Some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

DC Bill Would Raise Age to Purchase Cigarettes to 21 – McDuffie unsuccessfully introduced similar legislation in 2013. At the time, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said, according to NBCWashington, that the city should leave the legal age where it is and “continue to step up efforts to discourage smoking.” Brian Moore, Mendelson’s chief of staff, said Monday, the chairman’s position hasn’t changed.  [The Washington Post]

DC Mayor Poised to Win Again at the Ballot Box, Gaining Allies on Council – Asked about the potential of having two pro-Bowser colleagues on the council, Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) cautioned that neither Bowser, Todd nor May should expect much of the arrangement should they win.  “To the extent that a patron like the mayor expects that she can pull strings, they are working against the dynamic needed in any legislature: consensus,” he said. “And if the person elected intends to do only what the mayor wants — equally, he or she is quickly going to find that they will be marginalized.”  [The Washington Post]