D.C. Council wants to hold secret meetings
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Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images
The D.C. Council wants to make it easier to hold secret meetings, drawing outrage from open-government advocates.
Why it matters: Council members say they need to meet confidentially about economic development projects, strategize against a hostile Congress, and have frank conversations with the mayor.
- Not invited: The public, for discussions about the future of the District and how taxpayer dollars should be used.
State of play: All 12 council members support the proposal, which is poised to rapidly pass Tuesday after being introduced as emergency legislation — allowing it to bypass the traditional public hearing process.
The big picture: The proposal comes while the White House is pressuring the District, forcing local Democrats to prioritize pragmatism over progressive agenda items. Private meetings would allow space for candid scenario planning and internal disagreements to be aired.
- Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he wants a monthly breakfast between lawmakers and Bowser.
"We no longer have monthly Mayor-Council breakfasts, because neither side wants to publicly air disagreements — for instance, allow the Council to publicly and personally question and argue with the Mayor over something she is or is not doing," Mendelson wrote in an email last week to fellow lawmakers.
- The current law limits the council's "ability to meet to discuss political strategy to best inform members of Congress" about budget issues, Mendelson added, "because we don't want these conversations to be public."
- Mendelson says past attempts to have confidential meetings, such as during negotiations over improvements to Capital One Arena, faced legal pushback.
- Reporters grilled Mendelson on Monday over the proposal to curtail public access and the need to move it without a public hearing. "I would rather clarify the law … then to continue with this uncertainty," Mendelson said Monday.
- The changes would not authorize lawmakers to vote in secret meetings.
The other side: The proposal would "eviscerate" the Open Meetings Act of 2010, said Robert Becker, an attorney with the D.C. Open Government Coalition, in a letter on Monday urging D.C. Council members to vote against the bill.
- The council can currently close a meeting to the public if two-thirds of council members present vote in favor, the group notes.
- The bill also creates "two expansive loopholes" that would allow D.C. boards and commissions to meet in private, further excluding public access, the group says.