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D.C. Council member Trayon White has a potentially tricky path ahead of him as he seeks reelection after being arrested and charged with a federal count of bribery.
As of now, White is set to be on the November ballot in Ward 8, facing Republican Nate Derenge.
If White decided he needed to remove himself from the election due to his legal problems, however, the clock is already ticking.
“The deadline to actually take his name off the ballot entirely is Sept. 12,” said Zach Israel, a former ANC commissioner and an expert on D.C. law. “That’s the deadline for him to basically sign an affidavit, making that official in terms of getting his name off the ballot.”
The Democratic Party in the District would then appoint a new nominee to replace White, which would also need to happen by Sept. 12.
Ballots will start being mailed out to registered voters in D.C. on Sept. 30.
“Obviously they need time to structure the ballot, print it out and then actually mail it out,” Israel said.
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If White were to drop out of the election after the Sept. 12 deadline, his name would still appear on the ballot, and every voting center in the city would need to post a physical notice letting voters know that White was no longer a candidate.
Any votes for White, in that instance, would not count.
“That would be terrible for the people of Ward 8,” Israel said. “There are going to be voters who are not aware of this controversy at all who would vote for him, so that would be a wasted vote in that scenario.”
As for the possibility of voters having other options, such as a write-in candidate stepping up to try to win the Ward 8 council seat, “It’s a huge uphill battle,” Israel said, noting that a candidate would need to knock on doors, introduce themselves and explain the situation to voters.
“It’s not impossible, but they would really have to be extremely well organized and basically start now if they want any realistic chance of winning,” Israel said.
White is accused of accepting cash bribes from the owner of two companies that had contracts with D.C. to provide violence intervention services.
Prosecutors accused White of agreeing to accept a total of $156,000 in cash payments from the owner, who was not named in court documents.
White allegedly took the money and, in return, agreed to pressure D.C. government employees and agencies to renew the owner’s contracts and continue supporting the companies.
The council member released a statement saying he acknowledged the “recent criminal complaint” against him.
“We recognize the seriousness of this matter. We want to assure Ward 8 residents and stakeholders that our office remains fully operational and steadfast in our commitment to serving the public,” White’s statement said.
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