A Ward 8 Special Election, with Some Familiar Faces and Persistent Issues

This story is the first part of a series about the Ward 8 D.C. Council special election, scheduled for July 15, 2025.  

Long before Trayon White lost his council seat, Ward 8 residents heard rumblings about a handful of well-known — and not-so-well-known — community figures vying for the Ward 8 council seat. 

Some of these figures — including Salim Adofo, Mike Austin, Sheila Bunn, Charnal Chaney, Khadijah Clark, Darrell Gaston, Dion Jordan, and Robbie Woodland — have since declared their intention to run. 

However, the question remains of whether White, who’s currently facing a 15-year prison sentence for bribery, will throw his hat in the ring. 

Since his Feb. 4 council exit, White hasn’t given any indication that he would do so. The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to gather comment from the former council member about this matter. 

In the weeks leading up to White’s general election victory, Ward 8 politicos floated Bunn’s name, among others, as a potential write-in challenger to the embattled council member. 

While Bunn, a major local Democratic Party fixture, didn’t jump in the race, she, like other Ward 8 community leaders, organized among themselves to assert power and secure community resources in preparation for the inevitable. 

“Even before there was an expulsion, I’ve been working with other folks in my communities [telling them] we need to stand up as a people,” Bunn told The Informer. “I’ve been going to Advisory Neighborhood Commission meetings [asking commissioners to] hold some forums so we can figure out what our priorities are and make sure that the mayor and the council hear them.”  

On Feb. 21, Bunn officially launched her campaign at D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOE), surrounded by a team that includes: campaign chair Jacque Patterson, former Ward 7 D.C. State Board of Education (DCSBOE) candidate Toni Criner and Ronald Williams Jr. 

Bunn, vice president of Bellevue Neighborhood Civic Association (BNCA), most recently served as chief of staff for Ward 7 D.C. Councilmember Vincent C. Gray. Other government experience includes 16 years as a staff member in D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office, during which she served in various capacities and established rapport with federal lawmakers and staffers.

Bunn said she has a similar level of influence in the John A. Wilson Building, placing her in the best position to represent Ward 8 on the council. In making her point, she recounted weeks and months following White’s arrest during which engaged D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and at large council members in conversations about Ward 8. 

“Because of my eight years at the council, I have very good relationships with all of the council members, [and] I personally know half of them and their staff,” Bunn said. “So it’s not a guarantee, but I think it’s an awesome foot in the door to [initiate] conversation about how we can work to marshal resources for Ward 8.” 

If elected, Bunn identified food insecurity, education, and public health as key budget priorities, especially as Ward 8 residents, and the rest of D.C. for that matter, anticipate Medicaid cuts and elimination of federal programs. She said she strives to maintain a presence in the community while working on residents’ behalf in the Wilson Building, alluding to partnerships with Ward 8 community members and organizations. 

“We have farmers markets. We have food co-ops. And we have Dreaming Out Loud that’s coming to Ward 8. They are in the process of building.  So how do we feed ourselves and not wait for a big box grocery to come?” Bunn said. 

She said the same applies as it relates to education and public safety.  

“So reports say that we’ve made progress, but we really need to work on making sure that our kids are literate and that they can do math. Also want to make sure that our communities are safe. Police can’t do it all and we shouldn’t expect them to do it all.” 

Bunn Addresses the Martin’s View Situation 

As DCBOE announced during the earlier part of February, the Ward 8 special election will take place on July 15. The agency’s candidate list will be finalized during the latter part of May with Ward 8 voters receiving mail-in ballots shortly after.

The person elected as the next Ward 8 council member will carry out the rest of a council term that ends on Jan 2, 2029. During that time, they will represent an electorate seeking an influx of dollars and resources to significantly improve their quality of life. 

They will also face the task of repairing the public trust after what was the council’s third ad-hoc committee proceeding in a decade. 

For several months, BNCA worked on a community benefits agreement (CBA) for the redevelopment of Martin’s View Apartments.  As previously reported in The Informer, they did so in response to an agreement they said Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8D entered without any community input. 

Though BCNA executive members said they acted in community members’ best interests, Martin’s View tenants maintain that neither BNCA nor ANC 8D engaged them during negotiations with the developer. Additionally, ANC 8D residents raised the question about BCNA’s inactivity and revival. 

