D.C. Democratic mayoral hopeful Trayon White Sr. said Friday he has beaten back a bid by another candidate to invalidate his petitions to get on the June 21 primary ballot.
White, who currently represents Ward 8 on the D.C. Council, told a crowd of about 40 at the Douglass Community Center in his ward that he has enough signatures to get on the ballot, despite a challenge by fellow mayoral candidate and Council member Robert White (D-At Large) last week.
He cited a memorandum from the D.C. Board of Elections indicating 2,192 of his 2,768 challenged signatures are valid. A mayoral candidate must get 2,000 valid signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.
“It is disappointing that Robert White would stoop this low to be deceitful and divisive, ignoring my request to inquire about this challenge the week before,” White said. “We are running a clean campaign to empower the people, nothing more, nothing less.”
The two Whites (no relation) will face incumbent Muriel Bowser and political activist James Butler for the Democratic nomination.
Trayon White said his campaign filed 4,392 signatures, “more than any other campaign.” He noted there will be a preliminary hearing in front of the Board of Elections on the matter on Tuesday but expressed confidence that he will prevail.