DC Hoping Obama Will Address Statehood in State of the Union Address – When asked what he would like to see the president discuss in the speech in a recent phone interview, Mendelson said, “Absolutely a reaffirmation with regard to [Obama’s] support for self-determination and equality for all district residents.” “This is a position that cannot be stated often enough because most citizens of the United States do not understand the unique status of the District,” Mendelson pointed out. “There’s a huge misunderstanding and so the more that there’s public discussion of our situation, it only helps us.”  [Roll Call]

Key DC Posts Remain in Flux Three Weeks Into Muriel Bowser’s Administration – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he was “deeply concerned” about Staton’s departure. “The agency has made tremendous progress,” he said, citing renewed confidence across the government in the procurement department’s ability to conduct solicitations.  [The Washington Post]

Mendelson Bill Would Increase Penalties for Distracted Driving – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced a bill this session, the Enhanced Penalties for Distracted Driving Amendment Act of 2015, to strengthen those penalties. It would increase the fines for those who are found to have repeatedly engaged in distracted driving, culminating in a driver’s license suspension for those who have three violations within eighteen months. The bill was co-introduced by Bonds, Allen, and Nadeau and referred to the Committee of Transportation and the Environment chaired by Mary Cheh.  [WashCycle]

Report: DC Region’s Unfunded Infrastructure Needs Total $58 Billion – “We want transportation to run smoothly, electricity and natural gas to turn on when we flip the switch, water to flow when we turn on the tap, clear communications in an emergency, and first-class public buildings,” said Phil Mendelson, board chairman of the Council of Governments as well as the DC Council chairman, in the preface to the draft report. “However, maintenance and replacement costs in critical sectors have been deferred as leaders have been faced with competing priorities, and the need for investing in new systems to support growth and maintaining a state of good repair totals in the billions.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Challenges Congress to Halt Marijuana Legalization in Nation’s Capital – The District of Columbia defied its new Republican overseers in Congress on Tuesday, challenging the House and Senate to either block or let stand a voter-approved ballot measure to legalize marijuana in the nation’s capital.  DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) sent the voter-approved measure to Capitol Hill, starting the clock on a 30-day review that Congress has invoked only three times in 40 years to quash a local D.C. law.  [The Washington Post]

Regional Council Wants WMATA to Appear After Monday Incident – DC Councilman Phil Mendelson also supports the measure and hopes Metro will provide answers.  “We have a right to understand what happened. Recognize that there is an investigation and we shouldn’t impede that investigation. But we still have a right to know and it’s understandable that people want answers as soon as possible,” says Mendelson.  [WTOP]

Metro’s a Mess.  All the More Reason to Ride It – A Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments report presented today highlights the region’s conundrum. The D.C. area faces a $16 billion budget gap for public transportation (mostly Metro) in order to meet the needs of a growing population over the next 10 years, the report finds. There’s also an $8.5 billion budget gap for roads and bridges, which will only be exacerbated if more people turn away from Metro and start driving.  “Maintenance and replacement costs in critical sectors have been deferred as leaders have been faced with competing priorities, and the need for investing in new systems to support growth and maintaining a state of good repair totals in the billions,” Phil Mendelson, chair of the DC Council and the Council of Governments board, warned in the report’s preface. He wrote those words before the Metro accident, but they’re all the more haunting in its aftermath.  [The Washington Post]

‘Death with Dignity’ Laws Are Proposed, Bringing National Debate to DC and Md. – “In terms of occupying the council, I wouldn’t put it in the same league as marriage equality,” an issue that drew hundreds of witnesses to hearings, Mendelson said. “This is not a jurisdiction that gets all twisted up over a lot of these social issues.”  [The Washington Post]

