In His Second Reelection Bid, Ward 8 Council Member White’s Legislative Record Under Scrutiny

Earlier this year, D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) launched his reelection bid amid questions of whether he could effectively legislate on behalf of an increasingly socioeconomically diverse ward that’s grappling with violent crime, housing insecurity and other quality-of-life issues. 

However, White remains resolute in his ability to take Ward 8 to new heights, recently telling voters at a candidate forum at Living Word Church on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue in Southwest that, without him on the council, Ward 8 loses legislative experience and two years of committee chairmanship. 

In speaking to The Informer about his opponents, White, a millennial and two-term council member, didn’t mince words. 

“I have the strongest base out of any candidate in the race,” he said. “I led with integrity. We got six recreation centers in the pipeline. We have a senior wellness center being built now. I created the Dream Grant and Ward 8 Investment Fund that gave money to businesses east of the Anacostia River. People can make promises but I’ve been delivering on my promises day in and day out.”

This budget season, White said he wants to restore funding for emergency rental assistance and the Home Purchase Assistance Program, also known as HPAP. Earlier this year, he turned his sights toward ticket amnesty, introducing legislation intended to tackle what he calls predatory ticketing. 

In the realm of public safety, White told The Informer that, despite the prevalence of crime across the ward, the violence interrupter and credible messenger programs that he secured funding for has improved the violence prevention landscape. 

White said, if reelected, he wants to continue focusing on affordable housing for seniors. Other priorities include residents’ financial literacy and economic empowerment via career-based mentoring, youth peer mentoring, and ensuring that Ward 8 residents can easily rent out Department of Parks and Recreation facilities to conduct community programming. 

These efforts, he said, will build upon his ongoing endeavor to form a partnership between Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Johnson Middle School and Ballou Senior High School. The council member touted his work in connecting students at Anacostia High School with DAVIS Construction for a couple of months of weekend training and facilitating the launch of a mentorship program at Kramer Middle School and Johnson Middle School.

“I got a vision to be more inclusive about career-based mentoring with youth and young adults and the thriving industries we have in D.C.,” White said, stressing that community and career development is a matter of public safety. “We have a large advantage as a major city with major corporations. We have to build a bridge for young people to get career and business opportunities.” 

The Ward 8 Democrats Gear Up for Voter Mobilization 

On June 4, Ward 8 Democratic primary voters will decide once again whether to reelect White or replace him with one of the other contenders — Salim Adofo and Rahman Branch. 

At one point, former state board representative and Bowser administration personnel Markus Batchelor counted among those vying for the Ward 8 council seat. However, he announced the suspension of his campaign in March after an unsuccessful attempt to appear on the ballot. 

Whoever wins the June 4 Democratic primary will face Nate Derenge who is running as a Republican. Given the significant number of Democrats in Ward 8, it’s assumed that the Democratic nominee will clinch the Ward 8 council seat. 

White, in office since 2017, won reelection in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, amassing 58.22% of the vote in the Democratic Primary, compared to Mike Austin, Yaida Ford and Stuart Anderson who secured 27.32%, 7.54% and 4.66% respectively. 

During the 2020 general election, White defeated independent candidates Fred Hill and Christopher Cole, and Republican candidate Nate Derenge, securing 78.84% of the vote. 

In this go-around, White has received an endorsement from the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU). 

In the weeks and days leading up to spring break, WTU members participated in a nominating process where they heard from Ward 8 council candidates and deliberated among themselves about the candidate they would endorse. 

Nadia Casseus Torney, WTU’s treasurer, said the union’s support for White stemmed from his advocacy for a standalone D.C. Council education committee. She also called him a trailblazer when it came to speaking out against IMPACT evaluations long before an American University study deemed the evaluation system biased toward teachers of color. 

Torney said that White always carves out time to attend WTU events and support WTU causes, the most recent of which being contract negotiations. She also recounted to The Informer instances when the Ward 8 council member gave civics lessons to District public school students. 

“He’s volunteering to bring his expertise, which is real-world experience, to his students,” said Torney, an instructional coach at Kimball Elementary School in Southeast. “I’m struggling to find another council member who can do that. Council member White’s reliability, consistency and support for us is unmatched. There was no afterthought on my part.” 

