W I H OT TO P I C S COMPILED BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR / WI EDITOR
Trayon White Joins Ward 8 City Council Race
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4 FEB. 11 - 17, 2016
The race for the Ward 8 council seat is heating up. Trayon White, the runner-up in the 2015 Ward 8 election, picked up petitions this week to challenge Ward 8 Councilmember LaRuby May, the incumbent, in the upcoming Democratic primary on June 14. White, a former Ward 8 school board member and community activist, announced his campaign on Monday, February 8 on the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Avenues in Southeast. The sparse crowd and cold weather did not deter White and his supporters from soliciting signatures from passersby who greeted him with a sense of familiarity. White, who calls himself “a fighter for the people [of Ward 8]” said, “I’m running because I believe D.C. is in a peculiar place, more specifically Ward 8 where a lot of the common people are getting left out of the equation. I feel like this opportunity presents itself at a time where I feel like I’ve got to step into the race and create a strong alternative.” White will challenge LaRuby May who won the seat left open by Marion Barry who died while in office in November, 2013. May and White led a crowded field of 23 Ward 8 candidates including Stuart Anderson and Juahar Abraham, who dropped out to the race to support White. Anderson will serve as White’s campaign manager and Abraham said he will continue to support White’s candidacy. “This time we have a lot of people that ran in the last election that will be supporting this campaign,” said White, but he would not reveal the names, but offered that they will be announced at a later date. Councilmember May, announced her candidacy for reelection in January and, according to her January 31 campaign finance report, the Campaign to Reelect LaRuby May has received over $90,000 in campaign contributions.
Efforts to Rename Ballou High Gain Steam
The deadline for those who have once lived in the District to cast their vote for a name change for Frank W. Ballou Senior High in Southeast is drawing near. Voters have until February 29th. Ballou, with an award-winning school band, remains a real source of pride for residents in the community. However, one year after the death of Mayor Marion Barry, District officials listed among their recommendations to honor the beloved “Mayor for Life” to rename in his honor. Now that move has gained a lot of steam. And while school district rules say a person must be dead two years before a school is renames, Bowser and the D.C. Council can override that rule. It looks like they may be inclined to do just that. Their biggest opposition may come from current students and their parents, many of whom seem to be reluctant to rename their school. They say it should retain the same name because it’s an historical school, despite the fact that reports have surfaced suggesting that Ballou, a school superintendent from the 1920s to the 1940s, was a racist.
Bowser Details Plan to Close DC General
It was last fall when the DC Council voted to support Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to close DC General – replacing it with short-term housing facilities across the District. And earlier this week, she unveiled the next stage of her plan and the sites for new housing facilities in all eight wards. “In a city as prosperous as ours, there is no reason we should keep families at DC General. The building is too big, too old and too far removed from the services that get families back on their feet,” she said. “I have been working with the Council on a plan that will create small, short-term family housing. These facilities will be modern, safe and dignified – and will bring us one step closer to our goal of ending homelessness in the District of Columbia.” On Wednesday, Feb. 10, she cut the ribbon on a brand new women’s shelter in Ward 2 at 810 5th Street NW – a facility that will house up to 213 women and replace two outdated ones. The housing facilities she’s planning will accommodate up to 50 families and have places for children of all ages to play and do homework. They’ll also include the kind of services and programming that helps families exit shelter and move to permanent housing as soon as possible. Bowser’s plan has received accolades from Julian Castro, secretary of U.S. Housing & Urban Development, Matthew Doherty, executive director, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Nan Roman, president and CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness and Brianne Nadeau, Ward 1 Councilmember. But while Councilmember Kenyon McDuffie said he supports the decision to close DC General, he says he’s opposed to the proposed location of the Ward 5 shelter [2622 25th Place NE]. A meeting to discuss the proposed shelter has been scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at New Canaan Baptist Church, 2826 Bladensburg Road.
Community Continues Support for Fauntroy Family
Former congressman and retired pastor, Walter E. Fauntroy remains somewhere overseas but his wife, Dorothy, still remains home here in D.C., waiting for his safe return. In fact, she still resides in the home that the two first move into when they moved to the District. But it hasn’t been easy for the devoted wife, who’s been married to her husband for close to 60 years. Some reports say that he’s in Dubai. And from time to time she does speak with him. But the bills have to be paid. And to that end, leaders of his former church which Dorothy Fauntroy still attends, Mt. Zezreel Baptist Church in Silver Spring [formerly located in the District], now under the direction of the Rev. Eldridge Spearman, recently held a day of celebration and fundraising while recognizing the 83rd birthday of her husband. The events, all held on Saturday, Feb. 6, included an essay contest for youth, a legacy luncheon, a roundtable discussion and a concert featuring choirs and soloists from around the DMV. Dr. Viola Bradford, who also donated copies of a memoir of Fauntroy for sale that she co-wrote and released in 2009, said $5,000 was raised to assist the family. She, along with the church’s minister of music, David Lindsey, planned the day’s events. More fundraisers will be held in the future. Those who wish to contribute can call Spearman at 301-573-3376 or contact Bradford at bebebradford3@gmail. com. In addition, supporters can mail checks to the Walter E. Fauntroy Family Fund, c/o the National Congress of Women, 1250 Fourth Street SW, Suite WG-1, Washington, D.C. 20024.
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