Some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

In Closing a Decrepit Shelter, Does New Housing Need Private Bathrooms? – Some council members and witnesses pushed back, arguing that bathrooms are costly. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) prodded for data to support the claim that shared bathrooms are less safe. Council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7) questioned whether it would be worth building fewer rooms and including private bathrooms.  [The Washington Post]

Council Weighs Eminent Domain for Alley – Mendelson balked at the idea that Zere thought he could attract anyone to pay more than he did, given that several of the lots appear to have little to no value at all. “I think that the lots are worthless, even the one that still has frontage,” Mendelson said.  [The Georgetown Dish]

Poorer Tenants Fear Being Pushed Out by Planned Congress Heights Complex – “There is no question in my mind that this is a classic situation of a landlord trying to force the tenants out through harassment,” said Mendelson, who said he had to meet with tenants outside during the summer because the air conditioning was broken. “Being in there, that’s the strongest thing they have. The minute they move out, they lose everything they’ve got.”  [The Washington Post]

Big Money for the White House and Congress.  Now for DC City Hall, Too? – Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who has sparred most with Bowser as she has attempted to consolidate power in her administration and away from the council and the city’s first elected attorney general, offered a terse response when asked about the PAC. “No comment,” he said.  [The Washington Post]