After Trayon White’s expulsion, how will DC’s Ward 8 handle ‘a gap’ in representation?

Trayon White expelled from the DC Council for corruption

For now, D.C. residents in Ward 8 will be without a representative on the D.C. Council for the time being as Council member Trayon White was formally expelled from the council on Tuesday after being charged with a federal count of bribery.

Salim Adofo, an Advisory Neighborhood Commission chairman in Ward 8, said “there is going to be a gap” when it comes to representation.

“This is where myself, as a commissioner, and my colleagues need to step up and make sure that we’re working with the at-large council members and some of the other council members that oversee different agencies to make sure that Ward 8 residents get their services met,” Adofo said.

There will need to be a special election held in the near future to fill the Ward 8 council seat.

Theoretically, White could run in that election to try to get his seat back.

If White were to be convicted of a felony as a result of his court case, however, he would be expelled for good, as people convicted of a felony are disqualified from serving on the council.

Asked if he supports White running in the special election, Adofo said, “I can’t even really think about that right now. … My focus is definitely on making sure that we get the residents the services that they need.”

White was arrested by the FBI last August and charged with bribery, accused of accepting cash in exchange for using his position as a council member to influence city government contracts.

Prosecutors said White accepted $35,000 in cash and thought he would be getting tens of thousands more for agreeing to ask officials at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement to extend violence intervention contracts.

White allegedly made the deal with the head of two companies that had contracts with D.C. The head of the companies had been working as an FBI informant after pleading guilty in a separate case to fraud and bribery, according to prosecutors.

White pleaded not guilty, and his jury trial was scheduled for January 2026.

He was expelled from the council on Tuesday in a unanimous vote from his colleagues.

“We have commissioners, we have chairs of commissions, and we have at-large council members,” Adofo said. “We just have to work through it.”

There are five at-large members on the council, including Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

“We will be representing or helping constituents in Ward 8,” Mendelson said. “My office, in particular, will be stepping up to provide more help to fill in the gap with regard to helping constituents in Ward 8.”

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Nick Iannelli

Nick Iannelli can be heard covering developing and breaking news stories on WTOP.

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