Everyone's favorite former mayor-turned-druggie (remember "The bitch set me up!"), former DC mayor Marion Barry is floating suggestions that he's going to run for a city council seat in the Nation's Capitol.

Barry was forced out of office after an undercover drug arrest in 1990.

Barry is not saying he's running himself; he seems to enjoy playing coy with the local press.

No, the most recent rumblings come from Council member Sandy Allen. Allen told reporters this week that Barry said that he was definitely going to run against Allen for her 8th Ward seat in the September 14 Democratic Primary.

A showdown between Barry, 68, and Allen, 53, in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary would make for fascinating political theater. Barry is, of course, the former "mayor for life" who was disgraced after being videotaped smoking crack cocaine in an FBI sting at the Vista Hotel in 1990.

Barry was convicted of one misdemeanor count of drug possession later that year and served six months in prison. But he ran for and won the Ward 8 council seat in 1992 and was reelected as mayor in 1994. Three years later, he announced that he would not seek a fifth term, opening the door for the election of Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).

Posted by: mhking at 05:23 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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