Expelled DC Council member Trayon White faces voters’ judgment
Former D.C. Council member Trayon White,who was expelled from his Ward 8 seat in February following a bribery indictment,is running in a special election to try to regain his position. White has pleaded not guilty to charges that allege he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for promising to use his influence to steer contracts, and if convicted, he could be barred from holding public office. The special election to fill his former seat features four democratic candidates, including white, Salim Adofo, Mike Austin, and Sheila Bunn. Adofo leads in fundraising and has meaningful labor support. White has largely avoided discussing the indictment, focusing rather on due process. To appeal to voters, he shared an AI-generated video encouraging support. The election is taking place in ward 8, a predominantly Black community of about 73,000 people with a median household income roughly half the D.C. average.Early voting has concluded, and polls are open on election day.
Expelled DC Council member Trayon White faces voters’ judgment in special election
Former D.C. council member for Ward 8 Trayon White will be on the ballot in a special election on Tuesday. The election aims to fill his seat, which he vacated in February following a bribery indictment.
White has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which allege he took tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for a promise to use his influence to steer contracts. If convicted, he could be disqualified from public office. He hasn’t faced trial yet.
Four Democratic candidates, including White, have qualified for the ballot: Salim Adofo, an Advisory Neighborhood Commission chairman in Congress Heights; attorney Mike Austin, also a former ANC chairman; and Sheila Bunn, who worked for former D.C. mayor Vincent Gray.
Adofo has labor support, including the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO and the Washington DC Firefighters LOCAL 36, and leads the field in fundraising. Bunn is behind Adofo, while Austin is in the negatives at the end of his campaign. All three mostly align on issues.
The former councilman, White, who is looking to retake his seat, has avoided speaking about his case. “He’s not really focusing on the details of the indictment,” Sam P.K. Collins, a reporter for the Washington Informer based in Ward 8, said about White. “Any time that people ask about that, especially at the Ward 8 straw poll, he talks about due process and he talks about awaiting his day in court. But he has been largely avoidant about that issue.”
White used at least one interesting strategy to earn himself another chance to serve the people of Ward 8. He shared an artificial-intelligence-generated video on Instagram of a woman encouraging voters to vote in his election. “Mr. White has served in this community 24 years straight, working hard for the people, now it’s time for us to come out and support him,” a caption of the video read.
Special elections in D.C. have historically had low turnout. Fewer than 6,000 people voted in one after former D.C. mayor Marion Barry died in 2015.
D.C.’s Ward 8 covers the neighborhoods of Anacostia, Barry Farm, Bellevue, Buena Vista, Congress Heights, Douglass, Fairlawn, Garfield Heights, Good Hope, Knox Hill, Navy Yard, Park Naylor, Shipley Terrace, Skyland, Washington Highlands, and Woodland.
RECENTLY EXPELLED DC COUNCILMAN TRAYON WHITE FACES ANOTHER OUSTER IF REELECTED
The ward has a population of about 73,000 people, and around 87% of them are black or African American. The median household income is $50,855, about half of D.C.’s $106,049 median income.
Early voting, which ran from July 11 to 14, has ended. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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