D.C.’s Democratic nominee for Congress, Robert White, announced his resignation fron the D.C. Council on Monday in order to be eligible to take Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office.
White’s office announced his intent to resign last Thursday.
“Today, after 10 years representing my hometown, Washington D.C., I have submitted my resignation effective today,” he said at a press conference Monday. “I want to make sure that there is nothing that stands between or even appears to stand between this day and the next mission, which is on Capitol Hill.”
Earlier this week, a recent opinion by the D.C. attorney general said White must resign in order to eligible.
A little-known law from 1970 that lays out the qualifications for the office clearly states the candidate can hold no other paid public office on the date of his election.
The attorney general’s office told White that in order for him to qualify, he must resign his Council seat before Election Day on Tuesday, City Cast DC first reported.
White said he learned of the qualification requirement around the time he was filing to run.
At the press conference Monday, White came out of the Wilson Building to loud applause from family members, his staff, supporters and even councilmembers as he announced that he was stepping down.
“This is a time where we need a fighter, not infighting. This is a time where we can make great progress, but only if we make a couple sacrifices here and there,” White said. “And what I have tried to do in these 10 years is to never forget why I ran. I ran for the council because I grew up in this city, feeling like myself and people like my families too often got ignored.”
Since White is a Democrat, the Democratic Party gets to name a replacement, someone who will hold the seat until a special election can be held sometime next year. White said he has a couple of names in mind, but did not share them. However, he said he feels future council members should be native Washingtonians.
If White wins the election, he said he will fight for statehood so the District will have two senators and a voting member in the House.
White got a bit emotional, thanking his dad and his wife and his family for their support.
And in the crowd, his dad was wearing a T-shirt that said, “Fauntroy, Norton, White.” Walter Fauntroy and Norton are the only people to have held the seat. Fauntroy, elected in 1971, served to 1991and Norton from 1991 until now. If White gets elected, he will be the third non-voting member of the House of Representatives — the D.C. delegate.
