D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser suffered a significant loss of influence on the City Council Tuesday night after two candidates she had backed fell to fresh faces who garnered support from their previous boss — city Attorney General Karl Racine.
Trayon White defeated Council member LaRuby May (a member of the so-called Bowser Green Team) for the Ward 8 seat, and Robert White unseated at-large incumbent Vincent Orange (a frequent Bowser supporter) in the D.C. Democratic primary on Tuesday.
Both Trayon White and Robert White (no relation) are former Racine staffers, giving the attorney general two solid allies on the D.C. Council and more voting influence than Miss Bowser, whose only reliable legislative support will come from Council member Brandon Todd, who barely beat back a challenge by Leon Andrews in Ward 4.
Though both Democrats, Miss Bowser and Mr. Racine have not seen eye-to-eye on all issues. The mayor has sought to curtail the attorney general’s authority in approving city development deals, and he fueled criticism of her super PAC, which was forced to disband. They have disagreed over the legality of the city’s budget autonomy law and a provision in the mayor’s anti-crime proposal to allow warrantless searches of the homes of violent offenders who have been released from prison.
The shift of influence in the D.C. Council could affect the efficacy of the mayor’s and attorney general’s offices, as well as the relationship between the two city leaders.
Robert White’s performance was the most surprising, since pundits surmised that challenger David Garber would split the anti-Orange vote and allow the longtime incumbent to eke out a victory. Mr. White won about 1,200 more votes than Mr. Orange, and a close look at the ward-by-ward tallies in the at-large contest reveals a divide in the city.
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As expected, Mr. Orange won east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8, as well as his home jurisdiction — Ward 5. But only about 14 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Wards 5 and 7, and about 18 percent in Ward 8.
Mr. White trounced Mr. Orange in Wards 1 and 3 — each seeing 22 percent voter participation. Mr. Orange’s tallies in those wards totaled about half of those for Mr. White.
Still, Mr. Orange barely edged out the challenger in Mr. White’s home jurisdiction of Ward 4, a Bowser stronghold.
Trayon White’s victory in Ward 8 was less surprising but still a blow to the mayor, who enjoyed a reliable vote from Ms. May on the council.
The Ward 8 primary was a rematch and vindication for Mr. White, who lost to Ms. May by 79 votes in the special election to fill the seat left vacant by Marion Barry when he died in 2014. This time, Mr. White defeated Ms. May by 51 percent to 42 percent, a gap of more than 700 votes.
Backed by Miss Bowser and her funding network, Ms. May outspent Mr. White by $106,000 during the campaign. But Mr. White overcame the financing deficit by applying retail politics: He frequently stopped to shake hands, hug and talk to passers-by about crime and jobs in Ward 8. By comparison, Ms. May, who did not attend a high-profile straw poll in the ward, was viewed as being more standoffish among some constituents.
SEE ALSO: Vincent Gray wins primary fight for old D.C. Council seat
A third Bowser-supported incumbent — Yvette Alexander — lost her Ward 7 council seat to former Mayor Vincent C. Gray, who returned to political life after having lost his 2014 reelection bid to Miss Bowser amid a yearslong federal probe of his 2010 campaign finances. Prosecutors decided not to charge him in the “slush fund” investigation, allowing his comeback Tuesday.
Speaking Wednesday on WAMU Radio’s Kojo Nnamdi show, Mr. Gray called the primary results a “referendum” on Miss Bowser. He noted the now-defunct FreshPac, the independent super PAC that had backed her and was run by some of her allies; the widespread criticism of a lack of public involvement in her homeless shelter proposal; and the $55 million cost for snow removal this year.
A longtime Bowser critic, Mr. Gray offered support for Trayon White in Ward 8, going so far as to record a robocall for the upstart candidate on Primary Election Day.
“I’ve known Trayon for a number of years. He knows what Ward 8 residents need and will work hard on your behalf,” Mr. Gray said in the robocall, adding that Mr. White is an “independent thinker” and a man of “integrity.”
Mr. Gray also backed Robert White in his at-large contest with Mr. Orange, though not as explicitly as he did Trayon White.
It’s not known if Mr. Gray and Mr. Racine are willing to work together, but they should have no problems in maintaining contact with each other: The attorney general’s communications director, Robert Marus, once served as deputy communications director for Mr. Gray when he was mayor.
Chuck Thies, spokesman for the Gray camp, said Mr. Gray has had a friendly relationship with Mr. Racine and met with the attorney general several times before and after the former mayor announced his intention to run for his old Ward 7 seat on the council. Mr. Thies said the meetings were related to legal issues facing the District, not about the campaign.
During Mr. Gray’s victory party at Antioch Baptist Church in Northeast, the former mayor enjoyed the company of several current council members. Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh and at-large Council member David Grasso, as well as Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, came around to congratulate the primary victor.
Ms. Cheh said she hopes the new makeup of the council will lead to more agreement among members but also more voices independent of Miss Bowser’s influence.
Mr. Grosso agreed, saying he hopes the incoming members vote on the issues rather than in factions.
“I hope we’ll be a more deliberative body with more independent thinking,” said Mr. Grosso, who is running unopposed for his seat in November. “Independent of the mayor, but also more thoughtful and engaged on the issues for the right reasons.”
Ms. Cheh was careful to say she wasn’t speaking out against Miss Bowser, but rather in favor of unique perspectives on the council.
“It could be what the mayor is in favor of, but it really means you give an independent judgement,” she said.
• Ryan M. McDermott can be reached at rmcdermott@washingtontimes.com.
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