A Bellevue community member speaking on background confirmed that BNCA’s inactivity started in 2021, nearly a year into the local COVID public health emergency. 

They went on to note that the inconsistent attendance of at least one executive board member during and after the pandemic compelled colleagues to represent their neighbors through other means. Executive members, including Bunn, opted to speak on behalf of Bellevue residents at public meetings that ANC 8D and other ward-based community groups conducted. 

Bunn confirmed just as much. 

“We were in holdover status,” she told The Informer. “And I made a commitment to stay on until elections.” 

In the months leading up to BNCA’s negotiations with developers, Bunn and other Bellevue homeowners testified before the D.C. Zoning Commission in opposition to a development they said would increase the size and scale of Martin’s View Apartments. 

While Bunn expressed no qualms about improving residents’ living conditions, she counted among those who lamented the tripling of available units and all that would come with it — including traffic congestion along South Capitol Street, the decimation of parking space along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and surrounding streets, and further unavailability of limited amenities. 

Bunn also mentioned the proposed creation of an accompanying child development center that could threaten the existence of Big Mama’s Child Development Center, a legacy Ward 8 business. 

Bunn, one of six BNCA executive members, said she abstained from the vote on a version of a CBA going beyond what she deemed sufficient in negotiations with developers. She cited provisions that designated BNCA as the workforce development partner and allocated $3 million for the association to give yet-to-be-named community-based organizations over the course of a decade. 

“I didn’t think the amount of money being asked made sense and neither did the developer,” Bunn said. “They were willing to support the community, but from a cost-benefit analysis, the amount being asked was unsustainable.” 

In speaking about her involvement, Bunn said she and other community members worked in the interests of Martin’s View tenants and other residents. 

“When you’re going against a big developer it’s hard, and we as a community were trying to be helpful and make sure their concerns were heard,” Bunn told The Informer. “The developer did make some concessions — not to the size and scope of the project, but parking for neighbors and [utility payments] for seniors in Martin’s View.” 

As Martin’s View tenants’ association becomes more visible, and ANC 8D weathers the storm of commissioner vacancies, Bunn said the work doesn’t stop. 

“It will take continued negotiation and collaboration with the community,” Bunn said, “ to make sure the developer is a good partner and keeps the community informed about what’s going on with the project.” 

Salim Adofo Faces Questions about Fiscal Mismanagement, Robbie Woodland Outlines Her Vision for Ward 8 

Down the street, in ANC 8C, Adofo, a favorite among some Ward 8 voters, faces controversy of his own. 

Though Adofo, chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C, has garnered a reputation as a competent, responsive public servant, and more recently, a central figure during Ward 8’s unprecedented transition in council leadership, constituents and colleagues — including Woodland — allege misuse of ANC funds under his leadership.

Such allegations triggered an Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA)  investigation of ANC 8C’s finances. On Monday, D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson told The Informer that her office is scheduled to complete the investigation by June. 

In the interim, Adofo continues to maintain that he’s not the direct subject of the ODCA’s investigation.

“The ANC is being audited, but I’m not under investigation,” Adofo said. “I’m not guilty of anything and if residents have any questions, they can go to the D.C. auditor.” 

During the 2024 Ward 8 D.C. Council Democratic primary, Adofo came second in a three-way race also involving former Ballou High School principal Rahman Branch. Despite not dominating in any of Ward 8’s voting precincts, Adofo commanded more than a quarter of the vote compared to White’s nearly 52%. 

Adofo told The Informer that his policy goals — which include economic development, education, and greater engagement with District agencies — haven’t changed much from last summer. However, he said, if elected, he would spend his first 100 days as a council member organizing residents in preparation for FY 2027 budget deliberations. 

“We want to stay focused on addressing policy issues and budget concerns, and making sure constituents’ needs are met,” Adofo told The Informer. “We know we don’t receive the best services in this city so we want to make that the primary focus for us.”

As it relates to fiscal responsibility and transparency, Adofo said he plans to involve Ward 8 residents in the discussions about the proper stewardship of funds. 

“We need residents and business leaders to be in communication with us,” he said. “To be part of an advisory team to explain things to people and give them a proper education of what’s supposed to and what’s not supposed to happen.” 

Meanwhile, Woodland continues to question Adofo’s ability to take Ward 8 to new heights in the aftermath of a bribery scandal. 

