The legal troubles of DC Council Member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) continue to raise doubts among some about his ability to effectively represent the communities in his district that face major challenges in the areas of education and public safety.
Those investigations intensified after White’s office canceled an annual back-to-school event scheduled for August 24, just days after assuring his constituents that services would be maintained.
Longtime District 8 Supervisor Phil Pannell called this latest development another indication of what needs to be done.
“He’s not working 100% and you can see that in what’s happening in his office,” Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Committee, told The Informer. “You’re canceling your annual back-to-school event when there are families counting on it. That’s a punch in the gut for this community.”
Given these circumstances, Pannell explained, he and others find it difficult to support White.
“I cannot vote for him as a candidate, and there are many people who cannot. But politicians and activists are hesitant to call for his resignation,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, Pannell announced his candidacy for Ward 8’s DC Council seat. In a message he distributed to community leaders, Pannell attacked those he believed would excuse White’s alleged behavior.
Kymone Freeman, co-owner of We Act Radio and one of many who have analyzed White’s situation in the context of law enforcement hostility, expressed support for Pannell’s candidacy, calling it the best tool to prevent a Republican victory in November.
Unless White or the DC Council decides to vacate the DC Council from Ward 8, this general election will be the second time Pannell and White have vie for the same seat. In 2011, White defeated Pannell in a special election to succeed the late William O. Lockridge as Ward 8’s representative on the DC State Board of Education.
Pannell’s candidacy as an unseated electoral candidate bears certain similarities to an endeavor successfully undertaken by former Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams in 2002 after he failed to collect enough signatures on a petition to appear on the Democratic primary ballot.
On Thursday, Pannell, who turns 74 on Sept. 29, the day before the D.C. Board of Elections sends out general election ballots, expressed hope that his efforts would encourage other 8th District politicians to throw their hats in the ring and protect their council seats from what he sees as disadvantageous general election candidates.
“We are in a political crisis where there are only two options on the ballot: conservatism or corruption,” Pannell said, referring to White, the Democratic candidate for the Ward 8 seat, and Nate Derenge, the Republican candidate. “I hope I can convince other people to run. I’m willing to step down if someone else comes forward.”
Questions about the future make the race for the District 8 council seat a free race for all
White’s office declined to comment on the council member’s intention to resign or Pannell’s candidacy.
On August 19, a day after the FBI arrested him near his luxury Precinct 6 apartment, White appeared before a federal judge who announced the results of a criminal complaint accusing White of agreeing to accept $156,000 in bribes to funnel multimillion-dollar violence interruption program contracts to a local business owner.
Reactions poured in from both voters and elected officials, most of whom questioned whether White actually lives in the district he represents on the City Council.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced the launch of an internal investigation into White’s handling of DC’s violence interruption programs. DC Council Member Brooke Pinto, chair of the Council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, said she will hold public hearings in the fall to determine the scope of the allegations related to the violence interruption programs in her jurisdiction.
In a statement, D.C. Council Democratic Leader Phil Mendelson expressed plans to strip White of his chairmanship of the council’s Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs Committee, which has oversight authority over the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, two agencies named in the charging documents.
Mendelson’s testimony also included mention of an ad hoc committee that, once formed, will investigate the bribery allegations in federal court and White’s stay in District 8. On Thursday, Mendelson told the Informer about a soon-to-be-circulated memo outlining the committee’s timeline and other details.
Although DC Democrats have not yet taken an official position on Mendelson’s actions, DC Democrats Chairman Charles Wilson said he is confident that a majority of members support them. He has also considered launching a mail-in ballot campaign, but declined to comment further on those discussions.
“As a party, we are incredibly disappointed by what we are reading about the allegations against Councilmember White. If they are true, it damages public trust in our elected officials,” Mendelson said.
With the DC Council office for Ward 8 in limbo, some leaders like Markus Batchelor say Ward 8 residents continue to lose out and there is an obvious leadership vacuum.
“District 8 would be better served with new leadership in the short term and long term. We want to move forward quickly,” Batchelor said, noting that a lengthy process distracts from the critical issues facing the district.
Batchelor, a former candidate for the District of Columbia’s 8th District who suspended his campaign earlier this year, discussed the potential of a seat-holding campaign with some Democratic colleagues in Washington, D.C., at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Although plans have not yet been finalized, Batchelor told The Informer that a mail-in voting campaign is increasingly appearing as an option, even though the legal and political processes have only just begun.
“I thought then we needed (new leadership) and I believe we need it even more now,” Batchelor said. “I’m very clear in my platform about the waste, fraud and abuse in our violence interruption programs. We’ve focused on the right issues from the beginning and I think Ward 8 deserves this option.”
Rahman Branch, one of two candidates White defeated in the June 4 primary, acknowledged that some people have approached him about the idea of launching a write-in campaign for District 8 councilman, but did not say he would throw his hat in the ring again.
Branch, he told The Informer, is more focused on how White’s federal bribery charges affect the residents of District 8.
“We need to consider what’s happening in the council in terms of the needs of the district,” Branch said, alluding to the recent closure of Eagle Academy Public Charter School. “Families are still in crisis. Schools are closing and parents don’t know where their children are going next week. I’m concerned that our representative can’t be a voice in things like this.”
As for White’s future in the John A. Wilson Building, Branch said the District 8 council member needs to “look within himself and come to some inner clarity” about his next step.
“I know how much he loves the community,” Branch said. “I know how much passion he has for his community. I wonder how he feels about his decision to step down and allow the community to get support. I have chosen not to make those decisions, but I’m confident he’s considering it.”
8th District leaders spring into action as trial begins
On August 27, Sandra Seegars and Ronald Williams Jr. of Concerned Residents Against Violence will host an online meeting where community leaders, business leaders and activists will discuss the future of their district.
This meeting follows a similar meeting held by Salim Adofo, Chairman of Advisory Neighbourhood Commission 8C, with other ANC chairpersons from Ward 8 on the evening of August 21. According to Adofo, he and his ANC colleagues outlined a strategy to promote budget recommendations and improve services to citizens in their areas of responsibility.
Adofo also expressed plans to invite Mendelson to explain to the community the actions the council will take in response to the allegations against White. He described this as part of a larger effort to work more closely with Mendelson and council members.
The same courtesy, he said, applies to White’s office.
“He will remain a council member until he is no longer a council member,” Adofo said. “We have talked about giving him due process. We want to support him as a human being who is going through something mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Adofo, whom White also defeated in the June 4 primary, said he has no plans to launch a run for Ward 8 DC councilman, calling the move awkward and premature given the current state of the investigation.
“You should never go public without all the facts,” Adofo told The Informer. “Many residents of Ward 8 are aware of the FBI counterintelligence program that was designed to exclude our leaders from the black freedom struggle and that has never left us.”
Adofo said the difficult relationship between District 8 and law enforcement continues to this day.
“We may be considered conspiracy theorists, but there are conspiracies out there that seek to harm our community and we need to acknowledge them,” Adofo said. “That’s why some people feel uncomfortable believing an FBI investigation.”
