It was a crowded race for the two at-large seats in the D.C. Council, with eight candidates elbowing for the top spots in a race fraught with an accusation about misspent public funds.
Incumbent Anita Bonds was projected as one of the winners with more than 32% of the votes, The Associated Press reported Tuesday night.
On Wednesday night, Elissa Silverman conceded to Kenyan McDuffie, who was ahead of the incumbent Silverman after the polls closed on Tuesday.
McDuffie ran for one of the at-large seats after dropping out of the attorney general race. He led with more than 22% of the votes, while Silverman trailed him at 19%.
Another awaited race was for the Ward 3 council seat, where Democrat Matt Frumin has been projected as the winner with more than 75% of the vote over Republican David Krucoff and Libertarian Adrian Salsgiver.
The Associated Press has also projected incumbent Phil Mendelson as the winner for the council chair race. This is Mendelson’s fourth term as chair. He led with more than 83% of the vote over Darryl Moch and Republican Nate Derenge.
And, expect some fresh new faces on the D.C. Board of Education. No incumbents were on the ballot in the open seats in Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6.
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At-Large
Silverman said Wednesday that she left a message for McDuffie, congratulating him on his victory.
“The latest vote tallies from the D.C. Board of Elections make his victory unassailable,” she said in a tweet.
Moments ago, I left a message for @kenyanmcduffie congratulating him on his victory in the at-large race. The latest vote tallies from the D.C. Board of Elections make his victory unassailable.
Hours ago, I also called @AnitaBondsDC to congratulate her on re-election as well.
— Elissa Silverman (@tweetelissa) November 10, 2022
In October, the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance said that incumbent Silverman improperly used public campaign funds for two targeted polls before the Democratic primary to ask questions about the race in Ward 3, DCist reported. Silverman was not a candidate in that ward’s race. The question about the polls’ funding was brought up by Karim Marshall, one of the people who ran against her in the race.
Silverman said that the poll was reported properly, and “she did not share specifics with other candidates, which would need to be disclosed as a campaign contribution,” The Washington Post reported. The Office of Campaign Finance, however, ordered Silverman to reimburse the District for the two polls — a cost of more than $6,000, according to DCist.
A week before Election Day, there were calls for Silverman to drop out of the at-large race. She filed an appeal over the OCF decision and told WUSA 9 that she will not step down.
In her appeal, Silverman said she disagreed with OCF’s interpretation of the law.
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Ward 3
At some point during the leadup to the primary election, nine candidates vied for the seat vacated by Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh, who said in February that she will not seek a fifth term, citing a “reevaluation” of her life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This caused concern about splitting the vote and giving an edge to candidate Eric Goulet, who another candidate Ben Bergmann said was a “conservative yes-man for the business community,” The Washington Post reported. The newspaper and the D.C. Police Union endorsed Goulet, DCist reported.
Then, several candidates dropped out and voiced their support for Frumin, who eventually won the Democratic primary for the Ward 3 council seat.
Frumin is an attorney who was a political appointee at the U.S. State Department during the Clinton administration, where he said he focused on democracy and human rights among other issues.
In other areas of D.C., The Associated Press projected Democrat Zachary Parker as the winner in Ward 5 and Brianne Nadeau in Ward 1.
