At-Large D.C. Council member Robert White is joining the race for mayor.
White, a native Washingtonian, made the campaign announcement Wednesday.
He told WTOP many people asked him to think about running, and after considering it over the summer, he saw it as an opportunity.
“When I thought about what we could do with a new style of leadership that matches the challenges that we have in our city right now, I got excited, excited about the type of people that we can bring to the table, the way that we can make people feel seen and heard in a way that they haven’t in a long time in DC,” White said. “I know that we have an opportunity right now to give hope to a lot of people who don’t have a lot of hope today.”
White, a Democrat, has been on the D.C. Council since 2016. He’s also the chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has not yet said if she will seek a third term as mayor. White said if Bowser does plan to run, he will “create a very clear contrast between” them.
White’s campaign will be funded using the D.C. public financing system, he said.
He said a large part of his campaign will involve themes related to fighting for justice.
“My oldest daughter, Madison, who’s five, knows at the end of the day that regardless of what my or her title is that we fight for justice, and that’s something that I instill in her every single day, because I’m going to hold her accountable to it, and she’s going to hold me accountable to it.”
In a text message to WTOP, Ward 8 Council member Trayon White said he is also planning to enter the race, as Washington City Paper first reported.
James Butler, who lost the 2018 Democratic primary to Bowser, and Michael Campbell are also running on the blue ticket.
Comedian Rodney “Red” Grant and Barbara Summers are filed as Independents.
Corren Brown has filed as the D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate.
Attorney General Karl Racine, who White worked for in 2014, said he will not run for elected office in 2022 — which keeps him out of a mayoral run.
“I have decided that I will not seek elective office in the current election cycle. While this decision was not made lightly, it makes most sense for my family and me right now,” Racine said in a statement.
