s “first reading” vote on the bill would take place Dec. 1.

11.6.09 - Stein Club Honors Local Activists (Washington Blade)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) with the Justice Award. As chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary, Mendelson has shepherded sweeping domestic partnership legislation and a bill recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. More recently, he has presided over hearings on a bill to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the District.

11.1.09 - Infighting and Lawsuit Likely Consequences of Mass Firings (DC Examiner)
"The council is struggling with how to handle the arrogance," said Councilman Phil Mendelson. "We're struggling with, on the one hand there ought to be a consequence and on the other hand what is in the best interest of the citizens and the school children. It's finding the right balance."

 

October 2009

10.30.09 - Emotions Run High as Council Hears Marriage Testimony (Washington Blade)
In other cases, Mendelson consoled same-sex couples who began crying as they testified about their love for one another and their strong desire to cement their relationships through marriage.

10.27.09 - Same-Sex Union Foes Seek Ballot Initiative to Define Marriage (DC Examiner)
...a citywide vote on the matter could violate the Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation..."Certain people could get married ... while other's can't because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender," Councilman Phil Mendelson explained to the board.

10.27.09 - DC Council Hears From Both Sides In Marriage Debate (DC Examiner)
Nearly 270 people signed up to testify before the judiciary committee, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson -- roughly the first 100 speaking Monday and the rest on Nov. 2.

10.26.09 - Fewer of DC's 911 Calls Answered Quickly (DC Examiner)
It's terrible," said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee and a staunch critic of OUC Director Janice Quintana. "That's roughly 30 rings. That's painful to sit on the phone for 30 rings when you're trying to reach the government."

10.26.09 - Both Sides Mobilize on Same-Sex Marriage (Washington Post)
The folks who argue for an initiative say they want to have a public debate, and that is what this hearing is," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the committee.

10.25.09 - 269 Speakers on Deck for Gay Marriage Hearing (DC Examiner)
The hearing before the council's public safety and judiciary committee, chaired by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, starts Monday at 3:30 p.m. in the D.C. Council chambers.

10.22.09 - Auditor Wants Contempt Ruling Against Mayor (Washington Times)
"I don't understand the fear of transparency that comes out of the mayor's office," said Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "It defeats the purpose of having an auditor if [she] can't examine the government's transactions. This is like adults fighting on a playground."

10.20.09 - Fire Chief, Mendelson Trade Blame Over Staffing (Washington Times)
"This is once again the chief politicizing his troubles," Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the public safety committee. "He's busy blaming everyone and not taking responsibility himself."

10.20.09 - DC Officials to Hear Many Voices on Gay Marriage (DC Examiner)
"I look at the hearing as the opportunity for the public to speak out," Mendelson said. "This is going to be about hearing from the public, not like other hearings when it's more about rolling up your sleeves and getting into the arcane language."

10.19.09 - Spontaneous Combustion May Have Sparked Cafritz Fire (DC Examiner)
"Thank goodness they're finally doing the training," said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee. "God knows the rank and file would like to be able to put out fires."

10.15.09 - Man Gets 6 Months in Assault Near Gay Bar (Washington Post)
Hunter's family members, as well as D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), said they were disappointed that the U.S. attorney for the District declined to pursue a manslaughter or murder charge.

10.14.09 - Decision Nears on DC Crime Lab (DC Examiner)
"A project this important, of this size, that the government should have been more proactive and more careful so that this contract would have been issued by now," Mendelson said.

10.9.09 - Same-Sex Marriage Close to DC Approval (Washington Times)
Council Member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat who chairs the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, which will likely be assigned to consider the bill, said he will hold public hearings as soon as possible.

10.8.09 - Working to Shed light on Very Dark Practices (Washington Post)
"The current law is not as clean as it should be, because it wasn't written with human [sex] trafficking in mind," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the author of the bill...

10.6.09 - DC to Introduce Same-Sex Marriage Bill (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who supports Catania's bill, said a bigger challenge would be keeping a member of Congress from trying to force a separate amendment onto another bill outlawing same-sex marriage in the District.

 

September 2009

9.30.09 - DC Weighs More Curbs on Smoking (Washington Post)
"I think it is reasonable to say to a proprietor you can put up no smoking signs if you've got a problem with people standing on the sidewalk in front of your establishment," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a sponsor of the bill.

9.28.09 - Anti-Smoking Proposal Could Push DC Smokers Into the Streets (DC Examiner)
"I want the owner of the property to be able to say 'no' if he wants to," Mendelson said. "We're not prohibiting smoking. We're saying the owner can say no, even if it's on the sidewalk."

9.26.09 - Fire Officials to Get Refresher on Water System (Washington Post)
"Why is history repeating itself?" Mendelson asked, adding that it should not have taken two years for the fire department and WASA to schedule training on how to read WASA's maps. Rubin pledged that the department was working on that issue.

9.25.09 - Doubts Remain About Reliability of DC Hydrants (Washington Post)
"Why was this yet another fire where initially the report was that there wasn't enough water?" said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who was scheduled to chair a hearing Friday about hydrants and water supply for fighting fires.

9.25.09 - Prosecution Gives Charge Rationale (Metro Weekly)
''The primary issue is that the process seems to have worked against the community interest,'' Mendelson says. ''It's been a unilateral process. That's what I've been saying all along: no trial, a plea bargain...I suspect many will still feel...that Mr. Hannah has been undercharged.

9.23.09 - Fenty Gets OK to Buy Warehouse for $85 Million (DC Examiner)
"We'll stop the bleeding and put the building to good use," at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson said.

9.22.09 - DC Could Prohibit New Private Hydrants (DC Examiner)
"There should be no more of these permits that allow a private hydrant where 20 years in the future, it will be unclear who's responsible for that hydrant," Mendelson said Monday.

9.20.09 - DC Emergency System Still Has Ways to Go, Inspector General Says (DC Examiner)
“It looks to me that there are still too many problems that haven’t been resolved after three years,” he said. “We need to get to the bottom of this. The bottom line is that progress since the Rosenbaum tragedy has been stalled.”

9.18.09 - Mendelson Challenges Plea Bargain in Gay Man's Death (Washington Blade)
“As you know, I have expressed concern previously about the decision of the [U.S. Attorney’s Office] to prosecute the charge of misdemeanor assault for this incident,” Mendelson wrote in his letter to Phillips. “I share the view of others that the victim did not provoke his demise.”

9.14.09 - House Moves to De-Hatch DC (DC Examiner)
“Should the District have its own Hatch Act, and the federal Hatch Act not apply? Yes,” said... Mendelson, who jumped directly from an ANC seat to the council. “Is it correct that the Hatch Act precludes ANC commissioners from running for another office and raising money? No, and the special counsel’s crazy.”

9.11.09 - DC Says Votes Aligned for Gay Marriage Bill (Washington Post)
Mendelson, chairman of the Public Safety and the Judiciary Committee, said he will probably hold a hearing on Catania's bill next month so the public can testify. Although Mendelson said he believes that a majority of members "have clearly stated their opinions" on the issue, he said the "details will be important  "I will look in particular at protecting religious freedoms for churches to be able to say yes or no to celebrating marriages consistent with their faith," Mendelson said.

9.2.09 - Wuerl Ups Opposition to Gay Marriage (Washington Post)
"We already know what the law says about a referendum on civil rights issues," Mendelson said. "The position of the Catholic Church has been known, so I don't think it is anything new."

 

August 2009

8.30.09 - Feds Consider Shooting Deer in Rock Creek Park (DC Examiner)
Deer are a "nuisance and vexatious," said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson. But sterilization, he said, is the best practice.  "It's not hard to find them to do the sterilization," Mendelson said. "It's certainly a more humane approach and far less controversial than sharpshooting."

8.23.09 - A Shark In Lawyer's Clothing (DC Examiner)
"This job requires an understanding that public sector law is very, very different," Mendelson said. "It requires an understanding that the adversary is not an enemy, but a person or entity that the government serves -- a D.C. public school student, a working police officer."

8.14.09 - Protecting All Families (Washington Post Editorial)
The law, whose chief sponsor was D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), also breaks ground in expanding protections for couples who haven't entered into domestic partnerships but intend to raise children together.

8.7.09 - Lawsuit Seeks Right to Carry Guns in Public (Washington Times)
"In the nation's capital, carrying is perhaps the greatest concern to law enforcement because it makes it very hard for law enforcement to distinguish between a person who is carrying a firearm legally and a potential assassin," [Mendelson] said.

8.3.09 - DC gets $12M For 50 New Police Officers (News 8)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson says the addition of the new cops should transfer 50 veteran officers to detective work and close old cases. "If the officers are deployed in a way to free up more detective work, that would be a real plus in terms of law enforcement."

 

July 2009

7.31.09 - DC Likely to Cut Vacant Property Tax Rate in Half (DC Examiner)
...Mendelson, who is backing the reduction, said the $10 per $100 of assessed value rate was so high that "it will actually make it difficult for some property owners to sell or put their property back to use." [but] supported the Class 3 tax as an "economic consequence" for allowing a property to languish...

7.30.09 - U.S. Judge Blasts DC's Handling of Protest Cases (Washington Post)
DC Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said he was considering an investigation. "This is very disturbing," Mendelson said.

7.30.09 - Calls for 911 Director to be Replaced (Fox 5)
Mendelson chairs the District’s Public Safety Committee, which overseas OUC. When asked if he had his way, would Janice Quintana still be director, he said, “No.”

7.29.09 - Money Woes Stir Debate Over Area's Tax Burdens (Washington Post)
"There are choices that have to be made," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

7.29.09 - Caribbean Mayor Queried On Equipment Donations (Washington Post)
Vladimir Céspedes, mayor of the town of Sosua, was deposed Monday night in the council investigation led by members Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

7.21.09 - Vacant Buildings Costing DC Millions (DC Examiner)
"I think it makes sense for us to buy it, but we've wasted roughly $15 million to get to this point," said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. "The decision to buy should have been made two years ago."

7.17.09 - Not Everyone's Aboard High-Profile Crime Initiative (Washington Post)
"The first 24 to 48 hours are critical for solving a case, and if you lose that time because you don't have a detective available, you make it potentially difficult to close a case," Mendelson said. "I don't know if one can blame All Hands on Deck, but one can blame the managerial decision of how the officers are being deployed and how they can work these cases."

7.17.09 - Human Trafficking Experts Call for Police Training in DC Bill (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, who introduced the human trafficking bill, told The Examiner that he will look into adding police training to it...He noted that he would like to ask the police chief about the training, but neither she nor anyone else from the Fenty administration had appeared at the hearing.

7.15.09 - Crusading for Children (Washington Times)
Ms. Frundt, 35, recalled her story during recent testimony before D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson's hearing on sex trafficking. Mr. Mendelson also heard from several advocacy groups that are lobbying for anend of criminal penalties against child prostitutes.

7.12.09 - DC Prisoner Welfare Panel on the Chopping Block (DC Examiner)
But D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, who has oversight of the information council, has filed notice that he will move to disapprove that shift of money during the legislative meeting Tuesday.  “It’s the only mechanism for helping DC prisoners who are in the federal system...”

7.11.09 - Court: DC's Trinidad Checkpoints Not Legal (Washington Times)
"Roadblocks sound good - they're a 'get tough' approach - but they are controversial and often illegal," he said. "There are much more effective strategies, as police Chief Cathy Lanier has shown, that have the community's support and reduce crime."

 

June 2009

6.25.09 - Historic DC Courthouse Re-Dedicated (Washington Informer)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), presented a ceremonial resolution passed by the D.C. Council to celebrate the re-dedication. “Our public buildings are important. They are a symbol of how we feel about our government,” Mendelson said to the audience.

6.23.09 - DC Faces $190M Deficit (DC Examiner)
 “It’s very, very serious but not alarming,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson. “The distinction is we can deal with it, but there will be some cuts.”

6.21.09 - Who Watches the Watchers (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chairs the committee that oversees the D.C. police department. “If the money’s not being audited, that’s an invitation for someone to misuse the money or to self-appropriate the money improperly,” he said.

6.17.09 - Council Rejects Fenty's Anti-Gang Measure (Washington Post)
Mendelson's bill, which will be in effect until September, establishes a minimum 30-month sentence for repeat felony convictions and a three-year mandatory minimum for someone convicted of possessing a firearm while committing some felonies. It also makes it a crime for someone to knowingly be in a vehicle in which there is an illegal firearm.

6.17.09 - Council Rejects a Gang Curb (Washington Times)
"It's very easy to grandstand this issue and say: 'This will be effective in reducing gang activity,' " said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "But the research shows and study after study shows that this is counterproductive."

6.11.09 - DC Panel Hears Arguments On Gay Marriage Referendum (Washington Post)
"What do we do with [same-sex] marriages performed in other states if we allow the referendum and it passes?" Mendelson asked. "A legitimate couple married in another state would be considered less when they came here, and that would be discriminatory."

6.10.09 - Board Considers Gay Marriage Referendum (DC Examiner)
At-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson said the issue of gay marriage is “fairness,” that the “right to enter into a relationship, to marry, is a basic personal right.  We are talking about a civil right and civil rights should not be subject to referendum,” Mendelson told the board.

6.9.09 - Norton Pulls Voting Rights Bill (DC Examiner)
“It is supremely frustrating that D.C. residents are forced to wait on voting representation because of the NRA’s boldfaced attempt to impose its view of the Second Amendment on District residents,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.

6.9.09 - Some DC Paramedics to Be Retrained (Washington Times)
During a hearing Monday at City Hall, Mr. Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary...questioned Chief Rubin closely about the District's emergency medical services and the test results. "Why shouldn't people be alarmed?" Mr. Mendelson asked.

6.8.09 - DC Fire Chief, Councilmember Go At It (DC Examiner)
Mendelson charged that Rubin “blew away” his overtime spending this year — FEMS is on track to pay more than $11 million this year in overtime when it was budgeted for $5 million — despite council approval of a multimillion-dollar budget increase between fiscal 2008 and 2009.

