D.C. Council member Trayon White’s campaign fundraising dries up after bribery charges

The campaign war chest for D.C. Council member Trayon White is running low as the Ward 8 Democrat seeks a third term in office and a federal court date looms in his bribery case soon after Tuesday’s election.

The White campaign has received only $2,000 this month, all contributed by the embattled lawmaker. He has ponied up more than $15,000 for his reelection bid, according to a campaign finance report filed Tuesday.

The campaign has raised $93,000 since it began, but the report shows Mr. White has more than $45,000 in campaign-related debt. Roughly $30,000 of that is owed to vendors who have helped him on the trail. The councilman could be on the hook to pay back those vendors if his campaign can’t raise the money.

Earlier this year, Mr. White was underwater on $80,000 of unpaid debt related to his failed 2022 mayoral campaign and his 2020 reelection campaign. It’s unclear how much, if any, of that balance he has paid down.

Still, the 40-year-old Democrat is heavily favored to retain his Ward 8 council seat. He represents the District’s Southeast neighborhoods, which have long struggled with crime and poverty.

Longtime political observers say the normally gregarious lawmaker with a knack for retail politics has maintained a low profile since his arrest in August.

Mr. White did go to a crime scene in the Shipley neighborhood after three people were killed in a suspected arson attack.

He joined a demonstration last week in the U Street Corridor, not in his ward, to protest the restaurant chain &pizza for its menu items that mocked Marion Barry’s drug scandal. Barry, who died in 2014, is considered Mr. White’s political mentor.

Yet appearances at candidate forums and impromptu gatherings have been scarce compared with years past, said the Rev. Wendy Hamilton, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Bellevue.

She said the only public event she has seen the council member attend was a meeting with mothers and senior voters at the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center.

Neither Mr. White nor his campaign responded to a request for comment.

While Mr. White has been quiet, other incumbents campaigning across the District have increased the volume.

Council member Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat, had volunteers distributing signs at Volta Park earlier this month. Robert White, at-large Democrat, is touting his endorsements from The Georgetowner and the D.C. Association of Realtors.

Ms. Hamilton said the lack of true competition in Mr. White’s ward means the incumbent has his reelection sewn up despite his legal problems.

Mr. White and Nate Derenge, a Republican, are the only two Ward 8 candidates listed on the ballot.

Some spirited write-in campaigns have been launched. One was by retired electrician Michael Brown, social services professional Khadijah Long and Olivia Henderson, a former advisory neighborhood commissioner in the ward who secured an endorsement from the Laborers’ International Union of North America last week.

Mr. White is still expected to win the Ward 8 race. Democrats control nearly the entire city government.

Ms. Hamilton said the general feeling is that people will “hold their nose” and vote for Mr. White on Tuesday and then let the D.C. Council investigation or the federal probe remove him from office.

“That seems to be the sort of overriding sentiment and why he probably didn’t feel that compelled to get out there and campaign,” Ms. Hamilton said.

Mr. White was arrested in August on charges of accepting $156,000 in bribes in exchange for influencing city contracts. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.

He is scheduled to return to court Nov. 13, the week after Election Day.

The alleged bribery scheme may highlight the councilman’s financial troubles. Court documents say Mr. White took about $35,000 from an FBI informant over the summer.

Media reports have linked Mr. White’s contributions to his reelection campaign to the time he is accused of pocketing bribes.

The federal indictment has not accused him of using bribe money to fund his campaign, but the arrest affidavit said Mr. White told the informant that he needed the cash because he was “hurting.”

The councilman’s decision to swap his defense team for public defenders last week indicated financial struggles.

Joyce Doyle, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Congress Heights, said Mr. White’s potential exit from public office could jolt Ward 8. She said the lawmaker’s political efforts often exclude the homeowners and business owners “who actually could contribute to creating a sustainable community here.”

She said Mr. White has done little to improve Ward 8’s home values, which are precipitously lower than those in the rest of the city.

“That is an equity barrier that is being perpetuated by a Black man that is negatively impacting Black people,” said Ms. Doyle. She said she never voted for Mr. White.

The D.C. Council is expected to conclude its investigation into Mr. White in December. Federal prosecutors plan to try the councilman in July.

In other city council races:

• Democratic council members Brooke Pinto of Ward 2 and Janeese Lewis George of Ward 4 are running unopposed.

• In Ward 7, Democrat Wendell Felder and Republican Noah Montgomery are seeking the seat being vacated by Democratic council member Vincent Gray, who did not seek reelection because of health problems.

• At-large council members Robert White Jr., a Democrat, and Christina Henderson, an independent, are seeking reelection. Republican Rob Simmons and Darryl Moch of the D.C. Statehood Green Party are challenging them.