Alarm Bells Ring for Washington Regional Economy on Growth, Infrastructure – District Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who initiated the council of governments study, said it was necessary because politicians too often found it easy to ignore the problem.  “The reason [infrastructure] is underfunded is it’s not sexy,” Mendelson said. “It’s far better for me to go out and talk about how I’m going to end homelessness than for me to go talk about how I’m going to put the city on a five-mile-a-year water main replacement schedule.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Council Sets Up Hearings on Marijuana Regulation – D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the council should be in the clear to hold public meetings on the proposed legislation, which would codify regulations regarding marijuana that were not included in a voter-approved ballot initiative.  “All we’re talking about is a hearing,” Mr. Mendelson said. “I don’t think that’s inappropriate. And I think trying to muffle public discussion would implicate constitutional issues. It would be bad public policy.”  [The Washington Times]

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With Days Left as Mayor, Gray Signs Soccer Stadium Bill – “This is a part of Mayor Gray’s legacy, much like the baseball stadium was a part of Mayor [Tony] Williams’ legacy,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said at the bill signing.  [DCist]

Bowser’s “Fresh Start”, New Blood on Council Heralds New Era for DC Government – “There’s a change a-coming,” said council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who will begin his first four-year term as chairman Friday. “It’s too soon to say what that change will look like.”  [The Washington Post]

Bowser Touts “Fresh Start” at Inauguration – “I do not believe, as a former chancellor once said, that collaboration and consensus building are way overrated,” Mendelson said. “Rather, the only way to achieve deep and lasting reform is through collaboration and consensus building.”  [Washington City Paper]

DC to Move Forward with Marijuana Legalization Despite Congressional Ban – I don’t feel that I have any choice,” Mendelson said. “The voters have spoken.”  [RT]

Phil Mendelson Says It’s His “Duty” to Send Marijuana Law to Congress – D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is ignoring the “Super City Council.”  Mendelson says he will submit Initiative 71, which would legalize marijuana possession for personal use in D.C., to Congress, arguing that it’s his duty under the Home Rule Charter to do so.  “The duty to transmit is not discretionary in my view,” he said at a press conference today. “There’s no money involved on our part in whether a person commits a crime or not, so I’m not sure what Congress was intending with their language.”  [Washington City Paper]

DC Council Chairman: Marijuana Rider Doesn’t Block Transmittal to Congress – “I’m not trying to defy anybody. I’m responsible for transmitting the initiative,” Mendelson said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I have a very clear requirement in the Home Rule Act to transmit the legislation. Congress has the ability to step in when that legislation is transmitted, so I don’t see anything that’s provocative here and I certainly don’t intend any provocation.”  [Roll Call]

DC Jail Health Care Contract Raises Activists’ Ire – The concerns were enough to give Mr. Mendelson pause over the issue.  “Corizon has a reputation for attracting a lot of lawsuits in the area of inmate care,” Mr. Mendelson said Tuesday. “Until 2006, when the model for health care changed at the D.C. Jail and the current contractor was brought in, the city suffered huge, huge losses from lawsuits as a result of health care.”  [The Washington Times]

DC Council Gives Final Approval to Soccer Stadium Deal – Bowser and Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) acknowledged that hundreds of millions of dollars of needed capital improvements remain but said the stadium would not prevent the District from finding the money for other priorities.  [The Washington Post]

Borrow It: How DC Will Fund Its Share of the DC United Stadium – Gray also proposes to shift $6 million in operating funds to cover debt service on the stadium borrowing, which is expected to run $7 million annually starting in fiscal 2016.  “I would be surprised if there was any significant debate,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said Tuesday.  [Washington Business Journal]

Bowser and Chaffetz Agree: 2024 Olympics Would Be Great for Washington, DC – Still, the marijuana issue threatens to become a flash point in city-federal relations.  Bowser has signaled that she will support efforts to keep pushing the pot initiative forward. And Chaffetz said he believes the budget language clearly blocks the city from moving forward with legalization. “That issue has come and gone,” he said.  D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he plans to send the referendum to Congress for a mandatory review period, but Chaffetz said he would not seek to intervene at that point. “It’s already been dealt with,” he said. “It’s crystal clear in the law.”  [The Washington Post]

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