Coffee with Chairman Phil Mendelson

Join us for coffee and discussion with DC Council Chair, Phil Mendelson.

Chairman Mendelson was an at-large councilmember from 1999 to 2012. He has been Council Chair since 2012.


Learning Objectives:

  • Examine Recent and Proposed Legislation Affecting Architecture in DC.
  • Identify & Discuss Key Issues for Architects and How DC Council can Support the Profession.
  • Understand the Legislative Impact on Architecture and Development.
  • Explore Architects’ Role in Local Policy and Advocacy.

Presented by:

Phil Mendelson, DC Council Chair

Phil Mendelson was first elected to the Council in 1998 as an At-Large Councilmember. He served in that role until 2012 when, following the resignation of the previous Council Chairman, Phil was selected by his colleagues to take over that role. In 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2022 District voters elected and re-elected Phil as Chairman of the Council. During his tenure on the Council, Phil has authored hundreds of laws including: establishing an elected attorney general and an independent Department of Forensic Science (the city’s crime lab); authoring Budget Autonomy, the District’s gun control laws (post-Heller), marriage equality, Universal Paid Leave, and the District’s tree canopy protection law; recrafting Mayor Gray’s plan to build the DC United Soccer Stadium; coordinating an increase in the minimum wage with Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties; Co-introducing the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act to emphasize mental health approaches to public safety; Breaking up the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs into two agencies to better focus on illegal construction and housing and code enforcement; and Approving the Racial Equity Achieve Change (REACH) Act to require racial equity impact
assessments for most legislation. Phil believes that government should be an honest, efficient deliverer of services, that helps those least able to help themselves to develop the skills to become self-sufficient and end poverty. He also believes that government can accomplish this without increasing the tax burdens shouldered by our residents. Throughout his years of public service, Phil has maintained that the nation’s capital, should be a model of service delivery in public education, public safety, and public health. Phil came to the District from Cleveland, Ohio in 1970 and he graduated from American University with a Political Science degree. Phil has a daughter, Adelaide, who graduated from DC Public Schools. He lives in Southeast DC.


Sponsored by: 

Beyer Blinder Belle