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The reelection of Trayon White to represent Ward 8 on the D.C. Council brought about mixed reactions on the streets of Anacostia on Wednesday, though there was one common denominator — mistrust.
Those who supported White said they believe a distrustful system set him up, and they weren’t buying the federal bribery charges he’ll stand trial on next year.
“It made me have doubts. It made me look to other candidates,” Courtney Harris Whitaker said. “But I turned right back around and voted for him because I voted for him last term. I think he’s been set up.”
Another woman who passed by along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue said it was time for the council, and the authorities, to leave White alone.
On the other hand, there was disappointment. In fact, one man who said he wasn’t a Ward 8 resident, but was a Ward 8 business owner, called it a “travesty.” Some residents were just as unhappy.
“It’s just not right,” Frieda Jackson said. “They should have waited through the trial, and if he was found not guilty, then of course put him back in there. … But he’s guilty.”
White is set to go on trial in January, and a conviction would lead to an automatic removal from office.
“He hasn’t been found guilty yet,” Nathaniel Montana Stokes said.
“At the end of the day, we want somebody that’s in the office that’s going to be there for the people and not taking from the people,” he said. “We need somebody honest in there, and if you ain’t being honest, then you don’t need to be in there.”
DC Council stays quiet for now
Reaction from the D.C. Council was far less substantive.
Council Chair Phil Mendelson offered up his congratulations to White through a spokesperson from his office; but he wasn’t available for an interview.
At White’s election watch party on Tuesday night, Ward 7 Council member Wendell Felder told WUSA9, “There were conversations about the expulsion of council member White. Obviously, they’ve been paused. … Regardless of who would have won, I would have come out to support. The residents of Ward 8 have spoken.”
WTOP reached out to the office of every other member of the council, too. Most offices didn’t respond at all. Those who did said the council member they worked for wasn’t available at all.
It’s a far cry from early February.
“District residents in all eight wards deserve honest and ethical leadership across our government and every level of our government,” Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto said during the council’s vote to expel White. “We must hold ourselves and one another to the highest degree of integrity. Outcomes for our District residents and our responsibility as a government as the nation’s capital rely on this.”
Moments before the February vote to expel White, Mendelson argued, “Trust is critical for an elected government. We must act.”
But it’s not clear what the council might do now that he’s been elected to return to the seat.
A few weeks ago, Mendelson was circulating a proposal that would have allowed the council to fast track another expulsion vote against White, and any other council member who puts the rest of the body in a similar position. But that proposal was withdrawn — at least for the moment.
A spokesperson for the chairman said there have been no discussions about how the council might react to the return of White.
According to The City Paper, At-large Council member Christina Henderson is also pushing a charter amendment change that would prohibit council members who are expelled from seeking reelection for at least five years. But even if the council passed it, voters would also have to sign off on the measure before it became law, meaning it wouldn’t have any impact on White’s time in office.
On Tuesday night, Henderson posted on social media, “Looking forward to RCV coming to the District soon,” referring to ranked choice voting. That was seen as a dig at White, and the fact he won only a plurality of votes to return to office. But she was among those whose offices didn’t respond when approached for an interview.
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