On Feb. 4, a dozen members of the D.C. Council kicked off the second legislative meeting of Council Period 26 with the unanimous approval of then-D.C. Councilmember Trayon White’s expulsion from his seat.
After a 10-minute recess, council members moved on to the business of the day, which included RFK campus, extension of pretrial detention, and a ceremonial resolution for a veteran educator.
This edition of The Collins Council Report delves deeply into these elements of a meeting lasting no longer than two hours.
Visions Galore for RFK Campus
The council approved the Transfer of Jurisdiction Over the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Emergency Approval Resolution of 2025. This legislation, introduced by D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) at the request of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), further solidifies the development of RFK campus, which recently came under local control.
In his first-ever statement on the dais, D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7) reflected on what will be one of the most consequential development projects for him and his constituents.
“Ward 7 has been overlooked. This provides a once-in-a-lifetime time to change that,” Felder said. “We can drive economic development in a part of the city that deserves its fair share of prosperity. With much needed recreation space, a local economy around our waterfront, or perhaps build a home for our Washington Commanders.”
In January, Bowser braved a winter storm that shut down the District to watch then-President Joe Biden (D) sign into law the transfer of RFK campus. She celebrated the occasion with Josh Harris, controlling owner of the Washington Commanders.
A few weeks later, Bowser counted among those who cheered on the Commanders as they went toe to toe with the Philadelphia Eagles in their bid for the NFC Championship. Though the Commanders aren’t going to the Super Bowl, they still enjoy strong support among legions of Washingtonians — including D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At large).
“Hopefully it can have some retail [with things] serving those in the surrounding communities. ”McDuffie said about the future plans for RFK campus. “But let’s bring back the Commanders. I want to thank [Commanders quarterback] Jayden Daniels for giving me something to cheer about in decades.”
As Mendelson explained on Monday, no plans currently exist for the 174 acres of public land spread along the Anacostia River. Looking forward, he told reporters that he would like to work with the Executive Office of the Mayor, even suggesting that it bring on a master developer who designs the entire campus and takes on the costs of constructing a new football stadium.
“My own view is that these stadiums do not pay for themselves,” Mendelson said as he outlined a list of current capital budget priorities. “Last year, we spent time figuring out we need a new jail. That’s going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The Daly Building [near the courthouses] needs hundreds of millions of dollars for renovations.”
On Tuesday, council members spent several minutes exploring the possibilities for RFK Campus. Parker mentioned his constituents in the Carver-Langston community as beneficiaries of the space. He also implored the Bowser administration to protect the parklands, while D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto stressed the benefits of creating a performance space that boosts public engagement with musical acts.
Meanwhile, D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large), chair of the council’s Committee on Housing, called affordable housing his primary goal.
Later on, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), in alignment with the council chairman, urged prudent use of capital funds in a tumultuous political climate.
D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) challenged the notion that RFK could be everything to everyone. The solution, he said, lies in prioritizing housing and economic development well before exploring the possibility of a stadium.
“Just look at the impressive range of businesses in NoMa, Dupont Circle and the Wharf — economic engines for our city that didn’t require a stadium,” Allen said. “Now compare it to the business around Northwest Stadium [in Landover, Maryland], which is the team store. We don’t know the terms of a potential stadium deal so we don’t know the cost but it’s been hinted that they would need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare the space.”
The Council Extends Pretrial Detention Provision, with Some Apprehensions
The council unanimously approved the Secure DC Pretrial Detention and Reporting Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 and the Secure DC Pretrial Detention and Reporting Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.
Both bills extend a key provision of the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act and Secure D.C. Omnibus that places those charged for any act of violence in pretrial detention, regardless of whether they’ve offended in the past.
One day before the council vote, Corrie Johnson visited her daughter, Taya Johnson, a D.C. resident who’s been sitting in D.C. Jail for three weeks, most likely as a result of the council’s votes during Council Period 25.
In January, Taya Johnson, a mother of two toddlers, entered D.C. Department of Corrections at the culmination of an incident that family members and advocates connected to the domestic violence Johnson experienced. As she awaits her day in court, Johnson is without her two children, who, according to their grandmother, continue to suffer without their mother.