“An individual who misappropriated money for the community at such a small level would do it at a greater level,” said Woodland, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who represents ANC 8C03. “That wouldn’t be beneficial for residents at all.” 

If elected, Woodland pledges to spend her first 100 days tackling public safety, fiscal mismanagement and rent stabilization, telling The Informer that she plans to collaborate with Howard University engineering students around the launch of an anonymous crime reporting app. 

Woodland also alluded to her push for an audit of funds allocated to Ward 8 initiatives and programs, and a six-month moratorium on rent. She said that, as Ward 8’s council member, her council office would be staffed by Ward 8 residents who share her fervor for change and upliftment. 

As D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser mulls a reset to the housing ecosystem, via the RENTAL Act, Woodland said she didn’t want her neighbors mischaracterized as delinquent tenants. 

“Long before Trayon White and Marion Barry, our ward has been at the bottom of the totem pole and very disadvantaged and misunderstood,” Woodland told The Informer. “We need to be taken seriously and we have a lot of work to do. There will be empathy and sympathy for the plight of residents if I have people with that fight and burn in their heart like I do.” 

When it comes to legislative experience, Woodland touts what she described as lines of communication with Mendelson and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large). 

Woodland also mentioned her attempts to pitch legislation to the D.C. Council that, among other things, protects businesses from loitering and implements stronger accountability measures for ANC finances. She said she gained inspiration for the bills, titled Safe Harbor to Retail Shopping Act and Advisory Neighborhood Commission Residency Verification Act, through her experiences on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C. 

She said that was particularly the case as it relates to ANC finances. 

“We’re constantly finding ourselves in situations where the money for our commission isn’t being used for the people,” Woodland said. “Money is gifted to organizations or a person with a program that offers bookbags when school starts and other services, but the money would be more beneficial going to the residents. We wouldn’t be able to pay people’s rent or utilities with the things already in place, but we will be able to think outside the box to create our own programming as a commission to help residents.” 

Mike Austin and Darrell Gaston: Two Community Leaders Who Are Giving It Another Go 

Among the bevy of candidates going to the Ward 8 council seat are two other familiar faces in ward-level electoral politics: Darrell Gaston and Mike Austin. 

Gaston, owner of Kitchen Savages Restaurant, served four terms as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in ANC 8B, which includes Garfield Heights, Hillsdale and Skyland. He also has experience as a D.C. Council and D.C. State Board of Education candidate. Since Gaston threw his hat into the ring, Ward 8 politicos have reported seeing some of his campaign signage circulating digitally. 

The Informer unsuccessfully attempted to reach Gaston. 

Austin, an attorney and former D.C. Council staffer, is jumping into the fray more than four years after coming second to White during the then-council member’s re-election bid. Since 2020, Austin has been using his expertise to help facilitate the closure of the soon-to-be-replaced United Medical Center. Other roles include board membership at United People’s Organization, Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative and Community College Preparatory Academy Public Charter School in Southeast. 

With the council seat now vacant, Austin said time’s of the essence to mitigate the damage done in the Ward 8 leadership vacuum. 

“We’re in the middle of budget season and we have to ensure that our schools are well funded and our priorities at the forefront of the chairman and at large council members’ minds,” Austin, UMC’s associate general counsel, said. “We need someone who can understand the budget process and Budget Support Act and advocate for Ward 8 residents’ interests.”

On Feb. 25, Austin, a fourth-generation Washingtonian hailing from Bellevue, officially launched his campaign with a visit to DCBOE. As was the case in 2020, Austin touts experiences that include stints as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Congress Heights, and legislative director for LaRuby May’s office and what was then Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity.  

Under May, Austin penned legislation dealing with displacement, academic outcomes, criminal justice reform and healthcare access. He said if elected, he would create policies of benefit to all Ward 8 residents, regardless of income level or when they moved to the community. 

“The ward is changing, whether or not we want to admit it,” said Austin, who described himself as a pragmatic leader. “I’m a big proponent of preventing displacement while attaining development.” 

Even with a platform that focuses on displacement-free development, workforce development and unity among residents, Austin stressed the importance of engaging the electorate. He called that a key strategy in his first 100 days of service as Ward 8 council member. 

“I want to make sure it’s not just me and staff telling the ward [what we’ll do], but we’re getting feedback to move the ward forward,” he said. “I’m sure there will be gaps in constituent services so [we will be] catching up on trash pickups, any repairs, roads that need work.”