D.C. Council elects Phil Mendelson as interim chairman

The acting chairman of the Washington, D.C. Council had circulated a solution that would make Councilmember Phil Mendelson the interim chairman and on Wednesday, the decision was finalized. Mendelson took over D.C.’s second-highest locally elected office following former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown’s resignation last week. Brown pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges and changing a “3” to an “8” to inflate his income for a loan approval. Bank fraud charges carry a maximum of 30 years behind bars, but Brown is expected to serve a smaller sentence.

Acting Chairman Mary Cheh spread the resolution on Tuesday to councilmembers and staff. In the end, Mendelson had more than the required votes from his 11 colleagues to become interim chairman. Mendelson reportedly plans to run in a special election this fall to serve the remainder of Brown’s term. Councilmember Vincent Orange, however, says he’s a better fit for the job. He plans to introduce amendments to the resolution, presumably to establish himself as interim chairman.