Democratic nominee for Congress must resign from Council, AG says

D.C.’s Democratic nominee for Congress, Robert White, must resign his D.C. Council seat by Election Day to be eligible to take Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office, according to a recent opinion by the D.C. attorney general.

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 Tuesday, City Cast DC first reported.

“We’re continuing to explore options until Monday,” White told reporters Wednesday. “But I want to be very clear, I’m not going to do anything that’s gonna jeopardize my ability to serve this city in Congress.

“There’s still some open legal questions,” he said. “If we can get a clear enough read by then and there are options, we’ll take those options. If not, I will have to resign. But I don’t agree with the reading … I didn’t expect this interpretation from the attorney general. We continue to have a disagreement. But spoken to many lawyers who read the law as I do, but that’s what happens sometimes.”

White said he learned of the qualification requirement around the time he was filing to run.

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