Immediate release: Monday, July 11, 2022
Contact: Nick DelleDonne,
delledonne.n@comcast.net , 703 929 6656
DC Ethics Board Rules:
WABA Must Register as Lobbyist
Bike Assoc. Must Reveal Expenses, Contacts
In a major victory for the Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA) and its attorney Ed Hanlon, DC’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) ruled Thursday that WABA is a lobbying organization. It must register with the Ethics Board as a lobbyist and must publicly report quarterly its lobbying expenses and its contacts with DC government officials.
For years WABA has illegally lobbied DC officials for more bike lanes and more money for WABA itself. WABA now gets over $1.2 million dollars a year from DC taxpayers to promote bike lanes, street design, and traffic safety. WABA declares in its IRS tax returns over the last 3 years it spent $113,000 specifically to lobby, a fact DECAA brought to the Ethics Board’s attention in its complaint.
DECAA’s request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for DC Councilmembers’ emails recently caused the release of thousands of documents which show the extent of WABA’s illegal lobbying activities.
Yet, all this lobbying, WABA did in secret, bypassing the requirement to register as a lobbyist. “Through WABA’s illegal lobbying activities ordinary citizens of the District of Columbia were for years shut out of the decision-making process about bike lanes,” said Ed Hanlon.
Huge amounts of public space on neighborhood roadways were set aside as “protected” bike lanes for the exclusive use of a minority of city residents. As an example, on the congested commercial stretch on 17th Street NW in Dupont Circle, 20% of the road has been set aside for the exclusive use of few neighborhood residents.
“We are gratified at the Ethics Board decision,” said DECAA President Nick DelleDonne, “and see it as ushering in a new era of civic reform in DC.”
BEGA’s decision raises many new related questions about possible similar violations in Maryland, Virginia and with the federal government, possible misuse of funds, why DC’s elected officials allowed themselves to be illegally lobbied and whether it is appropriate for DDOT to partner with WABA on task forces, Ward bike councils, ANC Vision Zero Caucuses, Capital Trails Coalition, etc. DECAA will be pursuing answers to these questions.
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