6.7.09 - District Gun Regulations Officially in Place, But for How Long (DC Examiner)
“If there are specific ways we can streamline the process I think we should, but I think the law is viable,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the judiciary committee.

 

May 2009

5.31.09 - Fenty Scraps Crime Lab Deal After Appeals Loss (DC Examiner)
The collapse of yet another lab initiative has drawn the ire of...Mendelson, D-at large, chairman of the Public Safety Committee.  “I am extremely concerned that the situation means additional delay for the Consolidated Forensics Laboratory,” he wrote in a May 22 letter to Fenty’s top contracting officer.

5.28.09 - Group Aims to Block DC Marriage Bill (Washington Post)
"Civil rights shouldn't be subject to referendum," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who sponsored the bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

5.28.09 - Gay Marriage Foes Want DC Voters to Decide (Washington Times)
"People are equal, period - not equal as long as the voters say they're equal," Mr. Mendelson said.

5.27.09 - Gay Marriage Opponents Seek Referendum on DC Law (DC Examiner)
"...I think it’s very unfortunate to suggest that a basic civil right ought to be subject of a referenda,” Mendelson said. “Civil rights should not be subject to referenda.”

5.22.09 - US House Members File Bill to Overturn Action by DC Council (Washington Post)
...Mendelson, who sponsored the legislation on same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, accused the House members of intruding on states' rights.  "There would be an irony that Congress would step in and say one jurisdiction could not recognize legitimate marriages from other jurisdictions.."

5.19.09 - Number of Inmate Attacks in DC Jail Soars (DC Examiner)
“violence in the jail is a serious matter ... and the question is whether these assaults are being prosecuted vigorously.”

5.18.09 - [Councilmembers] Miss Deadline to File Disclosure Forms (DC Examiner)
Most forthcoming was at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson.

5.15.09 - Fenty to Move Crime Bill As Emergency (DC Examiner)
“Crime is always a great subject for grandstanding,” Mendelson said prior to Fenty’s news conference, an event to which he was not invited. “I’ve said repeatedly this bill will move out of committee next month. This is complicated stuff and it should be done correctly.”

5.11.09 - D.C. Council Set To Adopt Earmark-laden Fiscal 2010 Budget (DC Examiner)
...Councilman Phil Mendelson once again managed to strike the proposed increase to the E-911 levy.

5.5.09 - Friends, Foes of Same-Sex Marriage Monitor DC's Legislative Moves (Washington Post)
"I don't think it works for us to try to artificially try to put it in the Human Rights Act," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a supporter of gay marriage.

 

April 2009

4.24.09 - City Investigates Alleged Cheating on EMT Test (Washington Post)
"The purpose is to have higher, more independent testing, and the national registry is the national standard," Mendelson said. "Everything about it is great except the possibility that there is cheating."

4.23.09 - Police Working With PR Firm in Shift Toward More Communication (Washington Post)
Although praising Lanier's skills, D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chairs the council oversight committee on police, said the partnership comes across to him as a spin effort. "And the best way to spin crime is to reduce it."

4.23.09 - Marriage Movement (Metro Weekly)
Also gauging congressional sentiment, Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the straight ally who recently introduced legislation to recognize legal marriages -- including those entered into by spouses of the same sex -- performed in other jurisdictions, commented...

4.20.09 - Council Awaits Regulations on Inmate Release (Washington Times)
"I'm a strong believer in planning first and then acting on the basis of the plan," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

4.16.09 - District Notebook (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) got the ball rolling last week with a surprise amendment that recognizes gay nuptials from other jurisdictions. The legislation received unanimous support from the council on the day Vermont lawmakers overturned the governor's veto there to legalize same-sex marriage.

4.10.09 - DC Council Votes to Recognize Gay Nuptials (Washington Blade)
“I look at this as simply making explicit what is already in the law,” said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who introduced the amendment.

4.9.09 - DC Council Opens Own Probe Into Donations to Caribbean (DC Examiner)
“The public deserves an explanation,” Mendelson said in a news release announcing the council investigation.

4.8.09 - DC Eyes Gay Marriage Recognition (Washington Times)
"What we are doing is taking away the mayor's discretion in cases where the outcome is obvious," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson..."The issue is about whether we give full faith and credit to other states."

4.8.09 - DC to Recognize Gay Marriages (DC Examiner)
The gay marriage recognition comes as an amendment, offered by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson...

4.7.09 - Probes Into Fraud and Donations Shut Down (Washington Post)
"It's clear that they are circling the wagons and shutting down the accountability process," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

4.7.09 - Graham Urges Taxing High Earners More (DC Examiner)
“I don’t think that we should rush into tax increases,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. "I am a supporter of progressivity, and what Mr. Graham has proposed is progressive, but if we’re going to go there, it ought to be part of a more deliberative tax strategy.”

4.6.09 - Gift to Dominican Town Puts Spotlight on DC Nonprofit (Washington Post)
Under questioning from council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)...Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin said he was recently made aware of the donation and a visit this year by fire and other government officials to determine the town's need for the equipment. But Mendelson noted that Rubin provided a March 4 report on travel expenses, showing that a deputy chief's six-day trip cost $810.

4.6.09 - Fenty Legal Team Linked to Fire Truck Donation (DC Examiner)
The firetruck had 55,000 miles on it, not 197,000 as Nickles claimed, said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who inspected both vehicles Monday. The executive, Mendelson said, “is clearly acting as if they’re hiding something.”

4.5.09 - Inspector General Probing DC's Property Agency (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson...told The Examiner that he had “been very concerned about how that agency is running things.  That agency is a core agency in the operation of the budget, and I continue to see problems with the management of public safety facilities in particular,” he said.

4.5.09 - Fire Truck Donation to Dominican Town to Get Independent Review (DC Examiner)
Mendelson has called the donation “mind-boggling” and a “burgeoning” scandal made worse by an apparent cover-up.

4.4.09 - Councilmembers Seek Probe of Fenty's Gift To Dominican Republic (Washington Post)
Mendelson said yesterday that he wants Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby to investigate because, he alleges, Nickles has a conflict because he was involved in the rule change that allowed the donation.

4.2.09 - DC's Money-Saving Plan: Free Inmates (Washington Times)
"This is pretty fundamental to public safety, that if we're going to release people early, we need to know that we're doing it right and for a good cause," said Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

4.1.09 - Council to Her Bag Fee Debate (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat who supports the bill for environmental reasons, said that the fee should be a disincentive for citizens to buy paper and plastic bags....and that plastic bags are made of petroleum, which just he said just uses up more of our oil supply.

4.1.09 - Fire Chief Says He Was "Clueless" About Donation (DC Examiner)
It is “mind boggling,” Mendelson said, that no member of the fire department’s upper echelon, including the chief and general counsel, could provide any answers Wednesday. And it is equally strange, he said, that Jeffery would approve an underling’s travel to a resort town when the chief claims the department had nothing to do with the donation.

 

March 2009

3.30.09 - Fenty Tries Again to Raise Phone Fees (Washington Times)
"It's real easy for us to say that we will solve our budget problems by raising this tax [and] bringing in $7 million," Mr. Mendelson said. "But that's a hardship on citizens and businesses that are struggling right now."

3.29.09 - Fenty Wants to Ax Commission Meant to Prevent Vehicle Theft (DC Examiner)
“It’s disappointing that he’s not interested in this public safety initiative,” said Mendelson, chairman of the council’s public safety committee.

3.26.09 - Fenty Budget Plan Would Cut Guard Funding (Washington Post)
Councilman Phil Mendelson says it doesn't make sense to save the money, just to lose millions in federal funds.

3.25.09 - Cameras to Catch More DC Speeders (Washington Times)
"The difficulty from a legislator's point of view is that people shouldn't speed, people shouldn't run red lights. And there's no reason to say no to this," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "But I know that it leaves a bad taste to the public.

3.25.09 - Fenty Slashes Funding for DC National Guard (DC Examiner)
“I have never seen a budget as messed up as that one,” Mendelson told The Examiner. “We would save $600,000 in order to lose $2.2 million in federal funding. That make no sense.”

3.24.09 - New Electric Fees, No Pay Raises in Mayor's Budget Proposal (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) criticized the streetlight fee, calling it a regressive tax that would disproportionately burden poorer residents.

3.24.09 - DC School Upgrades to Continue At the Expense of Other Projects (DC Examiner)
“The purpose of the school modernization program was to create a dedicated revenue stream,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson. “We’ve lost that now. And instead we’re going to use borrowed money with interest.”

3.24.09 - District Services Taking a Hit in Fenty's Budget Proposal (DC Examiner)
“It’s a concern, but I don’t want to say it’s a bad idea,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee. “The idea of encouraging participation in these programs is a good thing. But if it’s just about releasing felons early, well, I don’t know.”

3.22.09 - DC's Rights to Regulate Guns (Washington Post)
"Make no mistake, Ensign and the NRA want to substitute their own view of the Constitution for that of the Supreme Court....Listen to Chief Lanier and others in law enforcement. Put public safety first and reject the Senate's amendment."

3.20.09 - Fenty Says Bite the Bullet on Vote Bill (Washington Post)
"I strongly disagree," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "He is under-appreciating the severity of the amendment. A lot of work is being done to get the amendment off the bill."

3.18.09 - DC May Repeal Tax Increases on Nuisance Properties (DC Examiner)
The Class 3 rate is “very useful public policy,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who introduced a bill Tuesday to return the rate to $5. But the $10 charge, he said, “has brought forth quite a bit of frustration and a clear hardship.”

3.13.09 - Ex-Prisoners Can Hit Street Overnight, Nickles Says (Washington Post)
"He has set up this impossible situation where we pass a law and he rules that he doesn't have to comply with it," Mendelson said. "That throws into question whether we can pass any law if he doesn't like it."

3.12.09 - Fewer Avoidable Crashes for Police, Chief Says (DC Examiner)
“We’re driving some 93,000 miles, I believe, between [preventable] accidents,” Lanier told the council’s public safety committee, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson, on Monday.

3.11.09 - Regional Group Urges Congress to Drop Gun Amendment (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) is president of the group known as COG and also chairman of the D.C. Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

3.11.09 - District Police Battling to Reach Hiring Goal (DC Examiner)
Documents and statements provided to the D.C. Council’s public safety committee, chaired by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, show the MPD’s total sworn membership at 4,048 as of Monday, well short of the 4,200 the department is supposed to have on staff by Sept. 30...

3.10.09 - Man Killed By Officer Was Metrobus Driver (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) asked why he had not received the final report on the September 2007 fatal shooting of DeOnté Rawlings, 14, by Officer James Haskel.

3.4.09 - Supporters Push to Save DC Vote Bill in House (Washington Post)
"We want to make it clear that this amendment is unacceptable," said Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

 

February 2009

2.27.09 - DC Voting Measure Clears the Senate (Washington Post)
"The Senate action is of huge concern," said Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)..."It strips our authority. The irony here is that on one hand they vote to give us voting representation, but on the other hand they strip any local representation in regards to our gun laws."

2.23.09 - After Levy, Police Still Struggle (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said the Levy case had been an "embarrassment" for the D.C. police, and he said that if an arrest does come "it would be nice to close this chapter."

2.20.09 - City Lacks Data on Private Fire Hydrants (DC Examiner)
“The bottom line,” said Mendelson, “is that if there’s a house on fire, we don’t want to be pointing fingers that the house burned down because the hydrant didn’t work because nobody took responsibility for it.”

2.19.09 - Audit: At One DC Agency, It Pays to Clean the Chairs (DC Examiner)
“It tells me they don’t have an eye on the cost to taxpayers,” Mendelson said of Quintana’s office.

2.19.09 - Nickles Demands DC Rewrite Law on Prisoner Releases (DC Examiner)
“It’s not in the inmates’ interest to be released out of the back door at two in the morning in a jail jumpsuit,” said Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chairman of the council’s Judiciary Committee.

2.9.09 - Councilman Urges Panel to "Rethink" DC's Real Estate Appeals Board (DC Examiner)
“The commercial property owners hire these big-gun lawyers who come and take advantage of the system,” Mendelson said. “They know the system and its flaws, and they exploit the flaws.”

2.8.09 - Fenty, DC Council Heat Up Battle of Subpoena Power (DC Examiner)
This has raised the hackles of critics on the D.C. Council, such as  judiciary committee Chairman Phil Mendelson, D-at large...say Nickles’ reading of the home rule charter is too broad.

2.7.09 - Subpoena Power Subject of Debate (Washington Post)
Mendelson said he intends to push for legislation that clearly defines what subpoena power, if any, will be vested in the mayor's office.

2.6.09 - Killing Spiked in SE DC During Inauguration Week (DC Examiner)
Critics — including Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-At Large, and police union chairman Kris Baumann — had warned city leaders that the deployment and D.C.’s extended bar hours would leave vulnerable neighborhoods further exposed.

2.6.09 - Fenty, Council Fight Over Subpoena Power (DC Examiner)
After Phil Mendelson, D-At Large, passed emergency legislation ordering the mayor to suspend the order, the mayor scrapped it. He shortly issued a new directive, giving subpoena power to his attorney general, Peter Nickles.

2.4.09 - District Cracks Down on Icy Cars (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the original bill gave too much authority to a police officer, who would have to determine whether a driver made the effort to clear accumulated snow.

2.4.09 - Council Adopts Softer Version of Ban on Icy Cars (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who also urged more careful deliberation, said the bill minus the fine is less law and more “statement of policy.”

 

January 2009

1.30.09 - Mendelson Elected President of National Planning Organization (Press Release)
"I hope to use this position to both share the District’s successes as well as incorporate best practices from jurisdictions across the country to further prepare the District for current and future challenges in transportation and transit-related issues.”

1.27.09 - DC to Consider Electing its Attorney General (DC Examiner)
An elected AG “solidifies the independence of the office,” Mendelson said Monday. And once D.C. elects its first attorney general, Mendelson said, it can take the next step of transferring the U.S. attorney’s prosecutorial powers to the city office, with congressional approval.