For Torney, a third council term looks like White continuing his advocacy and helping secure the removal or replacement of the IMPACT teacher evaluation system. 

“Even though other [candidates] have merits, we can’t deny Council member White’s constant support and loyalty to the WTU,” she told The Informer. “We want to honor that and continue on what he’s started to support us on and his future initiatives.”

Even with his incumbency and support from teachers, White faces some hurdles, one of which is the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF). 

OCF issued fines against White’s campaign committee totaling $20,500 for a haphazard start to his mayoral run and improper documentation of how the council member used $58,900 in public funds received through D.C.’s Fair Election Program in 2022. 

Fred Cooke, the attorney representing White’s campaign, told The Informer on Tuesday that the campaign will soon reach a settlement with OCF, though he didn’t specify a date. He said that, without his enrollment in the Fair Election Program, White is currently pursuing traditional campaign funding. 

On May 18, the Ward 8 Democrats are scheduled to host an in-person candidate forum at Sycamore & Oak’s main pavilion in Southeast. This event will follow the circulation of an annual budget survey in which respondents ranked public safety, access to healthcare, and affordable and safe housing as the top three issues of concern. 

The Ward 8 Democrats included that data in a letter that went to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the entire D.C. Council. 

Troy Donté Prestwood, president of the Ward 8 Democrats, told The Informer, on May 18, residents will have ample opportunity to ask candidates questions about the aforementioned issues, their campaign platform and record of service.

He said that the political organization is leaning toward conducting a straw poll that won’t result in an endorsement. 

“The candidates should be able to express their vision for our ward and our city,” Prestwood told The Informer, emphasizing ongoing efforts to boost civic engagement in Ward 8. “Our message has always been that local elections matter. Your council election matters because those people represent your values and interests. It’s so important to be engaged in matters that affect our community.” 

Salim Adofo Wants to Go Back to the Basics

Adofo, who currently serves as the chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C, jumped into the race during the latter part of 2022, shortly after the end of elections. His decision, he told The Informer, came out of a desire to go beyond making recommendations as a commissioner and take Ward 8 in a different direction in the realms of infrastructure, food access, and education. 

Council member White, Adofo said, falls short in advancing those goals. 

“The incumbent is passionate but a lot of what we need comes from understanding the budget and developing the type of legislation that helps get us there,” Adofo said as he criticized White’s “present” vote on the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act in February. 

“We don’t get a lot of legislation produced out of the incumbent and I think larger things need to happen that aren’t happening,” Adofo continued. 

“We have St. Elizabeths but that’s in large part through the mayor. We have development but I haven’t seen where the incumbent has made his presence known in those spaces to help develop the ward from an economic standpoint.” 

In March, Adofo secured the most votes at the end of a candidate forum conducted by the First Friday group. Though more than 70 people attended the virtual event, those present by the end of the forum winnowed down to 22 people, nearly half of which voted for Adofo. 

As of April 23, Adofo has secured endorsements from the DC Latino Caucus, DC Voters for Animals, and SigmaPAC1914. Former D.C. He said that former D.C. Council member Arrington Dixon and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Wendy Hamilton, Juanita Beltran, Georgette Joy Johnson, Anita Burrows and Natasha Yates also expressed support for his candidacy. 

If elected, Adofo has his sights set on securing housing repairs and upgrades, curbing chronic absenteeism, stopping illegal dumping and increasing the consistency with which residents are connected with employment opportunities and resources. He said that he wants to leverage his position to compel a culture shift and elicit respect from residents and government agencies. 

Adofo told The Informer that he wouldn’t wait until he was sworn into office to manifest these goals. Rather, he would get to work immediately after the June 4 primary, connecting with advisory neighborhood commissions, faith-based institutions, academic leaders, residents, regardless of organizational affiliation, along with the Executive Office of the Mayor, At-large council members and federal partners. 

In terms of oversight, Adofo said he wants to monitor government operations throughout the year, and not only during oversight season. He expressed no preference for any particular committee assignment, telling The Informer that he wants to be where he can best serve the community. 

