Barry Files to Run for City Council

WASHINGTON —  Mayor Marion Barry on Wednesday filed petitions with the District of Columbia’s Board of Elections as a step toward running for a City Council seat in November.

Barry, who was convicted earlier this month of possessing cocaine, a misdemeanor, had ruled out seeking a fourth term as mayor before his drug and perjury trial began in June. After the trial, he announced that he would run for the council.

Sentencing for his drug conviction has not yet been scheduled. The maximum penalty is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Barry needs the signatures of 3,000 registered voters in order to run, and election officials said it would take at least a week to validate all the signatures on his nominating petitions.

Barry, 54, served one four-year term on the council before he was elected mayor in 1978. He is now in his third four-year term as mayor. Before his council service, Barry had served on the school board.

Sentencing for his drug conviction has not yet been scheduled. The maximum penalty is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. Atty. Jay B. Stephens is expected to announce on Sept. 17 whether he will retry Barry on 12 charges that resulted in a hung jury. They are three charges of lying to a federal grand jury about his drug use, one charge of conspiring to possess cocaine, a misdemeanor, and eight cocaine possession charges.