1.25.09 - More Than 1,000 Women Were Forced into Sex Slavery, Justice Department Reports(Examiner)
“Trafficking is a much more pervasive problem than most people realize,” Mendelson said. “And there’s no justification for trafficking — it’s human slavery.”

1.20.09 - Councilman Graham Pushing Legislation to Ban Fireworks, Pitbulls - Again (DC Examiner)
“In the totality of the bills we had in committee, we spent an awful lot of time dealing with gun control,” Mendelson said of last year. “We reported out over 50 bills...”

1.19.09 - Mendelson Seeks Rhee's Plans on Firing 'Underperforming' Teachers (DC Examiner)
“It’s important that there is not only a clear set of criteria that is used when labeling a teacher ‘underperforming,’ ” Mendelson’s letter states. “But also a fair way to measure the performance of the supervisors responsible for helping these teachers to proficiency.”

1.16.09 - Union Seeks List of Targeted Teachers (Washington Post)
At least one member...is also asking for more transparency from Rhee. Phil Mendelson has asked for the number of teachers on 90-day status and their years of experience..."I am troubled by reports that the 90 day plan may be disproportionately administered to senior teachers."

1.12.09 - Man Disabled Anklet Before Killing 3, Police Say (DC Examiner)
The incident prompted the D.C. Council to pass emergency legislation last week to make tampering with the devices a crime...“We can’t sit around and let the criminals get the upper hand,” said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson.

1.9.08 - Despite Restrictions, City Still Will Be Packed (DC Examiner)
...Mendelson, the Council’s lead but unsuccessful voice for closing bars and restaurants at their normal hour during the inaugural week...“People are coming to celebrate, and I’m hopeful that this won’t become so onerous that people get angry,” Mendelson said. “But I just don’t know.”

1.7.08 - Lanier Subpoena Power Assailed (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson...said: "The authority that was proposed for the chief of police is unprecedented and without any limitations. There is no other jurisdiction that we know of that gives the chief of police this broad authority to subpoena people regarding any municipal matter."

1.7.09 - Parking Rates to Double in Parts of District (WTOP)
Phil Mendelson was the only council member to vote against the rate increase, which could go into effect as early as next month.

1.5.09 - Mendelson Seeks to Halt Controversial Order Signed by Fenty (DC Examiner)
“This new authority is broad,” Mendelson said in a memo to council Chairman Vincent Gray. The council needs “a chance to look at the issue.”

1.1.09 - Lanier Tempers DC Homicide Count (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said regardless of the statistical issue, crime is still too high. Placing prior-year homicides into the current year's total is a "phenomenon that's true year after year," he said.

1.1.09 - DC Pays 10M and Counting for Vacant Building (DC Examiner)
“I’ve said from the beginning that they had no plans since they jettisoned the project in August 2007 after defending it, after mishandling it,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee. “There’s nothing that justifies the money out the window month after month.”

 

December 2008

12.23.08 - Substation to Close Next Year in Cost-Cutting Move (Washington Post)
Mendelson said costs should be balanced by needs.  "DC police needs to be mindful of costs, but the issues should be driven by what makes sense operationally," Mendelson said. "It shouldn't solely be driven by dollars and cents."

12.23.08 - Ruling Keeps Some Bars from Staying Open Later (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, opposed extending the bar hours. He said the consternation over the neighborhood agreements was further vindication.  “I don’t think anybody thought this through,” he said.

12.22.08 - DC Looks for Funds to Pay Police Overtime During Inaugural Week (DC Examiner)
“Everybody’s scrambling,” D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said. “There’s planning going on, but I can’t tell you whether it’s foolish planning or not.”

12.21.08 - DC EMS Actions to Get Second Look (Washington Times)
...Mendelson...Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said he wrote a letter to Chief Rubin seeking an independent evaluation of the response to the incident...adding that the fire department "cannot afford suspicion" about the conclusions of its investigation.

12.21.08 - New Camera Network Slated for Crime-Ridden Neighborhood (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety and judiciary committee, said Friday that District law authorizes police to monitor their cameras passively, meaning officers may only look at the tape post-crime, except in an exigent circumstance, which is one that requires immediate action.

12.20.08 - DC Police to Add Cameras in Trinidad (Washington Times)
"The good news is that the government isn't paying for it," said...Phil Mendelson...Chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. "But the bad news is that we don't know whether they work. There's a lot of evidence that cameras are very popular but not very effective."

12.19.08 - Extra Police Help for Inauguration Limited (Washington Times)
"I know for a fact that the D.C. police are going to be stretched just dealing with the inaugural events," said Mr. Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. "That's obvious."

12.19.08 - Police, Prosecutors Criticized at DC Hate Crimes Hearing (Washington Blade)
“I’m really quite disturbed in the way some of these cases have been handled in terms of police response, which I think has not been adequate,” Mendelson said

12.19.08 - Nickles Defends Subpoena Power for Police (DC Examiner)
DC Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he was “uneasy about what this order means” and might call hearings.

12.17.08 - District to Take New Bids on Lottery (Washington Post)
Firearms Vote:  Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who has shepherded all gun legislation as chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said there is no evidence that five hours of training is effective.

12.17.08 - Inaugural 'Last Call' Moved Up (Washington Post)
Mendelson added: "Our law enforcement personnel will be stretched to the max for the inauguration. Police will not be available to help bars and nightclubs stay open until 4 in the morning."

12.17.08 - DC Gun Regulations Finalized (Washington Times)
But "overall I'm pleased with what we've adopted, and it significantly advances reasonable gun regulation," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

12.17.08 - Council Rolls Back Last Call to 4am (Washington Times)
Council member...Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat...voted against the bill....[and] opposed the measure two weeks ago as well.

12.17.08 - Council OKs Final Gun Bill (DC Examiner)
“This bill will be, I think, one of the most progressive registration laws in the country,” Councilman Phil Mendelson said.

12.17.08 - District Homicide Count Rises to 183, Surpassing Last Year's (DC Examiner)
Public safety committee Chairman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said he will hold hearings early next year on what to do about violent crime.

12.16.08 - Washington Council Enacts Tough Gun Control Measure (New York Times)
Councilman Phil Mendelson, who helped draft the bill and shepherd it through the Council, called it a “very significant piece of legislation...A lot of critics of gun registration say that all it does is it restrict law-abiding people...But the reality is it makes it easier for law enforcement to go after criminals.”

12.16.08 - DC Tightens Rules After Landmark Court Ruling (Associated Press)
"This bill will be, I think, one of the most progressive registration laws in the country," Councilmember Phil Mendelson said.

12.16.08 - Meter Rates to Double in Downtown DC (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson voted against the bill, he said, because it was introduced with little analysis to justify the increases. The council, he said, should not adjust its meter rates “piecemeal.”  “We’re bootstrapping certain programs through this parking tax increase and it’s wrong.”

12.11.8 - Mendelson Notes Risks of Longer Bar Hours (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson, who voted against the legislation, said that putting public safety above all other concerns was the responsibility of the federal government, as well as the council. "The concern for public order is an interest we all share," he said.

12.4.08 - DC Council Passes Bill Closing Littering Loophole (DC Examiner)
The legislation adds $25 to the penalty “because tossing a bottle out of a moving car could be more dangerous, likely is more dangerous, than simply dropping a gum wrapper on the sidewalk,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.

12.4.08 - Around the Clock Bars Week of Inaugural Concerns Officials (DC Examiner)
“The police aren’t going to be available,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, who voted against the bill Tuesday night. “They’ll have their hands full with crowd control and that many people in the city, and now they want to add liquor to that?”

12.3.08 - Council Tweaks Gun Law, Gives Tentative Approval (DC Examiner)
“What I hope is we are coming up with a bill that other cities will emulate,” said Mendelson, chairman of the public safety and judiciary committee. “I don’t think that we can go much further without getting into trouble.”

12.3.08 - DC Council Supports Gun Control Revisions (Washington Post)
After the vote, council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said in a statement, "Today's vote puts the District at the forefront of using regulation to reduce gun violence, rather than the simpler, prior approach of hoping that an outright ban will be effective."

12.3.08 - District Raises a Glass to History (Washington Post)
...Mendelson, chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, countered, warning of increased crime, violence and drunken driving..."I think there are going to be consequences to that from a public safety and public order point of view. It's not a good policy to be supporting."

 

November 2008

11.28.08 - Paramedics Criticize Plan to Consolidate Fire, EMS (DC Examiner)
“The goal is to have one, all hazards agency,” Mendelson said. “But these providers were hired for their medical skills and to change the requirements now would be unfair. Besides, that’s not what’s been contemplated.”

11.23.08 - DC Owes Feds Tens of Millions for Medicare Mismanagement (DC Examiner)
 Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said Friday, “The public has a right to know what’s at issue. I’m concerned.”

11.20.08 - Fenty Isn't Czar of Rent Czar (Washington Post)
"This is a very dangerous way to go about this," council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said. "This is a mistake."

11.19.08 - In Close Vote, DC Council Approves Nickles as Attorney General (Washington Post)
Mendelson said his rejection of Nickles came down to the issues of "conflation and judgment." Nickles's predecessors acted independently of the mayor, Mendelson said, and in terms of judgment, he has been one of the lead agents for the mayor to fire city workers. "Mr. Nickles is a great general counsel to the mayor, but he should not be attorney general," he said.

11.19.08 - Nickles OK'd as Attorney General (Washington Times)
"The office of the attorney general is to be the city's lawyer, not the mayor's lawyer," said council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat who voted against the nomination.

11.19.08 - Close Call, But Nickles Confirmed as Attorney General (DC Examiner)
“There’s no question ... that the nominee is not independent,” Mendelson said. “He serves as, continues to serve as, the general counsel to the mayor in practice.”

11.18.08 - Acting Attorney General Up for DC Council Vote (Washington Post)
The Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary voted 3 to 2 against confirming Nickles for the attorney general post after the panel's chairman, Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), released a 20-page report that raised a number of questions about Nickles since he was hired in 2006.

11.18.08 - Nickles Fight Pits Fenty vs Council (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson...also said Mr. Nickles has shown "questionable judgment" through such moves as firing the lead attorney on the D.C. gun-ban case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

11.18.08 - DC Council Panel Rejects Peter Nickles as Attorney General (DC Examiner)
Citing his allegiance to the executive branch and “questionable dedication to the rule of law,” a D.C. Council panel on Monday rejected the nomination...The Committee on Public Safety & the Judiciary, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson, backed a “disapproval resolution” on Nickles by a 3-2 tally.

11.17.08 - Fire, EMS Chief Cites 'Remarkable Progress' (DC Examiner)
“I think EMS has improved considerably since Mr. Rosenbaum’s death,” Mendelson said. “But more needs to be done and the progress seems fitful.”

11.16.08 - Anxious Residents Look to Lanier (Washington Post)
More than 50 residents attended a community meeting Wednesday night, during which Police Chief Cathy Lanier and DC Council members Phil Mendelson and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) talked about their response to the violence and how residents can help police and public officials in their efforts.

11.16.08 - Councilman Questions Accuracy of District Hydrant-Repair List (DC Examiner)
Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chairs the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. He said at a public hearing that he has discovered at least 30 useless fire hydrants that don’t appear on the agency’s public repair list.

11.12.08 - New Rules Proposed for Spy Net (DC Examiner)
“It’s a waste of money,” at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson said Monday. “You’re not capturing criminals by monitoring cameras in jail cells. And you’re not reducing crime by monitoring cameras in elementary schools.”

11.11.08 - Spending Freeze Added to Cuts (Washington Post)
The mayor said the council's budget will force a $1.5 million cut to the District's program for victims of domestic violence. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) got the council to restore $200,000 by transferring funds...

11.8.08 - Seeking Alternatives to Streets (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chaired the hearing of the Committee on Public Safety, said: "I agree with those who keep in mind that there are human beings involved in this. It is not just about punishing somebody."

11.6.08 - Nation's Street Sweepers Turn into Spies (Washington Times)
"On the one hand, people shouldn't be violating our regulations," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "On the other hand, many people feel the government is a little too zealous about enforcement, when there are many other services which need resources."

 

October 2008

10.29.08 - Preservationists Want Fenty Adviser Off Case (Washington Post)
Tregoning's appointment prompted council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) to ask in a letter to the planning director that the administration reconsider and make an appointment that will not be questioned. He said the appointment "creates an inappropriate appearance" that is unhelpful.

10.22.08 - Same-Sex Marriage Bill Edging Closer to Reality for D.C. Council (DC Examiner)
If Capitol Hill is “friendlier” to the issue come 2009 then a marriage bill is sure to follow, said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson.  “The council will support a same-sex marriage bill,” Mendelson said, “but there’s no point in doing that if we don’t know beforehand how Congress will react.”

10.21.08 - Adult Crimes, Young Offenders: 'Where Do We Draw the Line?' (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said, "Individual situations are powerful, but what is the strategy that is more likely to reduce crime?"

10.19.08 - Alexander Will Break Tied Nickles Confirmation Vote (DC Examiner)
Nickles has lost the support of Judiciary Committee Chair Phil Mendelson, D-at large, and Mary Cheh, D-Ward 3, who said Friday that Nickles is more loyal to Fenty than to the rule of law.

10.18.08 - Budget Vote Delayed By Questions on Revenue (Washington Post)
But Phil Mendelson said he was still missing information, such as why the administration decided not to purchase radios for the Office of Unified Communications, which handles 911 and 311 calls. "I don't know what it means," he said, saying he needs to understand "the programmatic impact."

10.14.08 - Fenty's Lightening Rod Attorney general Nominee Tackles Tasks Head-On (DC Examiner)
“He’s been doing a good job of representing the mayor’s interests,” Mendelson said. “But the attorney general is not the mayor’s lawyer; he’s the city’s lawyer.”

10.12.08 - DC Fire Running Up Overtime Overruns (DC Examiner)
“They don’t have the discipline to get control over overtime,” Mendelson said. “Hiring has got to be part of the plan.”