To that point, Adofo expressed a desire to negotiate with council colleagues and glean their experience to advance the needs of Ward 8. He questioned whether White had been successful in doing so on the dais throughout his time on the council. He also expressed concern about White’s ability to bridge the gap between residents of varying socioeconomic backgrounds, especially in the aftermath of a redistricting process that expanded Ward 8 west of the Anacostia River. 

“There are a lot of talents and gifts on both sides,” Adofo said. “It’s up to you as a leader to make sure that the two can work for the benefit of everyone. We have more in common than we do apart, like crime and dealing with property owners. We got traffic safety issues on both sides of the [Frederick Douglass] bridge. We have to address that.”  

Rahman Branch Zeroes in Youth and a Pathway to Prosperity 

Rahman Branch, former principal of Ballou Senior High School, announced his run for the Ward 8 council seat during the earlier part of 2023. He told The Informer that, if elected, he wants to build consensus around legislation that takes Ward 8 to the next level of economic development, and not, as he described it, mired in a cycle of generational poverty. 

“We’re not dealing with legislation to give us real opportunities to experience the types of growth we see in the other parts of the city,” Branch said in criticism of Council member White’s legislative record. 

“We need avenues for residents to earn a wage, for them to live and thrive. Wages tap out at $35,000 and we act like that’s a great thing. That’s not enough money to thrive. We need to make sure that residents can seek avenues for success.” 

A Branch campaign representative told The Informer that they’re expecting at least three advisory neighborhood commission endorsements by April 27. 

If elected, Branch said he wants to foster amicable relationships with Ward 8 residents, advisory neighborhood commissioners, and the Executive Office of the Mayor. He touted his experience as the first executive director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs as an asset in his endeavor to collaborate, and not clash, with agency leaders. 

Branch went on to tell The Informer that much of his community engagement would happen within the first 100 days of his term. He expressed the importance of collectively identifying needs and building consensus around a bevy of issues, particularly education and public safety. 

In terms of the latter, Branch told The Informer that Ward 8 residents aren’t on one accord about the greater need for public safety measures. He criticized the “analysis paralysis” that prevents Ward 8 leaders from putting into place what he described as effective measures to hold young people accountable and address their pressing needs. 

Branch reflected on his experience as a high school principal, saying that he and his administrative team improved the atmosphere at Ballou by zeroing in on negative behaviors while securing wraparound services, connecting students to internship opportunities, and facilitating visits by federally elected officials. 

When it comes to education, Branch outlined his vision for young people, the highest concentration of which live in Ward 8. He said that, as a council member, he wants to ensure that young people can enter robust career and technical education programs in Ward 8. 

Branch’s vision, as articulated to The Informer, involves placing Ward 8 in position for financial success by ensuring that they’re accepted in the college or trade program of their choice, in possession of a diverse financial portfolio they built throughout their school career, and already enrolled in D.C.’s Home Purchase Assistance Program.

In speaking further about housing affordability in the District, Branch said that the District needs to be more innovative about protecting legacy residents and increasing pay for residents. He said that should especially be the case for those who graduated from a District high school and went on to successfully navigate higher education and work in their hometown as young professionals. 

The key to doing so, Branch told The Informer, lies in not funding programing like public campaign financing that he said takes away from residents’ needs. 

“We talk about not having enough money, but my money is funding every candidate with public financing,” said Branch, who’s not enrolled in a public financing program. “ I want my money to tackle Ward 8 issues. Having worked in District government at various levels, I’ve seen where we can do better on how we spend money.” 

Examining Ward 8 Council Member White’s Legislative Record

Since entering office in 2017, Ward 8 Council member White either singularly or collaboratively introduced nearly 135 bills focused on displacement prevention, senior citizen tax relief, criminal record expungement, comprehensive campaign finance reform, affordable housing, and employment, among other aspects of life in the District. 

An analysis of White’s legislative record showed that White often found success in shepherding emergency legislation. On other occasions, when by himself, he faced more difficulty in bringing bills, including those dealing with criminal record expungement,  out of committee. He alluded to this conundrum in February on the dais shortly before voting “present” on the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act. 

In some situations when Ward 8 Council member White found success, the programs included in his legislation didn’t receive funds. 

Such was the case in 2018 when D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), via the Budget Support Act, repealed a program allowing, among other provisions, negligent drivers to participate in community service in exchange for debt repayment. 

