After the arrest, Trayon White's re-election to the DC Council could be difficult

DC Councilmember Trayon White faces a potentially difficult road ahead as he seeks re-election following his arrest and federal bribery charges.

Effective immediately, White will face Republican Nate Derenge in the 8th District in November's election.

However, if White decides to withdraw his candidacy because of his legal problems, the clock is already running out.

“The deadline to actually remove his name completely from the ballot is Sept. 12,” said Zach Israel, a former ANC commissioner and expert on D.C. law. “That's the deadline by which he basically has to sign an affidavit making it official to remove his name from the ballot.”

The Democratic Party in the district would then nominate a new candidate to replace White, which would also have to happen by September 12.

Beginning September 30, ballots will be mailed to registered voters in DC.

“Of course, they need time to structure the ballot, print it out and then actually mail it out,” Israel said.

Visit Page for our comprehensive coverage.

If White were to drop out of the race after the September 12 deadline, his name would still appear on the ballot, and all polling places in the city would be required to post a notice informing voters that White is no longer running.

In this case, all votes for white would not count.

“That would be terrible for the people of District 8,” Israel said. “There will be voters who know nothing about this controversy and would vote for him. So in that scenario, that would be a lost vote.”

As for the possibility of other options being available to voters, such as a candidate running by hand ballot trying to win the Ward 8 council seat, “that's a huge fight,” Israel said, noting that a candidate would have to knock on doors, introduce themselves and explain the situation to voters.

“It's not impossible, but they would have to be extremely well organized and start doing it basically right away if they want to have a realistic chance of winning,” Israel said.

White is accused of accepting bribes from the owner of two companies that had contracts with DC to provide violence intervention services.

Prosecutors accused White of agreeing to accept a total of $156,000 in cash from the owner, whose name was not disclosed in court documents.

White allegedly took the money and in return agreed to pressure government officials and agencies in Washington to renew contracts with the owners and continue to support the companies.

The council member issued a statement saying he was aware of the “recent criminal complaint” against him.

“We recognize the seriousness of this matter. We want to assure Ward 8 residents and stakeholders that our office remains fully operational and remains true to our commitment to the public,” White's statement said.

Sign up here to get breaking news and daily headlines delivered straight to your email inbox.

© 2024 WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users in the European Economic Area.