10.9.08 - Firm, Elections Board Faulted in Voting Mishap (Washington Post)
The committee -- composed of council members Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) -- said the optical-scan machines, which use paper ballots, would create "a verified paper trail" that could be audited, should another mishap occur.

10.7.08 - Barry Delays Bill After Bickering Highlights Council Divide (Washington Post)
...decided to pull a bill involving the redevelopment of a warehouse district between New York and Florida avenues..Council member Phil Mendelson said he thought the legislation was trying to bypass an earlier measure that required buy-in from 51 percent of business owners in the warehouse district.

10.7.08 - Fenty Offers Cuts; "Problem" Could Hit $200M (DC Examiner)
“There is not enough belt-tightening here,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson.

10.5.08 - DC Voting Systems Out of Date (DC Examiner)
“I feel as though we’ve just slipped backward in the last few years,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson.

10.5.08 - Fenty Presents Anti-Crime Omnibus Bill (DC Examiner)
Mendelson said there may be particular issues within the legislation that could be pulled out and moved this fall, but the measure was “dropped so late it will be difficult to move the entire bill.”

10.4.08 - DC Crime Fighting Plan Expends Anti-Gang Tools (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said he was not consulted by the administration in the development of the anti-crime measure and was surprised by the timing.

10.4.08 - Council Grills Elections Board (Washington Post)
...Council member Phil Mendelson asked a broader question: "Why haven't you upgraded your equipment?"  Acting executive director Sylvia Goldsberry-Adams replied, "I think, quite honestly, I inherited the equipment that is here." Under continued questioning, she finally said, "I have no idea. I can't answer that at this time."

10.3.08 - Fenty Proposed Job Cuts, Tapping Agency Revenues (Washington Post)
Furthermore, Fenty and council member Phil Mendelson have been at odds over the future of a vacant building that the city leases at 225 Virginia Ave. SE. The building was supposed to be used as a police division headquarters. Fenty wants to get rid of the $6 million-a-year lease.

10.3.08 - DC Councilman Calls for Wider Access to Gun Stores (DC Examiner)
Emergency regulations proposed by the Office of Planning and adopted by the commission in July were “unduly restrictive,” Mendelson said, and they “invite challenge either in the courts or, more likely, by Congress.”

10.2.08 - District Fires Two Whistle-Blowers (DC Examiner)
“There have been persistent complaints expressed to me and the council alleging retaliation by Janice Quintana,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson...the persistence of the complaint is very troubling and I hear it from no other agency, and I can’t help but wonder if where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

 

September 2008

9.29.08 - Mendelson: What's the Holdup on District's New DNA Lab (DC Examiner)
“It’s not just bricks for bureaucrats,” Mendelson, D-at large, told The Examiner ahead of today’s hearing. “This is about public safety.”

9.27.08 - DC Gun Bill Appears Done for Session (DC Examiner)
“My understanding is that, for all intents and purposes, it is [dead],” D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson said Friday.

9.26.08 - District Primary Results Certified (Washington Post)
Her three-member committee is continuing its own probe about the incident, she said. The others on the panel are...Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

9.22.08 - Fenty Eases Increases for Ambulance Feed (DC Examiner)
Mendelson, who plans to hold a hearing on the proposal next month...said the new fees “appear more reasonable.” The charges will have his support, he said, if the Fenty administration can demonstrate that it is maximizing reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare...

9.17.08 - District Briefing (Washington Post)
Other members [of the special elections committee] are...Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

9.17.08 - DC Passes Gun Law, But House Looms (Washington Times)
"I'm hopeful that the House will see that there's not much more to be done," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "I assume they're doing this thinking that we're being irresponsible. We're not."

9.17.08 - Council Eases DC Gun Laws (DC Examiner)
“I would hope that in the rational debate Congress would be mindful that we have dealt with the most important issues they and others have raised,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who drafted the legislation in consultation with Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration.

9.16.08 - Bill Allows Semi-automatics With Limited Rounds in DC (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the bill will refine the city's definition of machine guns by using wording from other jurisdictions and the federal assault-weapons ban, which has since expired. The bill also will cap at 10 the number of rounds a semi-automatic gun magazine can hold.

9.15.08 - Council Set to Monitor Schools Overhaul (Washington Times)
"We may have to say as policy that we recommend you store handguns locked up, with a trigger lock or disassembled," Mr. Mendelson said. "But there have to be much stricter penalties if a child gets access to a gun."

9.15.08 - DC Semi-automatics Bill At Hand (Washington Times)
"The Supreme Court has spoken and we have to act accordingly," said Mr. Mendelson, on the council first day after summer recess. "We are still going to have a strong gun control law."

9.13.08 - DC Legislation Would Remove More Gun Limits (Washington Post)
"I think we're addressing the Supreme Court ruling and, coincidentally, addressing Congress's concern," said Mendelson...And by addressing the Supreme Court ruling, he said, "it will pull out the underpinnings of the argument for that legislation on Capitol Hill."

9.11.08 - DC Election Glitch Blamed on Equipment (Washington Post)
Instead, the committee's other members, Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), will be joined by Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) in forming the special committee that will dig into what happened.

9.10.08 - Gun Bill Dangerous, DC Chief Tells House (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said yesterday that he will seek to amend the temporary legislation at a session Tuesday to address some of the critics' concerns. The council is expected to work on new, permanent legislation in the next weeks.

9.9.08 - DC Police Chief Concerned About House Gun Bill (AP/DC Examiner)
D.C. Council was set to consider an amendment next week that would make key revisions to the city's temporary gun legislation - including allowing residents to own semiautomatic pistols, council member Phil Mendelson said.  "I would hope Congress would step back and let us come up with a permanent bill," Mendelson said.

9.6.08 - Reinstate 3 Social Workers, DC Told (Washington Post)
"The idea of acting swiftly to mete out discipline in such a horrible incident is very appealing to the public," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "But at the time, it seemed hasty to some of us. And the arbitrator's decision confirms it."

9.2.08 - Study: Jailing Youths with Adults Not a Deterrent (DC Examiner)
In July, D.C. Councilmen Phil Mendelson and Tommy Wells introduced legislation to end the pretrial placement of youths in adult jails.

 

August 2008

8.30.08 - Police: More Tickets Given to Motorists on Phone (AP/DC Examiner)
"Almost everyone is guilty of violating this law sooner or later, and nobody wants to be caught," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

8.29.08 - Board Recommends Devices in City Cruisers (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D), chairman of the public safety committee, said he favors installing cameras.

8.29.08 - In DC, Some Kids Crossing at Their Own Risk (DC Examiner)
Phil Mendelson wrote letters this week to both Mayor Adrian Fenty and DDOT Interim Director Frank Seales Jr. “to ascertain why there are not crossing guards at all schools which need them.” DDOT assumed control of the crossing guard program from the police department at Fenty’s direction.

8.21.08 - Police Catch More Motorists With Phone In Hand (Washington Times)
"More people are [talking on cell phones while driving], so there are more people to be caught and hence more tickets are being issued," Mr. Mendelson said.

8.21.08 - Fenty Freezes Hiring, Cuts Budget of Committee to Prevent Child Deaths (DC Examiner)
Mendelson...was dismayed at the weakening of the fatality committee.  “If we want to reduce the number of children dying...we’ve got to pay attention to the Child Fatality Review Committee...To the extent that the child welfare system can change, the fatality committee could show the way.”

8.19.08 - DC Police Failed to Notify Family of Relative in Hospital (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he felt deeply about the "very regrettable grief" the Morris family must have suffered. "A citizen shouldn't have to resort to contacting council members to find out what happened," he said.

8.14.08 - Payments for Vacant VA Avenue Building Now Top $6.5 Million for DC (DC Examiner)
"The bottom line is the city is wasting money," said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee. "A lot of money."

8.13.08 - Group Asks Fenty to Abandon Mission Deal (Washington Post)
...Mendelson, who cast the lone vote against the bill, also had reservations because of the mission's religious teachings. "It was clear that Christian prayer is part of their program," he said. "It depends to what extent Christian prayer is a requirement. . . . If there is a lawsuit, the courts will have to decide."

8.7.08 - Gun Owners Arms Themselves with Gun Advocacy Group (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said he thinks groups like Capital Gun Owners are essential to crafting fair and reasonable legislation and looks forward to hearing from members when the Council addresses gun laws.

 

July 2008

7.29.08 - DC is Sued Again Over Handgun Rules (Washington Post)
...Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said the new gun-registration law was enacted as emergency legislation shortly after the Supreme Court decision. He said the District will probably change the rules in coming months. "The council's action in introducing emergency legislation . . . was meant to be a quick response...it was not meant to be a comprehensive response."

7.29.08 - Heller, Others Challenge Semi-Automatic Ban (Washington Times)
...Mr. Mendelson reviewed the complaint and intends to address concerns about the District's gun laws when the council returns from recess in September.  "It raises a number of important points that he wants to address quickly over the next few months...The emergency legislation was not meant to be comprehensive. It was meant as a stopgap."

7.28.08 - DC Council Halts Mayor's Plan for Police Station (AP/DC Examiner)
Mendelson says he's not aware of any money budgeted to cover the conversion of Bowen Elementary into a police station for southwest Washington. He says other police department programs would have to lose funding.

7.27.08 - Lottery Manager faces $350,000 in Damages (DC Examiner)
Citing questions about W2I’s inexperience in lottery management and its close ties to...Fenty..., the council tabled the W2I contract in May. “If they want to replace the current contractor, they’re going to have to come up with somebody better,” at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson said Friday.

7.24.08 - MPD Suspends Training, Redeploys More Officers (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee, called training “critical to quality assurance and control.”

7.23.08 - DC Cops Near 200 Crashes in First Six Months in 2008 (DC Examiner)
“It’s not good for the government because it takes officers off the street,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee. “It takes the equipment off the street. It costs money to repair them, and there might be liability.”

7.22.08 - Doubts Linger on Pre-K-8 Strategy (Washington Post)
"This government has spent billions of dollars over the last decade on public education. Some say we've wasted the dollars," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "Are we now about to waste more money because of the way the decision making has been set up?"

7.22.08 - Records: Missed Deadlines Meant Cops Not Disciplined (DC Examiner)
“The rehiring of the officers a month or two ago was an embarrassment to the government. And it’s a serious concern that an officer does something to warrant discipline and then the department screws up the discipline on a technicality.”

7.21.08 - DC Police Set Up Checkpoints in Trinidad, Despite Lawsuit (DC Examiner)
“Any strategy that has pushback from community or creates resentment is not going to be [e]ffective,” said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large.

7.20.08 - Shootings Condemned As 'Cowardly' (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson...reiterated that much of the violence throughout the city is a result of escalating gang feuds...underlying problems such as poverty and unemployment and that preventing incidents will require the city to extend services on a number of fronts and emphasize community policing.

7.19.08 - Court Litigant Heller Awaits Gun OK (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said he was surprised by the low number of applicants and thinks it may be indicative of residents' overall attitude toward gun control.

7.18.08 - Council Votes to Sell Former Homeless Shelter (Washington Post)
Mendelson was unconvinced.  "We don't need to dispose of the property in order for it to continue as a homeless shelter," Mendelson said yesterday. "This is not about helping the homeless. This is a land deal."

7.17.08 - With Rent Unpaid, DC May Raise Ballpark Sales Tax (Washington Post)
In addition to Catania, the sales tax measure is sponsored by council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) and members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large,), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

7.17.08 - District Mulls to Stop Detaining Youth Offenders Alongside Adults (DC Examiner)
“It’s clear that mixing kids and adults within our justice system is a lose-lose proposition,” Mendelson told The Examiner.

7.16.08 - DC Gun Ban is Out, But Regulations Stay (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary and one of the mayor's most vocal critics, said he and the administration collaborated on the legislation. "I want to commend my partners on the Council for their swift, sensible action on our gun laws today," Fenty said in a statement yesterday in which he singled out Mendelson's leadership.

7.16.08 - Council Passes Emergency Bill to Allow Guns (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at large Democrat, added one amendment to the bill to add a fee for ballistics testing of handguns before they are registered.

7.15.08 - A New Gun Law (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) aptly called the Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 a "negative bill," made necessary by the court's unwelcome decision on June 26 to invalidate the city's 32-year-old ban on handgun ownership.

7.15.08 - District Gun Bill Goes to Council (Washington Post)
The legislation was originally crafted by Mendelson, who chairs the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary and who worked with Nickles in recent days to revise and strengthen the bill.

7.15.08 - DC Approves New Gun Laws Prompted By Court Ruling (AP/Washington Post)
"This is not perfect legislation," said...Phil Mendelson, who worked with the mayor's office on the bill. "The first step is what we have before us today so that we maintain important provisions in our gun registration law while we continue look at how we can further refine our gun registration law."

7.15.08 - DC on Verge of New Gun Law (Washington Times)
"It's important to remember it's a 90-day bill because I think we have to address a number of things," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council's public safety committee.

7.15.08 - DC Handgun Ban May Be Lifted, Obtaining a Firearm May Be Tough (DC Examiner)
The government will continue looking for that “right balance to protect the public safety from the scourge of gun violence in the District while at the same time being responsive to the Supreme Court,” Mendelson said.

7.14.08 - DC to Vote on Gun Bill Prompted By Court Ruling (AP/Washington Post)
The legislation, which has strong support from the council, will remain in effect for 90 days. It adopts many of the regulations proposed earlier this month by...Phil Mendelson...chairman of the committee on public safety and the judiciary...would hold a hearing in September on permanent regulations.

7.12.08 - Making Up For Lost 'Street Time' (Washington Post)
"A way to reduce crime is to make it easier for ex-offenders to reenter society as constructive members," said council member Phil Mendelson... "When we stick them on a never-ending treadmill, you can expect a high rate of recidivism."

7.9.08 - District Briefing (Washington Post)
"After opportunity for public discussion and further analysis, I believe it would be prudent for the Council to act on critical provisions of the District's gun law prior to the Council's recess beginning July 16th," Mendelson said in a statement.