During that same year, White, in collaboration with then-D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), unsuccessfully attempted to legislate a real property tax exemption of what was then the IHOP on Alabama Avenue in Southeast. He also fell short, even with the support of seven council colleagues, in securing the establishment of a Commission on Literacy that would develop recommendations to address literacy disparities and support literacy organizations. 

White successfully shepherded the Community Violence Interruption Fund Emergency Act of 2018 requiring the mayor to encourage the leveraging of local funds appropriated toward violence interruption, prevention, and expansion of mental health resources.  During that year, he also collaborated with D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) on emergency legislation that renamed Jehu A. Orr Elementary School to Lawrence E. Boone Elementary School. He also put forth an emergency bill with D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At large) that the council approved to relocate D.C. General residents to permanent supportive housing and ensure the safe demolition of the building. 

In 2019, White, with the support of D.C. Council members Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Anita Bonds (D-At large), Robert White (D-At Large), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), and then Council members Kenyan McDuffie (who then represented Ward 5 and is now an At-Large council member), David Grosso (I-At Large) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), secured the passage of emergency legislation that provides access to police officers’ body-worn camera footage when a deceased person is depicted on the footage. 

Another emergency bill that White introduced with Nadeau established a subsidy program through which a close relative of a child would be eligible for subsidy payments for child care and custody. 

During the pandemic, White and Cheh secured the passage of emergency legislation requiring a grantor agency to maintain records related to the selection of grantees, all to be made available to the mayor and council. Another one of White’s emergency bills, introduced shortly before the public health emergency declaration, established a Ward 8 Senior Housing Fund. 

He also successfully secured, on an emergency basis, the issuance of tax increment financing for Reunion Square, located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE in Anacostia. 

After the start of his second term, Ward 8 Council member White secured the passage of three emergency bills that he independently or primarily introduced. Those bills centered on extending the validity of a certificate of sale of judgment for 2662 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE; clarifying the Department of Small and Local Business Development’s authority to issue grants to Ward 8 business owners; and keeping the Office of Independent Juvenile Justice Facilities Oversight open until October 2024. 

White also secured the renaming of Good Hope Road SE to Marion Barry Avenue SE in honor of the District’s longtime former mayor and council member.  He also ensured the ceremonial street renamings in honor of Davon T. McNeal III, an 11-year-old killed due to gun violence in July 2020, and Cassandra S. Pinkney, an avid educator and advocate for underserved youth. 

While White touts the allocation of funds toward the Douglass Community Land Trust, intended to create community-based affordable housing, legislation he introduced in 2022 to require the mayor to establish standards for the awarding of a 10-point preference for community land trusts didn’t make it past the council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development. 

As of April 21, Ward 8 Council member White has four bills under council review — the Ticket Amnesty Amendment Act of 2024, Motor Vehicle Registration Access Amendment Act of 2024, Fair Motor Vehicle Fines and Penalties Amendment Act of 2024, and Fair Chance at Record Sealing Amendment Act of 2024 — all of which have either been referred to the council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, chaired by Allen, or the council’s Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, chaired by D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2). 

White’s introduction of those bills comes on the cusp of spirited discussion about traffic safety. Earlier this year, he voted “present” on the first reading of the Stronger Enforcement Tools to Reduce Dangerous Driving in the District out of a belief that residents are already feeling the pressure of tickets. 

“I want to create some dialogue on how we move the needle on real pedestrian safety and reduce the burden on D.C. residents when it comes to predatory ticketing,” White told The Informer. 

He criticized the D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) for what he called its part in exacerbating the ticketing and pedestrian safety challenges. 

“DDOT’s community engagement is poor. It sets its own agenda. What they’re doing is making the street more dangerous.” 

Residents Sound Off about a Council Race That’s Not Catching Traction 

Longtime Ward 8 resident Sandra Seegars said the current Ward 8 council race might be one of the quietest she’s seen in years, much to the detriment of Ward 8 residents. 

“The danger is the same person getting back with no thought from the voters,” Seegars said. “After two terms, it’s kind of time to change leadership. 

Seegars, a member of Concerned Residents Against Violence, threw her support behind Branch, who she called one of the more present and engaging candidates in the race. 

