Voters in D.C.’s Ward 8 head to the polls Tuesday in a special election to decide who they want to see represent them on the D.C. Council. Among the candidates is the man who was kicked out of the role, former Council member Trayon White.
Ward 8 residents can show up to any of the special election’s 12 voter centers to vote, as long as they have proof of residence. Polls close at 8 p.m.
White was expelled after the council independently investigated the situation surrounding his arrest by the FBI last year on bribery charges. White maintains his innocence.
Speaking to WTOP on Thursday, White said there never should have been a special election, because residents voted him back into office in November, despite his arrest.
“It happened, and so we’re trying to put the power back in the hands of the people with this election,” White said.
White is going up against three other candidates for the seat, including Salim Adofo, Mike Austin and Sheila Bunn.
Both Adofo and Austin have experience as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, and Bunn’s political experience includes working for both D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and former Mayor Vincent Gray.
Austin and Bunn, both speaking to WTOP last week, were critical of White and his decision to run again for the seat.
Austin called the need for a special election “an embarrassment to Ward 8,” and Bunn called White’s participation in the race “a distraction.”
If White is reelected, attention will turn to whether his council colleagues will move to expel him for a second time. Council Chair Phil Mendelson briefly introduced a rule change aimed at making it easier for the council to do that, by using evidence gathered during a first expulsion.
White told WTOP he has a team of lawyers “ready to fight them” if that were to happen.
The expulsion has left Ward 8 without a designated council member since February, leaving that seat vacant during important budget debates and potentially for most of the debate over the Washington Commanders stadium deal as the board of elections says the certification process could last until August, if the ballots are challenged.
More information on the candidates and how to cast a ballot in the special election is available here.
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