7.9.08 - DC Needs to Account for 36,000 Handguns (Washington Times)
In addition to repealing the gun ban and certain safe storage requirements, Mr. Mendelson's bill would institute a waiting period for residents registering guns and require police to make a ballistics profile for every registered gun.

7.9.08 - Councilman Urges Gun Law Passage (DC Examiner)
Mendelson issued a statement Tuesday, saying that moving the legislation forward quickly is the most “prudent” course.  “The administration has ample opportunity to participate,” Mendelson told The Examiner.

7.8.08 - DC Councilmember Seeks Vote on Gun Legislation (AP/DC Examiner)
"We want to comply with the (court's) decision while at the same time fulfill our responsibility to protect the residents of the District of Columbia."

7.6.08 - Week in Review (Washington Post)
With the unanimous support of his 12 D.C. Council colleagues, Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) introduced a bill that would end the city's handgun ban and make it legal for residents to keep firearms in their homes without requiring that trigger locks be used or that the weapons be kept disassembled.

7.5.08 - After DC Gun Ban Overturned, City Seeks New Rules (AP/Washington Post)
"The Supreme Court's decision last week was regrettable; nonetheless, it is the law of the land," D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson said. He introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal the handgun ban and propose new requirements.

7.4.08 - Gandhi Works on Image Control (Washington Post)
"His greatest asset is his independence and integrity, and he needs to continue guarding" it, council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said.

7.3.08 - Lots of Questions, Little Agreement at DC Hearing on Gun Laws (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) has proposed legislation that would essentially keep the D.C. law but insert a broad "exception" for gun owners who keep their firearms at home for "immediate self-defense." It also would repeal the handgun ban.

7.3.08 - Attorney General Nominee a 'Scrapper' (Washington Post)
...Mendelson unloaded his list of his misgivings about Nickles. Among them: replacing the lead attorney on the city's gun case before the Supreme Court, and that Nickles still resides in Virginia despite knowing that he was likely to be Fenty's nominee for the permanent spot. "Shall I go on?" Mendelson asked, after listing a half-dozen issues.

7.3.08 - Prospects For Emergency Gun Bill Uncertain (Washington Times)
"I think it's clear that there are some short-term fixes that we can pursue," Mr. Mendelson said..."It's not clear, however, whether we would need to act on an emergency basis and it didn't help that the executive wasn't willing to share that information with the public today."

7.3.08 - Nickles Asks Council to Hold Off on Revising Gun Rules (DC Examiner)
Mendelson said he was “mystified” by Nickles’ no-show and opened Wednesday’s hearing with a lengthy denunciation of Fenty’s right-hand man. Nickles was vacationing in Maine on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

7.2.08 - DC Council, School Leaders Differ on Funds (Washington Post)
With the unanimous support of his 12 colleagues, Phil Mendelson introduced a bill that would end the city's handgun ban and make it legal for residents to keep firearms in their homes without requirements that trigger locks be used or that they be disassembled.

7.1.08 - Gun Bill Provides for Self Defense (Washington Post)
The bill, sponsored by Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), would also repeal the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns, which was struck down last week by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 ruling. Mendelson released a draft of his legislation yesterday.

7.1.08 - DC Bill to Allow Handgun Registration (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, plans to propose the bill, which in addition to addressing the two main issues in the court's decision also calls for a waiting period for gun registration and a mandatory ballistics record for every gun registered.

7.1.08 - Council Moves Today to Relax District's Firearm Restrictions (DC Examiner)
These are “short-term fixes,” Mendelson said, which will not come quickly: The bill will require two votes from the council...

 

June 2008

6.30.08 - Guns: The Next Step (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), whose public safety committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the decision, rightly wonders whether ballistics tests or a reasonable waiting period might also be appropriate.

6.28.08 - Council Considering Gun Law Changes (Washington Post)
...Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, which must shepherd in the city's new laws, was not fazed. "It's real simple," he said. "To bring our law into compliance, we have to change two sentences."  The current law bans handguns and requires all guns to be fitted with trigger locks, unloaded and disassembled. All of that will be tweaked, he said. But Mendelson and other members said the council has time to carefully draft legislation.

6.27.08 - Officials Upset By Court Decision (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the District's current registration guidelines will be sufficient until city officials can closely examine the ruling. But, he said that he thinks the loss of the gun ban is bad for the city.  "I do see that there will be a very subtle change for the worse," he said. "And that change will be more accidents in the home and more violent crimes where the gun was stolen from the citizen."

6.24.08 - Order Restored After Disturbance (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said he thought the corrections staff handled the incident well. He pointed out that the jail is under capacity; in recent years, crowding has contributed to occasional problems.

6.24.08 - Fenty to Name Nickles as DC Attorney General (Washington Post)
"The AG has to be the one who says to an executive to slow down because this is a constitutional question," Mendelson said. "That didn't seem to happen."

6.21.08 - Rules Published for Spy Camera Network (DC Examiner)
"I'd like to know why they are afraid of the normal rulemaking process, avoiding the public participation in an effort to beat the clock," said Councilman Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee.

6.20.08 - City Pays for Fenty Security on Political Trips (Washington Post)
"Elected officials know the rule that public dollars do not pay for partisan activities," D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said. "This is nothing new. We've been through this with past administrations. Clearly...anything connected with partisan events is a sensitive matter."

6.20.08 - 2 Democrats Back Boycott of Smithfield (Washington Post)
"Our work here is to make Smithfield uncomfortable," council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said in an interview. Mendelson is drafting a resolution that condemns the company...and calls on the company to allow the North Carolina plant workers to unionize.

6.19.08 - Fenty Rethinks Hitting Taxpayers With Campaign Trips (WTOP)
"If the mayor wants to travel for political purposes, that's certainly his right to do so, but partisan activity should not to be paid for at public expense," says Councilmember Phil Mendelson.

6.17.08 - Council Grills Lanier, Nickles on Checkpoint (Washington Post)
The panel's chairman, Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), has been a critic of the checkpoints, saying they engender ill will among residents and infringe upon civil rights.

6.17.08 - Residents Hit Crime Initiatives as Less Personal (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, has sharply criticized the initiatives in recent months. He called the hearing to get answers from Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles about the rationale behind them in the wake of a community backlash.

6.17.08 - Trinidad Survey Finds Rejection of Checkpoints (DC Examiner)
“The most effective law enforcement is that which has the most community support, and that is not what’s the case here,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.

6.16.08 - Washington, DC Puts Itself Under Surveillance (Los Angeles Times)
"The program was announced without any detail or planning around who would have access, for what purpose, and what would happen with any video or digital archive," said Mendelson, who spearheaded a measure...to strictly limit how the cameras are used until the council can approve standards.

6.16.08 - Memos Defend Legality of Checkpoints Amid Criticism (DC Examiner)
The Fenty administration has given conflicting messages on the program...  D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, has scheduled hearings on the barricades for today.

6.15.08 - Interim Attorney General, Others Consulted on Plan (Washington Post)
Checkpoints "engender community hostility and create a bad rapport with the neighbors," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who is holding a hearing tomorrow on the initiative.

6.14.08 - Security Checks Expansion Debated (Washington Times)
The new plan drew fire from D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, and groups including the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent 30 volunteers to monitor police at checkpoints last Saturday.

6.13.08 - Police Suspend Trinidad Checkpoint Program (Washington Post)
"As crime occurs elsewhere in this city, they're going to have to go back to community policing," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who is holding a hearing Monday on the initiative. "Checkpoints aren't going to stop crime," Mendelson said.

6.11.08 - Court Nixed Neighborhood Checkpoint in the 90's (DC Examiner)
“You can’t be any more exact as to the facts. It’s practically the same intersection and the same purposes. And the court said it’s unconstitutional,” Mendelson said.

6.10.08 - Police Close Streets in Trinidad to Steer Drivers to Checkpoint (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said he will hold a hearing Monday on how the checkpoints affect civil liberties. "Observing it reinforced my view it is not effective and reinforced my view it's harmful to police-community relations," he said.

6.10.08 - Police Dispatched to Neighborhood Safety Zones Without Necessary
Constitutional Training (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-At Large, a critic of the zones, has scheduled [a] hearing on the matter later this month.

6.9.08 - Drivers Turned Away as Police Launch New Safety Checkpoints in Trinidad (DC Examiner)
“I take a dim view of this because the criminals are going to drive around it and it’s a poor substitute for community policing,” said Phil Mendelson...“The idea of stopping people in a neighborhood, asking them what their purpose is and rejecting them if you don’t like it, that is not liberty in the U.S.”

6.8.08 - Groups to Monitor DC Vehicle Checkpoints (AP/Washington Post)
...Mendelson...said the checkpoints are the latest example of recent police initiatives that...threaten residents' civil rights.  He cited an amnesty program...to go door-to-door asking for permission to search homes for guns. He also pointed to a plan for a large surveillance camera network that he claims lacks adequate privacy rules. "One has to ask 'What is going on? What is the thinking?'"

6.8.08 - Police Checkpoints gets Mixed Response (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, blasted the plan hours after it was announced and sent a letter Thursday to Chief Lanier asking for documents related to the operation of the program and data on the effectiveness of other strategies, such as drug-free zones.

6.7.08 - Civil Rights Group to Protest as First Checkpoint Introduced (DC Examiner)
...Mendelson...demanded from Lanier a host of information tied to the safety zone initiative, including any legal opinions issued by the Office of the Attorney General. In a letter to the chief, Mendelson said the program's "questionable treatment of District residents' civil liberties" is reason for concern.

6.6.08 - Directive Details Trinidad Checks (Washington Post)
D.C. Council members are skeptical of the plan. Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said yesterday that he plans to hold a public hearing on the issue.

6.5.08 - DC Police to Check Drivers in Violence-Plagues Trinidad (Washington Post)
"I guess the plan is to hope criminals will not walk into neighborhoods," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "I also suppose the plan is to take the criminal's word for it when he or she gives the police a reason for driving into a neighborhood."

6.5.08 - Police to ID Drivers in 5th District (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the plan, which will be enacted by an executive order, is illegal and susceptible to abuse. 

6.5.08 - Baghdad on the Potomac (WTOP)
One person who is not fully supporting the chief on the initiative is D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D - At-Large). "To stop innocent people, require identification, and require everyone to explain themselves is unlawful."

6.5.08 - US Attorney Questioned Constitutionality of Sealed Safety Zones In May (DC Examiner)
“I guess the plan is to hope criminals will not walk into neighborhoods,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee. “I also suppose the plan is to take the criminal’s word for it when he or she gives the police a reason for driving into a neighborhood.”

6.5.08 - Constitutional Scholars Pan Plan to Seal Zones (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said he’s worried about the city’s attitude toward civil rights, and he’s considering calling Judiciary Committee hearings on the matter. “This isn’t just one initiative that’s maybe a bad idea. It’s a series of initiatives,” Mendelson said. “What is going on?”

6.4.08 - Restrictions Pass for City Camera Project (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said the police guidelines are so restrictive that they should slow down or stop the new project.

6.4.08 - Speculation Grown on Attorney General Job (Washington Post)
Nickles's nomination would be subject to confirmation by the D.C. Council. Some members, including Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who heads the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, have said that the attorney general must be independent of the mayor.

6.4.08 - I.D. Needed to Enter Certain High-Crime Areas in DC (WTOP)
D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson calls the tactics illegal. "I support increased police presence to reduce crime, but to stop innocent people, require identification, and require everyone to explain themselves is unlawful."

6.4.08 - Council Foils Fenty Monitoring Guidelines (Washington Times)
He and other council members said they are concerned about the Fenty administration rushing into the program without a well-defined plan. "I didn't hear anything about public safety," Mr. Mendelson said. "I think they're avoiding being specific."

6.3.08 - Council Questions Camera Plan (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chaired yesterday's hearing of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said he was considering even tougher restrictions. He said he might...make the city "start over and have the answers" about the new system before developing it.

6.3.08 - Council Weighs Fireworks Ban (Washington Times)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson...said he would vote against the ban because he thinks the city should focus on doing a better job at enforcement. "There are illegal fireworks in the District," said Mr. Mendelson, chairman of the council's public safety committee. "Focus on the illegal fireworks."

6.3.08 - Privacy Advocates, Lawmakers Criticize Citywide Camera Plan (DC Examiner)
But two months into the initiative, there are still no set rules for monitoring and maintaining the cameras, according to a letter from Darrell Darnell, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, to Councilman Phil Mendelson, who called for the hearing.

 

May 2008

5.27.08 - Critics Cite Privacy Concerns of DC Surveillance Plan (DC Examiner)
That complaint is echoed in Washington by DC Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, who said that little planning has gone into the District’s system. Mendelson has scheduled a hearing [Monday] on the surveillance system.

5.24.08 - Councilman: Fees Won't Raise Enough Revenue (DC Examiner)
"The real point is they don't know," Mendelson said of the Fenty administration. "There's massive confusion."

5.24.08 - Lanier to Again Fire Reinstated Officers (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said he opposed the rehiring of the 20 officers, but blamed police management for failing to meet it's own deadlines. "Where discipline should be meted out, it shouldn't be frustrated by slothfulness," Mendelson said.

5.23.08 - DC Attorney General Fires 11 Staff Members (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said he supports firing employees who are not up to par. But he said they deserve a proper appeals process, which Nickles said would be followed.

5.21.08 - Department Draws Criticism Over Forced Re-Hiring of 17 Officers (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson said he plans to get updates and explanations on the matter from Lanier at oversight hearings throughout the year. "Discipline should happen in a timely way," Mendelson said. "When it's delayed, we as the public don't benefit, and the officers don't benefit."

5.20.08 - Police Rifles Won't Be Secured (Washington Times)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson rejects the idea of deploying the rifles without proper security measures. "If they are issuing rifles to officers without car mounts, that would be contrary to what I've been told and would be bad practice," said Mendelson, who heads the committee on public safety.

5.17.08 - DC Police to Carry Semiautomatic Rifles on Patrols (Washington Post)
"It's more intimidating to have an officer on the corner with a long arm," said Mendelson, head of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. "That may be appropriate in certain circumstances, but we're not in a police state. We don't want police officers walking the street with long arms."

