2012 Council of the District of Columbia special election
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May 15th, 2012
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The 2012 Council of the District of Columbia special election was held on May 15, 2012, to elect the Ward 5 Councilmember to the Council of the District of Columbia. The election was called following the resignation of incumbent councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. due to his indictment on federal charges of embezzlement.[1]
Background
[edit]Harry Thomas Jr. had served on Council since 2006 as the councilmember for Ward 5, winning an open primary of 11 candidates following then-incumbent councilmember Vincent Orange's decision to run for mayor.[2] Throughout 2011, Thomas had been the subject of multiple investigations at both the city and federal level regarding misuse of city funds for personal use.[3] He resigned from the Council on January 5th, 2012, hours after federal prosecutors filed criminal charges of embezzlement and filing false tax returns.[1]
Thomas' resignation left the Ward 5 seat on the Council vacant, and a special election to elect a new councilmember was scheduled for May 15th, 2012.
Candidates
[edit]- John C. Cheeks, perennial candidate[4]
- Tim Day, Brookland accountant[4]
- Kathy Henderson, Carver Langston activist[4]
- Drew E. Hubbard, Woodridge lawyer and former Council staffer[4]
- Delano Hunter, Gateway activist and 2010 candidate for Ward 5 councilmember[4]
- Shelly Gardner, Langdon lawyer[4]
- Ron L. Magnus, Brookland lawyer[4]
- Ruth E. Marshall, Queens Chapel activist and businesswoman[4]
- Kenyan McDuffie, 2010 candidate for Ward 5 councilmember and lawyer[4]
- Frank Wilds, Riggs Park businessman[4]
- Rae Zapata, Brookland activist[4]
Withdrawn
- Robert Albrecht, Brookland business owner[4]
- William Boston
- Amanda Broadnax, Carver Langston consultant[4]
- John Salatti, Bloomingdale activist[4]
Disqualified
Debates
| Date | Place | Host | Participants | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant. I Invitee. A Absent. N Confirmed non-invitee. O Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered) | Broadnax |
Cheeks |
Day |
Henderson |
Hubbard |
Hunter |
Gardner |
Magnus |
Marshall |
McDuffie |
Wilds |
Zapata | ||
| 3 March 2012[5][4] | Pryzbyla Center, Catholic University of America | Brookland Heartbeat, WTOP | N | N | P | P | N | P | N | N | N | P | P | N |
Endorsements
Tim Day
Delano Hunter
- Labor unions
Kenyan McDuffie
- Individuals
- Amanda Broadnax, withdrawn candidate[9]
- Labor unions
- UNITE HERE local 25[9]
- Service Employees International Union Maryland & DC State Council[9]
- Local Officials
- Tommy Wells, incumbent Ward 6 Councilmember (since 2007)[10]
- Organizations
- Capital Stonewall Democrats[6]
- DC Latino Caucus[11]
- Greater Greater Washington[12]
- National Nurses United[9]
- Sierra Club[13]
General election
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kenyan McDuffie | 4,529 | 43.58% | |
| Democratic | Delano Hunter | 2,190 | 21.07% | |
| Democratic | Frank Wilds | 1,493 | 14.37% | |
| Republican | Tim Day | 592 | 5.70% | |
| Democratic | Ron L. Magnus | 434 | 4.18% | |
| Democratic | Shelly Gardner | 273 | 2.63% | |
| Democratic | Kathy Henderson | 257 | 2.47% | |
| Democratic | Drew E. Hubbard | 235 | 2.26% | |
| Democratic | Rae Zapata | 199 | 1.91% | |
| Democratic | Ruth E. Marshall | 78 | 0.75% | |
| Independent | John C. Cheeks | 57 | 0.55% | |
| Democratic | Amanda Broadnax (withdrawn) | 25 | 0.24% | |
| Write-in | 31 | 0.30% | ||
| Total votes | 10,393 | 100% | ||
References
[edit]- 1 2 DeBonis, Mike; Wilber, Del Quentin (5 January 2012). "D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. resigns after being charged with embezzlement". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Neibauer, Michael (29 December 2006). "A look back at the 2006 elections". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Craig, Tim (22 July 2011). "Thomas agrees to repay D.C. $300,000 in diverted funds". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DeBonis, Mike (29 February 2012). "Big field in D.C. Ward 5 special council election". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "WTOP's Mark Segraves hosts Ward 5 debate at Catholic University". WTOP News. WTOP-FM. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Riley, John (26 April 2012). "McDuffie, Day Net Ward 5 Endorsements". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Editorial Board (14 May 2012). "The Post's choice: Tim Day for Ward 5". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Home". Delano Hunter 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Howell, Tom Jr. (April 11, 2012). "Separating from pack in Ward 5 race tough". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ↑ Nnamdi, Kojo; Sherwood, Tom (2012-05-16). The Kojo Nnamdi Show (Radio broadcast). Event occurs at 12:19:30.
- ↑ "The DC Latino Caucus PAC Announces Support of Kenyan McDuffie for Ward 5 Councilmember" (PDF) (Press release). District of Columbia Latino Caucus. May 11, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "For Ward 5 Council: Kenyan McDuffie". Greater Greater Washington. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Sierra Club Endorses Muriel Bowser for Re-election, Jeremiah Lowery for DC Council At-Large & Kenyan McDuffie for Ward 5". Sierra Club District of Columbia. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Special Election 2012 - Certified Results". DC Board of Elections. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2026.