Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer (both D-VA) issued statements today calling on Chairman Jack Evans to resign from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors after Evans acknowledged ethics violations stemming from conflicts of interest.
“The time is long overdue for Jack Evans finally to do the decent thing and resign from the Metro Board,” Connolly said. “The evidence is now clear that Mr. Evans actively used his Chairman’s position to aggrandize himself by promoting the interests of a parking company that became his client while deliberately using that same office to denigrate and disadvantage a competing firm that was not his client. And he covered up these unethical activities and then lied about them. Subsequently, Mr. Evans lied about the findings of Metro’s ethics investigation into his behavior while serving as Metro’s Board Chairman. Jack Evans is a walking billboard for the ethically challenged, represents a clear and present threat to restoring public confidence in Metro’s integrity, jeopardizes our efforts to renew federal support for Metro in Congress and should resign immediately.”
“At a time when WMATA faces serious challenges, including the need to improve safety and reliability and secure long-term funding, we need WMATA’s leadership entirely focused on constructive solutions to solve these problems,” Beyer said. “Chairman Jack Evans’ ethical issues are serious and pose a threat to the success of the Metro Board’s mission. He should step down from the Board immediately.”