5.16.08 - New Assault Category Considered for Attacking DC Guards With Bodily Fluids (DC Examiner)
Councilman Mendelson...was “sympathetic” to the plight of guards and agreed the acts are “heinous,” but he questioned why the bill was necessary. D.C. law already covers simple and felony assault, he said.  “If it’s already illegal, we don’t accomplish anything by making it illegal again,” Mendelson said.

5.16.08 - DC Council Expands D.P. Law (Washington Blade)
“I’m not a percentage type person,” said Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), the author and lead sponsor of the legislation. “But I’d say we’re getting very close,” he said, to domestic partners receiving full parity with married couples under local law.

5.14.08 - Fenty's Budget Amended, Approved (Washington Post)
...cut more than $800,000 from video surveillance that links thousands of city-owned cameras -- a program that civil libertarians have said invades privacy.  Pushed by Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the council also inserted language that prohibits the administration from taking further steps with the program until Fenty (D) submits rules to the council for approval.

5.14.08 - Video Cameras proposed on Guns for DC Police (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, who heads the council's committee on public safety, said he would hold hearings on the proposal, but he questions the cost-effectiveness of the device.

5.14.08 - What kind of Green is the DC Council? (DC Examiner)
Sierra Club lobbyist Jim Dougherty would add...at-large Council Member Phil Mendelson.

5.13.08 - Property Transfer, Cigarette Tax Likely to Increase (Washington Post)
Gray is backing the recommendation of Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) to transfer $6 million from the public-safety budget, unused salaries from vacancies, for the [small business] tax cut.

5.10.08 - Police Told of Monitoring Problems in Cell Before Suicide (DC Examiner)
District Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said he's troubled by department's apparent ignorance of the Jan. 14 memo. "That should have been addressed," Mendelson told The Examiner. "They need to get that stuff fixed."

5.9.08 - Police Union Says Fenty Unwelcome (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety...said that because today's ceremony is for officers who died in the line of duty, it is appropriate for the mayor to pay his respects. Still, Mendelson added that he is "surprised at how strong the ill will is."

5.9.08 - Cops With Rifles to Hit Streets This Summer (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at large Democrat, said he would not oppose the decision to use assault rifles, but is skeptical that criminals are using more powerful weapons.

5.7.08 - DC Council Gives Preliminary Approval to Noise Bill (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) joined Evans and Bowser in dissent to the bill. "A crowd of 100 people walking a picket line will exceed the limits in this bill," Mendelson said.

5.7.08 - '09 Budget Deficit Soars to $130M (DC Examiner)
“It’s convenient that the council is working on a revised property tax relief that’s going to cost about $30 million, which is about what the new projected shortfall is,” he said. “I think somebody’s got their thumb on the scale.”

5.6.08 - Panel to Block Camera Funds (Washington Times)
D.C. Council members bypassed by Fenty in his plans to consolidate thousands of city cameras have moved to block funding for the program..."That's what we're trying to do," said...Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety...which agreed last week to remove funding for the program...

5.5.08 - Emergency Call Center Director Slammed by DC Council Panel (DC Examiner)
“The Committee was concerned about [Quintana] because of her lack of direct experience with public safety,” the committee’s budget report states. “[Quintana’s] performance over the past year has done little to give the Committee confidence in her ability to effectively lead and manage the OUC.”

5.4.08 - Tangles Over City Budget Reflect a Deeper Divide (Washington Post)
"There are frequent reminders from the executive branch that perpetuate the tension," said Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), one of the few council members to criticize Fenty publicly. "Instead of going out of their way to improve relationships, they've gone out of their way to make things worse."

5.3.08 - Openness Promised in Probe of Killing (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-at Large)...said that "there are no winners in this" and that police will have to regain the trust of the community. "Right or wrong, when you have a use-of-force incident, the police suffer...They're going to have to recover from the hit they took in public confidence."

5.2.08 - Council to Consider Plan to Aid Businesses (Washington Post)
"Budgeting is about finding the right balance between charging taxes and spending money," Mendelson (D-At Large) said.

5.2.08 - 2 Police Officers Cleared in Slaying of 14-year-old After 7 Month Probe (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said the police department had work to do to repair its relationship with its neighbors.  “There are no winners in this,” Mendelson said.

5.2.08 - DC Council Committee Rejects Camera Money, E-911 Fee Hike (DC Examiner)
“There has been no thought on what, if any, restrictions will govern the expanded system,” Mendelson’s committee wrote in its report. “The executive should fully develop the program before it seeks funding.”

5.1.08 - DC Forging Surveillance Network (Washington Post)
"The planning has been wholly lacking," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, who plans to hold a hearing on the project.

5.1.08 - At What Point is Big Brother Too Intrusive? (Washington Times)
To be fair, council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, is not comfortable with the celluloid intrusion on the residents of the city...

 

April 2008

4.30.08 - Council Wants Hearing on Access to Cameras (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson...has adamantly opposed Mr. Fenty's camera plan and emphasized yesterday that officials should wait until comprehensive regulations can be developed to govern who can monitor the devices and how before the program is implemented.

4.30.08 - DC Anti-Gang Effort: Call Them Crews (Washington Times)
"There seem to be several street crews that are feuding," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, who heads the council's public safety committee. "On the one hand, that means it's not random; but on the other hand, it's an intolerable level of violence."

4.29.08 - Company With Family Ties Nets More than $30M in Contracts (DC Examiner)
District Council Member Phil Mendelson, D-at large, said he is worried about Bridenbaugh’s role. “They’re asking for trouble,” Mendelson said.

4.25.08 - Residents Decry Killings in Northeast (Washington Post)
Thomas, ...was joined at last night's meeting by colleague Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)...

4.25.08 - Fenty Asked to Press Pause on Camera Network (Washington Times)
"I think they need to hold up and answer these questions...that have been raised by the community about civil liberties, about costs and what exactly they are proposing," said Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.

4.24.08 - Hands Off? D.C. Police Chief Backs Down on Weekend Staffing (DC Examiner)
District Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, who oversees Lanier’s department, said he was “pleased” that Lanier was taking a step back on “All Hands."  “We should not lose adequate police staffing in the neighborhoods whenever there is an ‘All Hands on Deck,’ ” he said in an e-mail.

4.16.08 - Council Weighs Taxing Free Employee Parking (DC Examiner)
...Phil Mendelson co-introduced the bill, which would levy a $25 per month “Clean Air Act Compliance Fee”...”These spaces, owned by firms such as Fannie Mae, are generating no sales tax revenues and are accomplishing little to inspire transit use, to improve air quality or to reduce traffic congestion...

4.15.08 - Security Guards - Contracts Offering Raises Accepted (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) were on hand for yesterday's announcement at the John A. Wilson Building.

4.15.08 - DC Auditor Blasted for Missing Tax Scam Despite Charging Extra (DC Examiner)
“It’s a legitimate and important question why their auditing samples completely missed $40 million in theft,” Councilman Phil Mendelson said of auditor BDO Seidman.

4.14.08 - Security Guards Get Union Contract (Washington Post)
"By requiring fair wages, we are taking an important step to address our City's staggering poverty rate," council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the lead sponsor of the act, said in a statement.

4.13.08 - Some Question Value of Fenty's Devotion to Visibility (Washington Post)
"I would think it's got to be hard on the mayor," Mendelson said recently. "By spending all his time at press conferences, there's less time for the business of government."

4.13.08 - Surveillance Quietly Expands in the City (Washington Times)
"Bringing these 5,200 additional cameras into that system without thinking through the parameters is one of the problems with how they're going about this."

4.12.08 - Fans Throw a Curve (Baltimore Sun)
D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson said things would look brighter if only the team were winning. "The Nats losing brings back memories of last year. You have to really like baseball to go out and see that," he said.

4.11.08 - Delayed Notice of Death is Reviewed (Washington Post)
"This is embarrassing to the city," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), head of the public safety committee. "I don't think it should be that complicated."

4.10.08 - DC Will Centralize Security Monitoring (Washington Post)
"It's clear looking at other cities that cameras displace crime, they don't reduce crime," he said. Mendelson said he remains concerned about abuse of the system. "We don't want the camera swooping in on a cute girl in a short skirt," he said.

4.10.08 - Councilmembers Wary of Cameras (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson said he had no faith that officials would follow the existing rules.  "The rules we have pertain to the police," he said.

4.9.08 - 5,000 Monitoring Cameras Opened to DC Police (Washington Times)
Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said that the proposed move was "breathtaking" and that the initiative "has not been thought through".  "There is a huge civil liberty implication because they're talking about a fully [interoperable] system..."

4.9.08 - Councilman: Accounting Failures Threaten District Budget Reforms (DC Examiner)
“But the auditors are saying it isn’t happening and there’s a lot of gimmicks in this year’s budgets. It’s beginning to resonate the same way it did 18 years ago, when D.C. was heading toward the control board.”

4.8.08 - DC Crime Camera Proposal Draws Criticism (NBC 4)
D.C. Council Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson is critical of that degree of public monitoring.  "I'm pretty amazed here because we've gone from a debate, a very contentious debate in this council, over 48 cameras to now a big brother situation with 5,200 cameras," he said

4.5.08 - DC Council Wants Deadly Cargo Out (Washington Times)
"They can make the cars as strong as imaginable and they will still be vulnerable to terrorist attack as long as they are running within blocks of the Capitol," said Phil Mendelson, council member and at-large Democrat who backed the District's legislation banning rail cars.

4.4.08 - Gun Search Program to Be Request Only (Washington Post)
"The way it was announced by the mayor, so little had been worked out, and people were free to imagine the most intimidating sort of interaction with police, which nobody wants," Mendelson said.

4.1.08 - Fenty, DC Council Go Head-to-Head on Budget Spending and Earmarks (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson signaled his intention to kill a proposed increase to the E-911 fee. Gray and Mendelson both complained the mayor’s budget doesn’t provide enough tax relief for small businesses.

 

March 2008

3.31.08 - Fenty Quietly Doubles Ambulance Fees (DC Examiner)
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson...said the new charges would hit residents east of the Anacostia River hardest because they have the farthest to travel for emergency care.  “I don’t think a person should have to think about the fee before they call EMS,” Mendelson said.

3.28.08 - DC Police to Enhance Security at Nationals Games (DC Examiner)
“I don’t like the idea of taking officers out of the neighborhoods and off the streets,” Mendelson said. “They’re being taken away from something that they would otherwise be doing.”

3.27.08 - Medics to Treat Overuse of 911 (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, who has oversight of the department as chairman of the council's public safety committee, supports the program.  "There's a fair amount of overuses of 911," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "This makes a lot of sense."

3.27.08 - District to Become Largest Donor to Ford's Theater (DC Examiner)
“That’s outrageous,” D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson said of the proposed funding. “We’re struggling to make ends meet in some of the agencies, so sure, let’s shovel some money to a federal project.”

3.27.08 - DC to Pay $2.5M to Build Levee (DC Examiner)
“Waiting around for the federal government to do something might not be productive,” Mendelson said. “Where the mayor is going to get the money, I don’t know.”

3.26.08 - Retail Giant to Aid DC Firms (Washington Times)
...Phil Mendelson...introduced legislation in February 2007 that targeted big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart. The bill would require that retailers with stores larger than 75,000 square feet or a parent company with gross revenue of $1 billion or more pay employees a "living wage,"...

3.21.08 - Fenty's $9.4 Billion Budget Has Fees, No Taxes (Washington Times)
"We can't continue to expand government when the country's in a recession and do it through tax increases," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat.  Mr. Mendelson also said he would again fight the 911 fee. "I would say there are tax increases in this budget," he said.

3.21.08 - Fenty Budget Hold Spending Line, Closes Projected Revenue Gap (DC Examiner)
The council has shot down five attempts since 2004 to raise the E-911 fee, a monthly charge on every phone line. As taxes already comprise 28 percent of the average phone bill, Councilman Phil Mendelson pledged, “I am going to stop it again.”

3.21.08 - Mayor's Budget Funds 150% Boost in District's Education Staff (DC Examiner)
“When the takeover was proposed, it was promised that we would see significant improvement without more money,” Mendelson said. “Schools need resources. But we agreed last summer that the schools need a lot more than just money.”

3.20.08 - In Brief: Tax Assessment Meetings (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) will have a series of town hall meetings to discuss the District's tax assessments.  Homeowners who think that the proposed 2009 assessment does not reflect the value of their property can learn more about the appeal process.

3.20.08 - DC Police Chief Plans Five More Full-Force Shifts (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson said in November that he didn't think the higher number of arrests made during All Hands on Deck weekends translated to less crime, considering the city saw a spike in homicides and other crimes last year.

3.19.08 - Panel Passes Bill to Expand Pre-Kindergarten (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said there still seemed to be anxiety among charter schools that curriculum requirements would limit their freedom to continue alternative teaching methods.  "Charter schools are all about flexibility."

3.19.08 - Council Chairman Tweaks Prekindergarten Bill (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson said he has heard concern from leaders in D.C.’s public charter-school system who feel that the bill’s lack of flexibility does not accommodate charter schools.  To this, Gray said he’s working on exceptions.

3.18.08 - Councilmember Urges Rejection of New Lease on Evidence Warehouse (Washington Post)
"This is a bad lease," Mendelson said yesterday. "It's bad because the rent is almost twice market value. It's bad because it's a short-term lease that will be too short for the District's needs and then it's going to increase."

3.18.08 - City Ponders 'Plan B' if Justices Void Gun Ban (Washington Times)
But he said a Supreme Court opinion against the District would place the nation's capital "in trouble."  "Any finding against the District will open the city to more guns," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "That doesn't make us safer."

3.18.08 - DC Councilman Seeks Reason for Jump In Rent for Warehouse (DC Examiner)
No official who negotiated the deal for the District showed up Monday to explain the agreement during a council committee hearing chaired by Mendelson.  “It certainly raises questions,” Mendelson said. “But perhaps that is the answer, that they don’t have a defense.”

