Imperfect recall: How a city council fight is roiling Congress

Councilmembers in D.C. are used to some level of scrutiny, thanks to a home rule system that allows Congress to overturn pending local laws. In a Friday interview, Allen said the recall campaign is a “cynical ploy” and another example of outside interests trying to exert their political will over the city.

“If you just simply go look at who’s funding this, you’ve got a lot of Trump donors that are behind this. You see a lot of folks that are trying to push a national agenda,” Allen said.

Reporters have pored over the donors listed in a Jan. 31 financial report filed by the recall committee. Washington City Paper’s Alex Koma, for one, said he was able to tie a significant share of the roughly 400 names to Republican politics, either through their employment history or previous campaign donations.

Some of those are current congressional staffers. A Roll Call analysis of the donor list found about two dozen who currently work for Republican lawmakers. At least a couple of others work for House Democrats.

The recall’s organizers bristle at the suggestion that they’re stooges for Republican operatives, or that their movement is powered by carpetbagging politicos with little connection to Ward 6. Many of them have lived in the neighborhood for years and are proud Democrats. They’ve fundraised for liberal candidates and staffed Democratic campaigns. One served as a superdelegate for Obama.

Another proud Democrat is Mitchell Rivard, a supporter of the recall movement who works on the Hill as Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee’s chief of staff. He feels voters in his party shouldn’t have to choose between supporting police accountability or living in a safe community.

“Opponents of the recall effort are attempting to simplify this issue into neat Twitter posts that suggest you cannot be for both of those things,” Rivard said.

‘Move to Virginia’

For publicly taking that position, Rivard has seen some backlash. “^republican,” one user posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Youre [sic] kinda like if greg from succession was actively evil,” another wrote.

Others seize on the fact that he lives in Ward 2, although he feels like his more than 10 years working in Ward 6 as a congressional aide entitles him to an opinion. Rivard said several of his close friends have been the victims of violent crime, a theme other staffers echoed.

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