What’s going on in the Ward 8 race? An embattled incumbent, write-in candidates, and what to expect next year

Early voting has begun in D.C., and while many eyes are fixed on the presidential race, another election has continued to garner attention among locals. 

Trayon White Sr., the incumbent Ward 8 councilmember, is running for re-election while facing federal bribery charges. The legal controversy surrounding the councilmember has spurred several write-in candidates to vie for the seat. 

The two names officially on the Board of Elections ballot are White and Republican candidate Nate Derenge. Derenge has no realistic chance of winning in the heavily Democratic ward, as is the case across the city — the D.C. primary is often more consequential than Election Day for local offices.

The likeliest scenario is still that White handily wins his seat back. He retains support among some constituents, especially for his consistent presence at the sites of shootings and other tragedies, where he provides direct support to families. There’s also been no organized groundswell of support behind any other potential candidate. 

But several write-in candidates are hoping to make things harder for him, anyway: Olivia Henderson, Khadijah Long, Michael Brown, and June Sherman have all thrown their hats in the ring as Democratic write-in candidates, while Michael Reese is competing as an independent write-in candidate. They all filed in August and early September, weeks after White’s federal indictment went public. 

While write-in candidates can run for election, their names don’t appear on the official ballot, and voters have to physically write their names on the form. 

So, what’s the latest on White’s legal woes, what are the stakes for Ward 8, and how do White’s contenders fit in? Here’s what we know.

White’s political future is in limbo 

While Councilmember White has been actively participating in protests and showing face at community events, his campaign has been struggling to raise money in the wake of his legal troubles. (White has faced campaign fundraising challenges before.)

Prosecutors allege that beginning in June this year, White schemed to accept $156,000 in cash payments from a local businessman in exchange for pressuring government officials to extend contracts for violence intervention services at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) and the Office of Neighborhood and Safety Engagement (ONSE). White was captured on video accepting large cash payments in the alleged scheme.  

In September, White pleaded not guilty in court. He has a status conference scheduled for Nov. 13, and prosecutors have asked for a July 2025 trial. White recently parted ways with his legal counsel, and is now using a public defender.

Meanwhile, the D.C. Council voted to remove White from the chairmanship of the Committee on Recreation, Libraries, and Youth Affairs — the body that oversaw DYRS — and distribute the workload to other councilmembers. The council also created an Ad Hoc Committee, led by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), to investigate his conduct and decide what course of action to take. They could respond in a number of ways, ranging from a censure or reprimand to full expulsion from the council. The committee is expected to provide a report with findings by Dec. 16, well after Election Day.

If White is ousted by his colleagues, a special election to fill his seat would likely happen next spring. Technically, he could still run in that election if he hasn’t been convicted of a felony. 

White did not return requests for comment. 

Old challenges, new opportunities 

With about 87,000 residents representing about 13 percent of the District, Ward 8 is majority Black and its residents are statistically young (the median age is 32). 

Ward 8 is the city’s poorest ward, with a median income of about $48,609 compared to the District’s median income of $101,722, according to data from the Office of Planning. Unemployment and poverty are also higher in Ward 8 than the city average, and the area bears the brunt of the city’s gun violence.

Troy Donté Prestwood, president of the Ward 8 Democrats, tells The 51st that a key concern for many Ward 8 residents is education — not just for young people, but all residents. “When you talk to a lot of Ward 8 residents, many of them are fearful about their economic futures. Those who are working, those who may have jobs that are on the margins, they want to move up. They want a path to the middle class,” he says. “Well, the only way you get a path to the middle class is that you have to have a continuing education.”

And while economic, healthcare, and other disparities do exist in the ward, residents should not be viewed as a monolith, Prestwood says, “[Ward 8 residents] care very much about the same things as everyone else does—their economic futures. They think about health care, they are thinking about feeding their children.” 

The ward has also seen widespread investment in recent years, which brings both new opportunities and anxiety about the potential for even more expensive rents. 

A plethora of residential and mixed-use buildings are in the planning or proposal stages in the ward. The team behind the redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths campus recently submitted updated plans for a 178,000 square-foot office building, a hotel, residential buildings with at least 300 units, an 80,000 square-foot public park, and a commercial center with 30,000 square feet of retailers, restaurants, and a grocer. The 11th Street Bridge Park recently received a $15 million grant, closing the gap for the $92 million needed to construct the outdoor recreation space, which promises a central plaza, hammock grove, cafe, and community meeting space.

The city has plans to acquire Poplar Point, a waterfront site owned by the federal government and that could feature residential, retail, office, and cultural offerings. And the 2025 approved budget for the city earmarks $90 million toward the redevelopment of Barry Farm, $25 million for the modernization of the Parklands-Turner Library, $13 million to enhance the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center, $581,000 for expanding career and technical education programs in Ward 8, and millions of dollars to modernize several schools, among other items.

The write-in candidates 

Many of the politicians running for the council seat are advocating for safer streets, more jobs, and more pathways into the middle class. 

The 51st reached out to Councilmember White and all candidates in the Ward 8 race for comment on this story and on their campaigns. Not all candidates returned requests for comment. 

Reese, an educator and mental health advocate, has called for more oversight of landlords to ensure safer properties for Ward 8 residents, improving access to services for seniors, and increasing community safety. Education and creating pathways for jobs in areas like cybersecurity and IT via vocational programs are also critical to his campaign. “Everybody's not college-bound,” he tells The 51st. “However, there are other ways to make a living.” 

Henderson, a former ANC commissioner, wants to improve safety for residents by building a better relationship with the Metropolitan Police Department and moving money earmarked for violence interrupters back into allocations for police resources. “I would put money back into law enforcement so we can get this public safety piece together and invest in our small businesses and nonprofits that are doing the job in the community to help uplift our people,” Henderson says.

Derenge — the Republican candidate — has lived in Ward 8 since 2015, was an intern for Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), and has worked as a federal contractor. He has run for public office three times. He told The 51st he’s advocating for smaller government, reducing the number of homicides in the ward, and prohibiting junk foods and sugary snacks from being purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (the federal government determines what foods are eligible for purchase through SNAP). Derenge also says he would dismantle the DC Housing Authority, which he would not have the power to do. 

According to her Facebook page, Long is a human services leader with decades of experience in health education, behavioral health, and housing services. She prioritizes improved services for young people, seniors, and families while pushing for more employment, affordable housing, and safety. Long did not respond to requests for comment.

While Sherman and Brown — who could not be reached for comment — do not have campaign sites or large social media presences,  they did attend public Ward 8 candidate forums, according to The Washington Informer and HillRag. 

While the candidate landscape seems crowded, Prestwood offered some level-setting around the viability of write-in candidates. “It's very, very difficult for write-in candidates to win at the council level and above. Certainly, at an ANC level, it is possible because they’re counting ones and twos, whereas at the council level, they are counting hundreds and thousands [of votes].”

Incumbents are also more favorable because of the political capital they’ve earned over the years, Prestwood says. “For some people, it's all about what you're getting done in the council. For others, it’s about showing up [for people] in those very, very dark moments. They never forget that.”

The Ward 8 Dems issued a statement after the councilmember’s arrest saying they were “deeply concerned” about the charges and noting that the councilmember remains innocent until proven guilty. Prestwood addressed the issue during a September Ward 8 public meeting, saying in part: “As Ward 8 Democrats we remain steadfast in our commitment to support Democrats on the ballot. That includes voting for the Democrat running for the Ward 8 council seat.”

Whoever leads the ward next must have “a forward vision that is inclusive of everybody who's in it,” Prestwood says. “We need to focus on the needs. But at the same time, we need leaders to understand that there's a future.”