3.17.08 - Report Suggests New Tolls for Region (Washington Post)
"It's worth talking about all of it," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who is also chairman of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board. "But I think it will be a decade before we get there."

3.13.08 - Police Initiate Search for Guns (Washington Times)
"The idea that this is going to be a peaceful, friendly invitation to enter the home may not work," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

3.13.08 - Program Offers Amnesty, Aims to Get Guns Off Streets (DC Examiner)
“I can’t see how a police officer knocking on the door to look for guns is going to be warmly received,” said Mendelson.

3.13.08 - Study: Switch in Retirement Plan Has Less Appeal for Senior Cops (DC Examiner)
“In the short term, it probably will not result in very many officers retiring after 20 years,” Mendelson said. “I don’t think many officers on the force today will opt in.” Still, he said, new recruits would be attracted to the option to serve fewer years before retirement.

3.12.08 - In a Changing Neighborhood, the Gospel Falls on Achy Ears (NY Times)
“This is America,” said Phil Mendelson, an at-large councilman who opposed the bill and who says free-speech protections are vital in the nation’s capital, a frequent site of protest.

3.11.08 - Anti-Gang Law is Underused, Chief Says (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson...said authorities must get ahead of gang activity. "If it gains too much of a foothold, it can be very hard to combat it," Mendelson said. "That was one of the reasons to write the law, to give law enforcement the tool."

3.10.08 - Police Chief: District's Anti-Gang Law Ineffective (DC Examiner)
But Councilman Phil Mendelson, who chairs the public safety committee...said the city “can tinker with longer sentences and enhanced penalties all we want to and it won’t have a deterrent effect.”  So what does work? It’s the “certainty of being caught,” Mendelson said.

3.8.08 - Rhee Fires 98 School Administrative Workers (Washington Times)
Mr. Mendelson said he had heard about the firings but was reserving judgment until he gets more details about the circumstances surrounding them.  "It's hard to comment without knowing the details," he said. "I would think it's enormously destabilizing to lose a hundred people at one time."

3.5.08 - Council Passes Ballpark Safety Bill (Press Release)
“As we gear up for a successful inaugural season at the new ballpark, and we must make sure that those who are employed by as well as visit the facility are properly protected,” stated Mendelson.

3.4.08 - Council Approves Sick Leave in District (Washington Post)
...but not before council members added several amendments that business leaders applauded and labor leaders said significantly weakened the legislation.  Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)...who opposed every amendment up for a vote, criticized their colleagues.

3.1.08 - DC Crime Watch (Washington Times)
Some skeptics, including committee Chairman Phil Mendelson, suspect that the surveillance cameras simply displace crime rather than deter it. We share Mr. Mendelson's concern

 

February 2008

2.29.08 - DC Council Threatens to Spike Lease for Police Evidence Warehouse (DC Examiner)
“It’s a bad deal,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. “Every time I look at it, I come to the same conclusion.”

2.28.08 - Administrative Officer Orders Fired DC Welfare Officers Back to Jobs (DC Examiner)
“The problems with the hot line, the problems with having follow through from social workers has been identified repeatedly by the court monitor and would not have been a surprise to anyone listening,” Mendelson said.

2.26.08 - Police Chief Reports Decline in Violent Offenses This Year (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council committee, said he was concerned that detectives might be carrying too many cases. Mendelson said he wants to ensure they have enough time to work on shootings, robberies and other crimes.

2.26.08 - Crime Creeps Higher in 2007 (DC Examiner)
“To be clear, we will not sacrifice quality in order to increase quantity,” Lanier told the committee, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson.

2.25.08 - PG Police Want to Expand Gunshot Detection System (DC Examiner)
But District Councilman Phil Mendelson, head of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, has questioned whether the cameras and sensors simply disperse crime into uncovered areas and don’t actually reduce crime.

2.21.08 - Cameras Have Cut Violence, Study Says (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson...said he wonders whether the cameras have stopped crimes or just caused criminals to move down the block. "The issue...is displacement," he said. "You can put a camera up, and crime will go down where the camera is focused, but the crime may be dispersed."

2.20.08 - Measure Tabled Over Unions' Free-Speech Concerns (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said the current law considers both demonstrators and residents. Such noise is not permitted between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

2.18.08 - CFO: Using Surplus on Soccer Stadium is Risky (DC Examiner)
But at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who opposed the Nationals’ financing deal, questioned whether the District should take “what little amount of money we earn and spend it on another stadium.”

2.16.08 - Reasons Are Elusive as DC Lifts Homicide Closure Rate (Washington Post)
"It's wonderful they've gotten to 70 percent after all these years....Closure rates for homicides should be closer to 90 percent," Mendelson said. "People shouldn't get away with murder."

2.14.08 - Fenty Eyes Public Funds for Soccer Stadium (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who voted against the baseball financing, said, "We learned in the baseball debate that the public is leery of public financing, and there are many who will say, 'Here we go again.' "

2.14.08 - Fenty Lays Out Plan for Soccer Stadium to Keep DC United (DC Examiner)
"I'm certainly supportive of some public investment in the site," Mendelson said. "But with very little detail that we have at this time, it's difficult to say that support for the stadium is justified."

2.12.08 - Education Advocates Urge Rhee to Reveal Budget Plan (DC Examiner)
“There shouldn’t be this controversy,” said Mendelson, who opposed Fenty’s takeover. “We need to meet the statutory deadlines for providing the proposed budget to the public so that we can have meaningful debate.”

2.11.08 - Police Go Live Monitoring DC Crime Cameras (Washington Post)
"To just park someone in front of a bank of monitors is not a good use of resources," said council member Phil Mendelson....The issue of the cameras is whether we get the best bang for our buck. The more officers you have on the street, the more visibility you have."

2.8.08 - Fenty, Nickles Promise Push on Child Welfare Reforms (DC Examiner)
Mendelson said after Thursday’s hearing that he thought things were changing with the Fenty administration. “The Child Fatality Committee has been toiling for years in the wilderness with no one paying attention to them,” Mendelson said.

2.5.08 - Grumbling Builds on Paid Sick Leave (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the initial sponsor of the bill last year, called the tabling "subterfuge to try to kill the legislation.  It's important that you all are being active on this, because the council is getting an enormous amount of pressure from the business community," he said.

2.5.08 - DC Taxi Drivers Strike (Washington Post)
On Jan. 18, council members Phil Mendelson...introduced legislation to establish a zone-meter system that would preserve the zones but use the Global Positioning System to calculate the fares.

2.5.08 - Proposed Fee Would Fund DC Auto-Theft Program (DC Examiner)
“These additional resources should make a difference,” Mendelson said Monday. “We really aren’t providing the resources we need.”

2.4.08 - Gandhi: DC to Face Slowdown in 2009 (DC Examiner)
“The council and the mayor are going to come up with a balanced budget, and I believe the council will weed out any gimmicks that would purport to balance the budget,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. “But if the revenues come in lower, it will be tough to make the cuts.”

 

January 2008

1.31.08 - Who's the Boss?  Nickles? (Washington Post)
Mendelson has been critical of Nickles, saying he overstepped his authority as general counsel and made several unwise policy recommendations to the mayor, such as Fenty's short-lived decision to purge government e-mails.

1.29.08 - Attorney General's Role Is Debated (Washington Post)
Mendelson said he would like for the attorney general to become an elected position, as is the case in most states. "It's about maintaining independence," he said, adding that Nickles has a "line drawn as close to the mayor as possible."

1.29.08 - Nickles Spars With Council, Denies He's a 'Puppet' (DC Examiner)
“I will not support him as the new attorney general,” at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the judiciary committee, said of Nickles. “In my view there have been too many mistakes, errors of judgment.”

1.28.08 - Youth Death Toll in 2006 Was 157 (Washington Post)
"The issue is not about one family or one woman," council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said yesterday. He noted how little the death count has changed over the years. "It's a pretty consistent problem. . . . We've made very little progress."

1.28.08 - Report: Many Youth Die Horrific Deaths (DC Examiner)
“I think the Jacks case highlights how far we have to go and how little we have done to improve the chances of youth in our city,” said D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, D-at large, and chairman of the council’s judiciary committee. Mendelson [is]...scheduled to hold hearings...early next month.

1.26.08 - Officials Try to Clear Up Confusion About 911 Calls (Washington Post)
"Janice Quintana, you are playing games with what is a police call, and I find that truly inexcusable," Mendelson snapped at her.

1.25.08 - Call Takers Predict Trouble With New 911/311 System (DC Examiner)
“This change is going to reduce the responsiveness of 911 to handle true emergency calls where seconds count,” [Mendelson] said.

1.24.08 - What's Your Emergency? (DC Examiner)
At-large D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson was unimpressed: “The confusion they have caused is not in the public interest,” he said. “The change is unnecessary. I think it’s a mess.” His Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary will hold a public hearing today on the switch.

1.23.08 - 311 Center Launched Amid Qualms (Washington Post)
Under the new system, anyone needing any kind of police or fire response will call 911 -- emergency or not. The operators will then decide whether the call constitutes an emergency. Mendelson said that could slow response times.

1.22.08 - Land Costs Push Nats Stadium $43M Over Budget (DC Examiner)
“The cap was never a real number,” said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, a stadium critic.

1.21.08 - DC Workers Scramble to Replace Doctors (DC Examiner)
A number of firefighters also raised the issue during a recent hearing before the D.C. Council’s public safety committee, chaired by at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson. The larger issue, Mendelson said, is that without CIGNA, the District offers only one PPO option to its employees.

1.20.08 - DC's 911, 311 Lines to Merge (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, raised concerns about merging non-emergency police calls with emergency calls, saying he thinks it could overload the 911 system and will further confuse residents.

1.18.08 - Councilmember Concerned About Change to 911 Policy (Washington Examiner)
[Mendelson] says the change would be confusing for citizens who have been told for years not to call 911 unless they have an emergency, and he worries non-emergency calls will slow down responses to emergencies.

1.17.08 - Use of 911 for Non-Emergencies Raises Safety Concerns (WTOP)
"This is going to be confusing to the public," says Council member Phil Mendelson, who chairs the committee on public safety that includes police, fire and the 911 call center.  It's always been drummed into citizens' heads, 'non-emergency you don't call 911.'"

1.14.08 - Murders Lead to Overhaul of Agencies (DC Examiner)
“These tragic deaths point to doing something,” Mendelson said, “as opposed to just talking about it.”

1.12.08 - Fenty: City Agencies Failed Jacks' Girls (DC Examiner)
Councilman Phil Mendelson said Fenty had failed to integrate city agencies charged with protecting children, as the mayor had vowed to do.

1.9.08 - Bill on School Firings Passes (Washington Post)
Dissenting members...Phil Mendelson (D-At Large)...said that existing law gave Rhee the power to fire unproductive workers and that the council was discarding civil service rules that workers depend on to protect their jobs.

1.9.08 - Rhee Granted Firing Authority (Washington Times)
The bill's approval did not come without opposition. Council members...Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat all voted against the measure... the bill abdicates due process and that Mrs. Rhee already has the authority she needs to clean house in the school system's central office.

1.9.08 - DC Cop Database Wiped Out (DC Examiner)
“I’ve been there [at the decrepit evidence warehouse],” said District Council Member and Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson, D-at large. “It’s a bubble-gum operation.”

1.8.08 - Council Adopts Important Public Safety Initiatives (Press Release)
At the Council’s Legislative Meeting today, Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D, At-Large) guided a number of bills – 9 in all – which benefit the safety and security of District residents.

1.8.08 - DC Council to Vote on Extension of Recovery Time (Washington Post)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said yesterday that emergency legislation would be on the council's agenda to extend that recovery period..."I don't think any firefighters should be worrying about losing their jobs while recovering."

1.8.08 - Council Report Calls for Legislative Branch to Take More Aggressive Role in
Public Education Overhaul (DC Examiner)
“With the radical change in the governance structure, I think everybody’s feeling their way,” Councilman Phil Mendelson said.

1.7.08 - All Hands Initiative to Stand (Washington Times)
The head of the D.C. Council's committee on public safety blames the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for passing on a proposal...to determine the department's optimal size.  "I fault the Fenty administration for dropping the ball," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

1.4.08 - Councilman Demands Explanation for Firing of Veteran DC Litigator (DC Examiner)
“I think he’s a good lawyer, but I don’t think that he’s infallible,” Mendelson said of Nickles. “He has to account for how this new era is going to work. That [the gun ban] litigation is very important.”

1.3.08 - Attorney for DC Gun Ban Case Fired (Washington Post)
"It's like committing hari-kari. We're in the middle of preparing for a Supreme Court case," Mendelson said, adding that he has heard "nothing but praise" for Morrison's work on the brief.

1.3.08 - District Fires Lead Lawyer in Gun Ban Case (Washington Times)
"It's like changing horses midstream and frankly worries me with regard to the handling of the gun case," said Mr. Mendelson..."If I was on the other side, I'd be taking some joy out of today's events..."

1.3.08 - Nickles Fires Lawyer in Gun Ban Case (DC Examiner)
Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called Morrison’s firing “crazy"...

 

December 2007

12.31.07 - AG: Keep Some Teens Out of Adult Jail (DC Examiner)
“Everything we know about juvenile behavior shows that juveniles aren’t treated best by the adult prison population.”

12.30.07 - A Year of Fussing and Feuding (Washington Post)
Bravest Politician: Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D, At-Large)

12.28.07 - Vote Set in DC on Mandating Paid Sick Leave (Washington Post)
However, council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who proposed the bill, said the changes might go too far. "I wish the bill was closer to what was introduced..."  Said Mendelson, known as a supporter of labor: "It's a matter of basic fairness to workers."

12.27.07 - Fenty Coming Up Short on Goals (DC Examiner)
“Construction was supposed to start in January,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee, of the forensic lab project. “The final design might be ready soon enough, but they’re a year behind the schedule they inherited, and I think it’s shameful.”

12.25.07 - Fenty's Powerful General Counsel Pushes Boundaries (DC Examiner)
"He does not represent the District. He represents the mayor. The fact that he does not understand that speaks to a flaw in his judgment."

