DC Councilmember at Large Anita Bonds during a Council session.
Anthony A. Williams, and Marion Barry. Her reputation as an effective political operative may have begun with her work for Barry. Some have called her, with Ivanhoe Donaldson, the architect of Barry’s first election in the late 1970s. Bonds played a critical role in the three subsequent victories. For years, she was the keeper of his political machine, which went inside the government as the Office of Community Affairs. During that era, she established relations with many people, including former Councilmember Tommy Wells. He noted in an earlier interview that she helped him land a job in the District government’s child and family administration. Prior to joining the council in 2012, Bonds was director of corporate relations for Fort Myer Corporation, one of the largest public works companies in the city, with a considerable unionized workforce. When Mendelson ascended to the chair, after Kwame Brown was forced to resign from office, Bonds decided to jump into the fray. She hoped to fill Mendelson’s vacant seat. As chair of the local Democratic apparatus she had an unfair advantage, argued some in the city. She ignored the noise. She won the appointment and handily won the special election. She is in her first full term on the council. It’s not clear whether she will run for reelection in 2018. Since joining the legislature she has pushed for changes relating to senior citizens and low-income resi-
dents. Her rent-control bills have a much broader base. As many as 80,000 units, at least 66 percent of all rental properties, are affected by rent-control laws. Tenant leaders like James McGrath have praised Bonds. “We like her very much,” said McGrath, head of the citywide tenant group known as TENAC. “We endorsed her strong each time. She’s probably as progressive a member on the council as you could get.” Mendelson graded her performance “good” as chair of the Committee on Housing and Community Development. “I don’t hear complaints about her and I don’t get the sense bills go to her committee to die.” She has pushed through the Condominium Owner Bill of Rights Amendment Act, the Residential Lease Clarification Act, which caps late fees, and the Elderly Tenant and Tenants with Disabilities Protection Amendment Act. A few government sources, who asked to remain anonymous, said Bonds can sometimes seem as if she doesn’t understand the council process. There are questions from the dais that suggest “she can’t keep up.” Bonds countered that “the processes of the council are sometimes slow,” filled with “jargon” that is used to “cover up issues. When we do amendments is where it shows up most. “I like asking questions. I think it helps the public know what we’re doing. I am trying to be revealing to the people who we are responsible to,” she contin-
ued, adding that her slow delivery is often deliberate. “When I start talking fast, that’s because I am so pissed that I am not measuring my words.” “I think she’s better as committee chair today than when she first got the committee,” said Mendelson.
Struggling for Consensus
Deploying her political skills, Bonds often attempts to manage constituents, bringing together opposing parties before she pushes the council on passage of her legislative proposals. She took that same tack with this latest round of bills, convening what she called “working groups.” A certified mediator, she was hoping to build consensus between renters and the real estate industry. She said initially there weren’t many complaints from apartment and building owners. They seemed more focused on preserving their prerogative to petition for extraordinary rent increase through the hardship petition or the capital improvement process The city has set 12 percent as the rate of return landlords should reasonably expect from their housing investments. When they don’t reach that generous goal, they have been allowed to petition the city’s rent administrator, making a case using various financial and other documents. Further, aging buildings sometimes demand significant repairs. Landlords may apply to secure increases through capital improvements to finance such renovations. The government
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R iver M agazine
N o vember 2016
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