Early on, before White announced his reelection bid, she made campaign contributions to Branch, Adofo and Batchelor.  However, she said, it was Branch who maintained contact. 

While Seegars highlighted Ward 8’s potential for economic development, she said much of that is due to Bowser, not Ward 8 Council member White, who she said hindered development projects along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Anacostia. 

Seegars said White has also fallen short on addressing youth crime, despite his chairmanship of the council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries, and Youth Affairs. 

“The youth are running amok,” she said “Maybe there aren’t many things he can put in place. I would like to see him submit proposed legislation, shepherd it through and let us know that it passed. Let us know that he put money in the budget. All the things a council member is supposed to do.” 

A Ward 8 resident who requested anonymity said they’re voting for Adofo out of what they called respect for his longtime service as an advisory neighborhood commissioner, knowledge of the issues, and potential for penning quality policy for Ward 8.

This resident also told The Informer that Adofo, unlike White, can build bridges and acknowledge all demographics within the ward. They expressed their discontent with various instances throughout White’s tenure when they had to compel him to address the quality of parkland in Ward 8. 

“Ward 8 is not just the elderly and poor people. A lot of times, Trayon ignores the rest,” the resident told The Informer. 

“I understand balance and I’m not knocking him for putting an emphasis on the most vulnerable, but if you’re going to represent Ward 8, then you need to show interest in the business owners, the homeowners, the people with careers… “Those people also have a stake in the community.” 

Civic leader Philip Pannell declined to reveal the candidate he’s supporting, opting instead to tell The Informer that he contributed an equal amount to White, Adofo, Branch and Batchelor’s campaigns. 

Pannell, who currently serves as executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, also weighed in on the current state of affairs in Ward 8, saying that he hasn’t seen much fervor among residents to engage the political process. 

“With violence and crime, people have almost become numb to hearing what politicians have to say because things haven’t really changed that dramatically for the better,” he said, noting that he’s seen a similar lack of engagement in other political races across the District. 

This type of voter apathy, Pannell said, reflects what he called the pervasive lack of an organizational infrastructure in Ward 8. He expressed his concern about the low turnout at candidate forums, civic association and advisory neighborhood commission meetings and other public gatherings where residents coalesce around issues of significance. 

“Some of the neighborhoods don’t have civic associations and some of the associations are not operating effectively,” Pannell said. “We have schools with no parent-teacher associations. Some of the commissions aren’t operating efficiently. And we all know that the churches are suffering in terms of membership.” 

Changing the tide, Pannell explained, requires leaders to take seriously the science or organizing and meet residents directly at their apartment buildings. 

As the Anacostia Coordinating Council prepares to take young people to the bowling alley at Bolling Air Force Base once again, Pannell also criticized what he called the lack of innovation around youth engagement. 

“With all the violence going on, you would think that our advisory neighborhood commissions and civic associations would redouble their efforts to come up with activities that are constructive and safe for young people,” Pannell said. “It’s not happening.” 

Elizabeth Reddick told The Informer that, as a D.C. resident who lives on the border of Ward 7 and 8, she values public officials who are able to form alliances that benefit D.C. residents no matter where they are in the city. 

She said that she wasn’t sure if Ward 8 Council member White had been able to accomplish that on the council. 

“He has great legislation but other council members aren’t voting for it,” Reddick, 37, told The Informer. “It’s not that I think he doesn’t care about the ward but it’s a matter of who can get votes from their peers to make sure we’re taken care of.”

On April 20, Ward 7 parent Reddick entered Living Word Church on April 20 eager to hear Ward 8 council candidates talk about collaboration on the council. Toward the end of the forum, she asked candidates a question about school funding, and how best to ensure that public and public charter schools receive safe passage and mental health support. 

That inquiry, Reddick said, came out of her experiences as the mother of a student who attended Bard High School Early College DC, starting from when it opened in Ward 7 all the way to after its relocation to Ward 8. 

For Reddick, candidates’ responses didn’t instill confidence about their ability to work beyond Ward 8. 

“I didn’t hear enough about how candidates have collaborated [with other people] across the District,” she said. “You can’t just focus on your own ward. We want to create that sense of connection, or we’ll feel like a pity party.”