Eydie D. Whittington is a Democratic politician in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Advisory Neighborhood Commission

While working as a legal secretary, Whittington represented the neighborhood of Douglas Gardens on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

1995 campaign for Council

Whittington campaigned for

Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Barr ...

when he was running for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1994. After Barry won the mayoral election, his seat representing Ward 8 on the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

became vacant. Whittington announced her candidacy for the seat on the Council. She was backed by Barry, and her campaign was chaired by Barry's wife, Cora Masters Barry. Initial results from the special election had Whittington in first place by two votes. Candidate Sandy Allen sued to have the election voided because she said individuals who were not residents of Ward 8 had voted in the special election. After a recount, Whittington's lead was revised to one vote. Allen filed another lawsuit to prevent Whittington from taking office, saying that multiple votes for Whittington were cast by individuals who did not live in Ward 8. The court allowed Whittington to be sworn into office, and she took the oath on May 31, 1995. The court later rejected the residence challenge by Allen, saying that Allen had failed to prove that any of the people she named were not actually residents of Ward 8 at the time of the election. Allen filed another lawsuit to overturn the election's results because of alleged voting irregularities. The court allowed the election to stand.

1996 campaign for Council

Whittington ran for reelection in 1996, and her candidacy was endorsed by Mayor Barry. Allen defeated Whittington in the Democratic party primary election, receiving 1,746 votes to Whittington's 1,425.

References

African-American city council members Members of the Council of the District of Columbia Living people Washington, D.C., Democrats Women city councillors in the District of Columbia 20th-century American women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) African-American people in Washington, D.C., politics 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 20th-century Washington, D.C., politicians {{WashingtonDC-politician-stub