WASHINGTON – The Council of the District of Columbia formally reprimanded a councilmember on Tuesday and plans to strip him of some responsibilities after he used his public office for personal gain.

Democratic Councilmember Jack Evans of Ward 2 will likely lose responsibilities as the Council’s chairman for the Committee on Finance and Revenue, which is responsible for creating tax policy. The Council will vote on the proposed punishments for Evans during their legislative meeting on April 2.

Although the Council cannot vote until next month, it is “almost certain” that they pass the changes, said Nolan Treadway, the communications director for Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie.

Evans used his government email to solicit business from law firms for his consulting practice. In those emails he said that he could use his government role to push clients to those law firms, which would lead to personal gains.

“In terms of public ethics, it’s an extraordinary breach,” said Barbara Romzek, a professor of public administration and policy at American University.

The consequences began to unfold after the Council held a closed meeting with Evans last week to address the scandal. On Tuesday, the Council voted unanimously to formally reprimand him.

With public trust already wavering, the controversial private meeting does not further undercut the breach, Treadway said, as formally reprimanding Evans and stripping him of power will go a long way in restoring confidence in local government.

For Evans, who is the longest-serving councilmember in the history of the D.C. Council, the formal reprimand is a “public slap on the wrist,” said Romzek. In a time of limited public accountability, the reprimand is not much of a surprise, she said.

In opposition to Romzek’s expertise, Treadway said that reprimanding is a powerful form of disciplinary action. Evans’ actions have damaged the public trust, but “reprimanding does some work to earn back that trust,” said Treadway.

“The Council takes these transgressions seriously,” Treadway said.

Romzek said that the power for change lies beyond the Council.

“It’s the voters who are in a position to make a difference on whether he continues,” said Romzek.

The recent events have “definitely affected” trust in local government, but are not very surprising, said Ward 2 constituent Natalie Rice.

“I already have a low opinion of politicians,” said Rice. “It just kind of hurts that.”

Evans apologized for bringing “embarrassment to this council, to myself and my family — that being the most painful part of all of this,” he said.

Evan’s apology did not improve constituent trust either, said Rice.

“They’re sorry they got caught,” Rice said.

However, the likelihood that Evans loses his responsibilities as a member of the finance committee is “good news,” said Romzek. This is because in an age of limited accountability, public officials rarely face severe consequences, she said.

“It would be the norm, if it was not 2019,” said Romzek.

“Each one of these instances erodes public trust,” said Romzek. “It becomes a drip, drip, drip. And you know how drip, drip, drip can erode rocks? It erodes public trust.”