“I go through sleepless nights with them tossing and turning, on top of [having to go] to work,” Corrie Johnson told The Informer on Monday, just moments before entering Central Detention Facility to see her daughter. “She called me the other day [when] someone had a seizure and it triggered her. It took her in the mindframe of missing her brother. I told her to go in her room and pray.”
When asked about what she thought of the council’s actions over the last two years, Johnson said council members lacked regard for people, like her daughter, who get caught up in situations due to circumstances beyond their control.
“The council and mayor should do better and get involved,” Johnson added. “They put people in programs, but it’s not helping with the counseling they need if they’re going through postpartum [depression].”
For Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), the extension of pretrial detention isn’t without reason. On Tuesday, she told her colleagues that the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), charged with measuring the impact of pretrial detention extension and providing data to inform the council’s next steps, wouldn’t be able to meet its obligations, as outlined in the Secure D.C. omnibus bill.
“The deadline was intentionally set for 45 days prior to the expiration of the provisions to allow sufficient review [for us to] determine how we want to proceed,” Pinto said. “Due to staffing constraints, CJCC didn’t meet that deadline. They began work, but they didn’t complete with sufficient time for the council. CJCC needs 90 additional days to complete this report.”
A CJCC spokesperson confirmed just as much, also telling The Informer that council staffers also appear interested in assessing pretrial detention between the effective dates of the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act and Secure D.C. omnibus bill.
Throughout most of Council Period 25, when the District experienced record levels of violent crime, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) collaborated with Pinto around the introduction, and eventual passage, of the two public safety bills.
The D.C. Jail population has since increased, with the Corrections Information Council reporting a slew of resident deaths, including that of a Sheena Weatherspoon, a Black mother from Takoma Park, Maryland who passed away during Mother’s Day weekend.
Last month, Shameka Hayes, newly reinstalled advisory neighborhood commissioner for D.C. Jail and Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter, expressed her dissatisfaction with what she called the undone work of improving jail conditions.
The council’s next legislative meeting, scheduled for March 4, will include a second vote on Secure DC Pretrial Detention and Reporting Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.
On Tuesday, Ward 4 Councilmember Lewis George counted as the sole “present” vote. Moments before casting her vote, Lewis George warned her colleagues against repeatedly kicking the can down the road.
“I will not vote for a second extension,” Lewis George said. “It was meant to be temporary while we gather evidence on its impact. We can’t afford to have people in jail… because the government can’t fulfill its obligations. This… could be pushed indefinitely if we extend these bills. That deviates from the original intent of the sunset forcing us to make a decision about whether the new pretrial standard is working for D.C.”
Frazier O’Leary Receives His Flowers
The council approved a ceremonial resolution that Councilmember Lewis George introduced in recognition of former D.C. State Board of Education Representative Frazier O’Leary.
As O’Leary told The Informer, it was much to his surprise. “It’s nice,” he told The Informer. “But, I don’t know anything about it.”
O’Leary, a retired D.C. public school teacher and critic of mayoral control of schools, started serving on the state board in 2018 after winning a special election to fill a seat vacated by Lannette Woodruff. Two years later, he won re-election unopposed and served a full term before losing his seat to Dr. T. Michelle Colson, a D.C. public school administrator, last fall.
During his six years on the state board, O’Leary spoke in support of a more well-rounded school rating system and improvements to teacher working conditions, among other policy issues. He also fulfilled his obligations as a state board representative while attending community events, engaging constituents and doling out book bags in honor of Myra O’Leary, his late wife who served as a Head Start teacher.
These days, O’Leary watches state board proceedings from afar, expressing keen interest in a cell phone policy debate that continues to rage on in the Old Council Chambers at the Marion S. Barry Building. For him, few feelings equate to that of weighing in on critical education issues.
“The staff was fantastic and I worked with different kinds of members,” said O’Leary, 80. “I got a chance to mediate a lot [of discussions] and I enjoyed going to meetings and talking to the community.”
Though he expressed no qualms about his defeat, O’Leary hinted at some unfinished business.
“It was a great experience [but] the big thing that bothered me the most was that there weren’t a lot of people calling to complain about stuff,” he told The Informer. “And that’s all I wanted to do was solve problems. I wanted to have more feedback from Ward 4.”
