WAMU 88.5 : News

Filed Under:

Graham, Orange Defend Vote Against Censure Of Marion Barry

By: Patrick Madden
September 24, 2013
comments
The decision whether to censure Council member Marion Barry and how has divided the D.C. Council.
Larry Miller: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drmillerlg/1246397248/
The decision whether to censure Council member Marion Barry and how has divided the D.C. Council.

Two D.C. council members are defending their vote not to punish Marion Barry for accepting cash payments from city contractors.

For the second time in three years, the D.C. Council is poised to strip Marion Barry of his committee chairmanship for violating the city's ethics rules.

Barry accepted nearly $7,000 in cash from a pair of city contractors. The ethics board fined Barry and last week the D.C. Council voted to censure Barry and recommended stripping him of his committee assignment.

Nine members supported the punishment and the four who opposed it have come under criticism. But in a letter to the Washington Post, Council members Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Vincent Orange (D-At Large) say they weren't voting to support Barry; rather, they were worried about following the city's ethics laws. The pair argue that two of the Council members voting to strip Barry of his committee assignment—David Grosso (I-At Large) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large)—could ultimately benefit by taking over Barry's committee.

The Post'd editorial board responded today, writing that Graham and Orange's claims didn't hold water.

"Neither Mr. Grosso nor Ms. Bonds asked to be on the ad hoc committee, and it was not an easy task, particularly for Ms. Bonds, who enjoys a long friendship with Mr. Barry, to recommend action against the popular former mayor. If indeed there is to be a change in committee assignments — and we hope there will be — it would come only after the full body votes on a recommendation from council chairman Phil Mendelson (D)," wrote the editorial board.

Along with Barry, Orange and Graham are the only other Council members who have been scolded by the ethics board.

The vote to formally remove Barry from the committee is expected to take place next month.

Arts & Culture

NPR

George R.R. Martin, Author And ... Movie-Theater Guy?

The author of the wildly successful Game of Thrones books has been spending his days working on reopening an old movie theater in Santa Fe — much to the displeasure of fans who think he should be writing the next book.

Food

NPR

Sandwich Monday: The Limited Edition Candy Corn Oreo

For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try a new take on the classic sandwich cookie: the Limited Edition Candy Corn Oreo.

Politics

NPR

Shutdown Diary, Day 7: The Blame Game

New polling shows that both parties are taking a hit over the shutdown, but Republicans are bearing the brunt of the blame from the American public.

Technology

NPR

Funding For Software To Cloak Web Activity Provokes Concern

A service called Tor makes it possible to communicate and surf the web anonymously. It sounds like a plot by privacy-minded rebels, but in fact the service receives most of its funding from the government and was started by the Pentagon. Despite recent revelations of government email snooping, the U.S. government supports anonymous communication so foreign dissidents can work undetected, and so government agents can pursue bad guys without giving away their identities. But now the service faces new accusations that it might be serving NSA surveillance efforts.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.