12.24.07 - Fenty Friend and General Counsel Walks Hard, Steps on Toes (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said Nickles has made "a number of bad decisions." As an example, he pointed to Fenty's order, at Nickles' urging, that all city e-mail be purged after six months, a ruling the mayor rescinded after public protest.

12.23.07 - Dr' G's Tips (Washington Post)
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, which helps coordinate the region's transit and traffic relief programs, has elected D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson as its chairman for 2008.

12.22.07 - DC's Annual Audit Will Be 60 Days Late (DC Examiner)
"I don't know how Wall Street will react. That's a big deal, and it's disturbing."

12.21.07 - MD Will Challenge Rejection of Air Rules (Washington Post)
One of the bill's sponsors, council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), said yesterday that he did not intend to change the text of the bill. Mendelson said he thinks that a court will reverse the EPA's decision before the D.C. bill would take effect in 2011.

12.20.07 - Mendelson Moves to Redefine Attorney General's Role (Washington Post)
"Among states, the District is in the minority when it comes to structural protections for the position of Attorney General. . . . It's about time that this position is elevated."

12.20.07 - Fenty's Worker Buyout Plan Hit (Washington Times)
"I hope the mayor will be consultative with the council and its judiciary committee as he moves forward to restore leadership to the attorney general's office," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

12.20.07 - District to Get a Quarter in 2009 (DC Examiner)
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson recommended inscribing “No taxation without representation” on the District’s quarter.

12.19.07 - DC Bill on School Firings Advances (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said workers have been terminated in the past in the hopes of turning around agencies, to no avail...the school system needs to be restructured, which would not necessarily mean firing workers. "I cannot support throwing civil service out the window.."

12.19.07 - Rhee's Firing Power Set to Rise (Washington Times)
...Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, voted against the measure, saying the chancellor already has authority — which she has not used — to fire employees.

12.19.07 - Rhee Gains Power to Fire Schools' Central Office Staffers (DC Examiner)
with...Phil Mendelson...dissenting and instead backing a failed proposal hailed by the unions as more friendly to workers’ rights.

12.18.07 - Attorney General Quits; Clash With Fenty Aide Cited (Washington Post)
"The abrupt resignation creates renewed instability and concerns me greatly."

12.18.07 - Singer Quits as Attorney General (Washington Times)
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council committee with oversight of the attorney general, applauded Mrs. Singer for caring "about the little guy" and said appointing Mr. Nickles as interim attorney general is "a mistake."

12.18.07 - DC's Top Lawyers Resigns Post (DC Examiner)
“That Peter Nickles will be interim attorney general is a mistake,” said Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chair of the council’s Judiciary Committee.

12.18.07 - Rhee's Plans are Likely to Pass, Lawmakers Say (Washington Post)
"Firing people is not a panacea for improving . . . our schools," Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said. "I've seen it over and over again. You make it easy to fire people, and you fire good people."

12.18.07 - Hilda Mason, Longtime DC Councilwoman, Dies (DC Examiner)
“But it is a blessing that she lived a long life full of great contributions to humanity — as a teacher, civil rights activist, warrior for home rule and statehood, and legislator.”

12.17.07 - On Some Streets, Quaint is Better than a Famous Name (Washington Times)
D.C. Council members...Phil Mendelson...introduced legislation earlier this year to cap the size of stores in the city, indirectly banning big-box stores such as Wal-Mart.

12.15.07 - Councilman Claims He Was Badgered During 911 Call (DC Examiner)
Roughly 1,000 calls a week to D.C.'s call center are being monitored for quality, Quintana told the public safety panel, chaired by Councilman Phil Mendelson.

12.12.07 - DC Eyes Checks on Property for Developers (Washington Times)
"I support that we have to have better discipline in how we dispose of public assets," he said. "Selling off of property ought to be done with some thought and planning."

12.12.07 - DC Effort to License Drug Sellers Advances (Washington Post)
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) [said] that amendments, part of the normal legislative process, had made the bill better.

12.11.07 - DC Has Weekend Free of Shootings (Washington Post)
"It is really about whether, in fact, initiatives like this are reducing crime over the long run. You can't really judge the effectiveness of the police based on one weekend."

12.11.07 - Violent DC Crews Drive Up Crime Rates (Washington Times)
DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, want(s) to hold a hearing on crew activity.

12.6.07 - 'Pro-bono' Audit Getting Costly (DC Examiner)
“It’s still a lot of money but this situation is serious enough that the council obtaining its [own] expertise is important,” said councilmember Phil Mendelson. “When you’re talking about at least $20 million and possibly $44 million, you can’t audit enough.”

12.5.07 - Council Criticizes Lanier as Crime Rates Increase (DC Examiner)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson pointed out that New York City was on track to have the fewest homicides in more than 40 years, while the nation’s capital has already suffered more murders than it did all of last year, and asked her: What was the District doing wrong?

12.3.07 - Fenty's Mode on Schools is Breeding Alienation (Washington Post)
Mendelson said [that] members must decide "whether the council . . . is willing to put up with this kind of governance. If the members are willing to continue to be an afterthought, that's how it will work for the next few years."

12.1.07 - Shuttered School to House Police (Washington Times)
"Releasing an artist's rendering that was done months ago is not a substitute for a shovel in the ground," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "I am skeptical that this ground will be broken on time."

12.1.07 - Reliable Crime Statistics A Work in Progress; Lanier Says (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who heads the committee, said homicides are down in many cities, including New York, which has a much lower rate than the District. Yet the District's numbers are up after four years of decline.  "Why?" he asked.

12.1.07 - Police Force Lacks 300 Officers Amid Rising Homicides (Washington Times)
"[New York's] got 8 million people and they're under 500," said Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat. "We've got 600,000 and we're pushing 200. We have to know why homicides are going down in other cities and here they're high."

 

November 2007

11.30.07 - Marriage Returns to the Spotlight at DC Forum (Washington Blade)
District Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large)...said he hopes to complete work in January on the Omnibus Domestic Equality Act of 2007.  “It would substantially expand the rights and responsibilities of domestic partners in the District of Columbia in a wide range of areas...”

11.29.07 - No Next Steps for Schools Facing Closure (Washington Times)
"Is Bowen on the list because it should be closed, or is Bowen on the list because they need somewhere for the First District?" asked Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat.

11.27.07 - Fenty Administration Tops in Number of High Salaries (DC Examiner)
“Is this a sports team?” Mendelson asked.

11.20.07 - Key DC Councilmembers Want Total Review of Public Agencies (DC Examiner)
“It’s best that we do everything we can to get ahead of this problem,” Mendelson said. “A more comprehensive audit would bring that assurance.”

11.20.07 - Union: DC Lawyers Flooded With Cases (DC Examiner)
“The impression that I have is that we’re moving backward,” Council Member Phil Mendelson, committee chairman, said of the vacancy rate.

11.19.07 - Lanier's Rocky First Year at the Helm (Washington Times)
"Arrests in themselves are not necessarily effective," Mr. Mendelson said. "In the end what's important is that the rate of crime is going down."

11.19.07 - Homicide Rate Reaches '06 Toll (DC Examiner)
Mendelson said the increasing rate demonstrates the need for the District’s handgun ban, which was struck down as unconstitutional in March by a federal appeals court.

11.15.08 - Council Grills DC Fire Chief (Washington Post)
The chief also had a hard time explaining why black employees are disciplined at a rate five times as high as that of white employees.  "I really don't know how to look at these numbers without seeing race as a factor," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the committee.

11.10.08 - 2 More DC Tax Workers Removed (Washington Post)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) agreed. "I don't think you take that all the way to the top" to Gandhi, he said. "My own view is that it is very unfortunate..."

11.10.08 - DC Cops Ducking Subpoenas: Mendelson (DC Examiner)
The measure "cuts through the confusion and recalcitrance," Mendelson said, of an existing policy that allows officers to avoid being served for actions arising from their performance.

11.8.07 - Fenty: Alleged Corruption is 'Serious Breach' (DC Examiner)
“Clearly there weren’t the controls in place, but then that’s why Dr. Gandhi has asked for resignations,” DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson said.

11.8.07 - DMV Eliminates Fighting Tickets in Person (DC Examiner)
“And that’s a fundamental right under the Constitution. They will just provoke another fight in front of the council.”

11.7.07 - Violence Rises Despite Police Presence (Washington Post)
"The numbers aren't looking good," said [Mendelson]...This says that 'All Hands on Deck' is more about catching law breakers than deterring crime."

11.7.07 - Officials Question Attorney General's Absence (DC Examiner)
“Linda Singer has been confirmed by the Council. Peter Nickles has not,” said District Councilmember Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chair of the Judiciary Committee.

11.6.07 - Fenty Rescinds Order to Delete E-mails (Washington Times)
"Mass e-mail deletion is incompatible with open and transparent government," Mr. Mendelson said. "It also may have very negative impacts on the District"s ability to fight public corruption."

11.6.07 - Mendelson Moves to Streamline Service of Process (Press Release)
“The ‘MPD Service of Process Amendment Act of 2007’ will put an end to the counter-productive cat-and-mouse game that is all too common when officers know they are about to be served.”

11.6.07 - Fenty Backs Off Plan to Delete E-mails (DC Examiner)
Councilmember Phil Mendelson said last week the executive order “has to be repealed.”

11.2.07 - Medical Examiner's Office Making Great Strides (DC Examiner)
“The IG report confirms what we’ve known for many months, that substantial progress has been made, most notably that the backlog in autopsy reports has been eliminated,” said [Mendelson]..."

11.1.07 - Scale of Hydrant Woes Still Murky, Hearing Shows (Washington Post)
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee, said the hearing will resume Nov. 14...

11.1.07 - Hashing Out Plans for Former Post Plant (Washington Post)
But as a council member, he said, he would be very critical of any plans for the building that don't include the urgent space needs of the police department.

 

October 2007

10.31.07 - Council Questions Fenty (DC Examiner)
“I am disturbed by this because the legislative process is only benefited by a full discussion of the issues before the Council,” Mendelson said Tuesday.

10.31.07 - DC Eye Gouge Case Lawyer Eyes Legislation (DC Examiner)
For the District to charge a patient only when it is sued is “reprehensible” and “morally offensive,” Mendelson said.

10.30.07 - Firehouse Defects Detailed in Report (Washington Post)
"I plan to press Chief Rubin on the plans he has to fully address not only the physical conditions at the District's fire houses, but also the process in which maintenance requests are tracked and implemented."

10.30.07 - District's Fire Stations' Decrepit Conditions Threaten Public (DC Examiner)
DC Council Member Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee, said in a statement the District must make a similar effort repairing firehouses as it has renovating schools. “Anything less is unacceptable.”

10.27.07 - DC Crime Lab on Target for 2011 Opening (DC Examiner)
"I heard nothing today that changes the fact that they are not going to meet the opening date announced for the consolidated lab..."

10.24.07 - Agencies Ordered to Team Up to Fix Hydrants (Washington Post)
The legislation requires WASA and the fire department to work together to remedy problems with hydrants and water pressure.

10.24.07 - Curbing Excessive Police Overtime Starts at the Top (DC Examiner)
Phil Mendelson, D-at large, chair of the D.C. Council’s Judiciary Committee, has promised to hold oversight hearings on excessive police department overtime next month.

10.24.07 - DC Wants $31M From Feds for Crime Lab (DC Examiner)
“[But] it’s a tough sell when we haven’t even started yet and the only progress we see is a mountain of delays on this project,” Mendelson said.

10.19.07 - Councilmember Seeks More Information on Crash (Washington Post)
Mendelson, who chairs the council's Public Safety and Judiciary Committee, said he wants more information about what happened.

10.17.07 - E-mail Plan Could Lead to Corruption, Councilmember Says (DC Examiner)
“It’s incompatible with open and honest government,” Mendelson said. “It has a very negative effect on the District’s ability to fight public corruption.”

10.16.07 - Mendelson Guides Consumer-Friendly Arbitration Bill Through Council (Press Release)
"The District will be among the best in the nation in protecting its citizens."

10.12.07 - Mayor Asks that Rhee Get Firing Authority (Washington Post)
"That's always the challenge with government personnel rules. You want the agency to be agile, but at the same time you want to build in safeguards against arbitrary managers."

10.12.07 - District Officials Say Report Indicates Overextended, Understaffed Workforce (DC Examiner)
“It’s an enormous cost, and completely avoidable...It’s also a real strain for the worker who week after week puts in 50, 60 hours, often when they weren’t expecting to. It’s a real grind on them.”

10.11.07 - District Set to Pay Patient's Family (Washington Post)
"The city got themselves in a reactive, defensive posture from the get-go," Mendelson said.

10.11.07 - Fenty Administration Drops $2.2 Bill to Man Who Gouged Out Own Eyes (DC Examiner)
“I think it’s outrageous to bill for negligent care,” [Mendelson] told The Examiner.

10.10.07 - Pants Suit Judge Still on the Job (DC Examiner)
“It does no one any good to drag this out and have someone on the payroll not performing his job,” [Mendelson] said. “It’s in everyone’s interest to get this done.”

10.6.07 - DC Judge Pressures City on Jail Population (Washington Post)
"The idea that they would come in with a number 1,000 above the range suggests a disregard for the safety of everyone at the jail..."

10.3.07 - Bill Would Aid Patients Hurt by Negligence (Washington Post)
Mendelson and other council members said the practice is unfair.

10.2.07 - Mendelson Spearheads Legislative Fix to Improper Billing of Mental Patient (Press Release)
"In the end though, I am confident that we will have a law that does not reward the government for poor care.”

September 2007

9.26.07 - DC Disputes $1.8 Million In Legal Fees From Special Ed Suit (DC Examiner)
“It just generates this kind of dispute, distracting us from what’s really the issue, which is the quality of children’s education."

9.24.07 - Council May Put Calories on the Menu (Washington Times)
"Over and over again, Americans are given the message to watch what they eat. Yet how can we? How can one watch their calories when one can't count them?" Mr. Mendelson told the Montgomery County Council.