Latest news with #TrayonWhiteSr.
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former D.C. Council member, expelled after bribery charge, seeks reelection
Former D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr., who faces a federal bribery indictment that led to his expulsion from the legislative body in February, wants his seat back. He announced that he plans to run again for the Ward 8 seat — vacant since his expulsion — in an Instagram post Sunday evening, saying, 'ReElection campaign starts tomorrow.' He made another Instagram post on Monday evening that showed him filling out paperwork to officially launch his bid. White enters the race while facing significant legal jeopardy in the federal case, in which he could face up to 15 years in prison — yet he remains a popular figure in Ward 8. He won reelection in November with more than 20,000 votes, even as he was under indictment. So far, 13 candidates have filed to run for the Democratic nomination in the July 15 special election, which in this deep-blue city is often the determinative race. White was charged with bribery in August and accused of agreeing to accept more than $150,000 — and pocketing $35,000 — in cash bribes, in exchange for using his position as a council member to influence lucrative violence-intervention grants and help an associate. He pleaded not guilty. On Feb. 4, just months after his reelection, his colleagues unanimously voted to expel him from the council, finding that enough evidence existed that White violated the council's ethics rules. White did not respond to a request for comment Monday. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) had little to say Monday about White's bid to get his seat back, saying only that there was nothing in the Home Rule Act prohibiting White from running for it again. He declined to say whether the council could consider expelling White again if he were to win, saying he did not want to 'speculate on hypotheticals.' 'He, as a registered voter, is entitled to take out petitions and seek to get on the ballot,' Mendelson said at a news briefing Monday. 'I realize that to a lot of members of the public that seems shocking.' But if White were to be convicted in the federal case, he could end up getting expelled twice from the council. A felony conviction would immediately disqualify him from office. White is scheduled to go on trial in January; the term he is running for ends in January 2029. Among the Democrats that White could face are Sheila Bunn, who has spent her career in D.C. government in top roles under Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Vincent C. Gray (D) when he was mayor and Ward 7 council member; Salim Adofo, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who unsuccessfully challenged White last year; and former ANCs including Mike Austin, Dion Jordan and Darrell Gaston, also the owner of Kitchen Savages in Anacostia. Sarah Graham, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections, said that so far none of the candidates have turned in signature petitions that are required to qualify for the ballot. April 17 is the deadline to enter the race. Jenny Gathright contributed to this report.
Washington Post
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
D.C. Council expels Trayon White over allegations he took bribes
The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to expel Council member Trayon White Sr., an unprecedented rebuke stemming from federal allegations that he took $35,000 in bribes from a government contractor. White's expulsion — the first imposed by the council in its 51-year history — forces the Democrat to immediately surrender his seat representing Ward 8, a swath of blue-collar neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River.
