Eligibility of D.C. Congressional Delegate Candidate Robert White Questioned on October 28 Under a 1970 Law in Washington, D.C., as He Urgently Seeks a Way Out Before the Election
With only a week left before the November 3 election, the eligibility of Robert White, the Democratic nominee for the District of Columbia's nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives and a sitting D.C. councilmember, came into question on October 28 because of a 1970 D.C. law providing that a delegate may not hold any other paid public office at the time of election. The obscure provision suddenly threw into doubt a race that had been seen as all but decided. White told The Washington Sun that his team is working 'through a few options' to resolve the issue and pushed back on claims his campaign was caught off guard: 'This isn't new to me. We've had a legal theory on this for quite some time.' According to reports, the change came from a recent reading of the issue by the D.C. attorney general, which White said he disagreed with and had not expected. He now faces two paths: resign his council seat before the November 3 vote, giving up his final months in office, which include serving as housing committee chair at a critical moment, or persuade his colleagues to amend the law by emergency action before Election Day. His team said it would not announce a final plan before receiving further clarification. But one point is clear, White said: 'I'm not going to jeopardize going into Congress.' Although the D.C. delegate has no vote, the delegate speaks for the District in Congress and serves on committees, an important channel in the District's pursuit of statehood and home rule, making the eligibility question especially closely watched a week before the election.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料图：华盛顿特区市政厅（固定图库cities包），图说注明资料图（同城同批换图：县级固定图库）
