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D.C. councilmembers disclosed their constituent service fund expenditures yesterday, so it’s time to see once again how much money doesn’t go to, y’know, constituent service.
In April, May, and June Vincent Orange‘s received $5,650 in contributions, but that was only good enough for second place. Kenyan McDuffie‘s fund made the most in the reporting period, with $7,550. That’s good for the Ward 5 councilmember, because the unauthorized expenses from a now-fired stafferlook to be even larger than previously reported (more on that below).
Some notable expenses:
Take Jack Evans Out to the Ball Game: The fund for Ward 2 mayoral hopeful Jack Evans spent $7,553 on Wizards tickets and $4,537.77 on Capitals tickets. Evans, of course, has long used his fund to buy sports tickets, which he defends on the grounds that he gives many of the tickets away.
Sad Panda: McDuffie staffer Tim Clark was fired in May after allegedly using the constituent service fund debit card to pay off bar tabs. But it looks like those weren’t the only unauthorized charges for the Ward 5 councilmember’s fund. The report lists a total of $522.23 in “unauthorized” charges, including $56.67 at makeup store Sephora and $35.60 at a restaurant described as Panda Chinese.
McDuffie declined to comment to LL on whether the previously undisclosed charges were also connected to Clark, citing the ongoing investigation. Clark also made a $300 donation to the fund.
This Legislating Is Making Me Thirsty: Bottled water is another traditional use of constituent service funds. Mary Cheh spent $327.33, Evans spent $226.48, and Jim Graham spent $199 on the stuff. Meanwhile, a Brita filter costs less than $25.
Marching Orders: This year’s Capital Pride parade is long gone, and the beads councilmembers threw out have been forgotten. Except on their constituent service fund reports.
Evans spent $190 on stickers and $980.88 on beads for the parade, while McDuffie spent $453.74 for beads. But their bead expenses were no match for David Catania, who spent $1,205.50 on the little plastic orbs, or Orange, who spent a whopping $1,963.78. No wonder he was throwing them with such gusto.
Correction: This post initially said $35.60 of the McDuffie disclosure was spent at Panda Express. In fact, it was spent at Panda Chinese.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery