Trayon White facts for kids

Trayon White (born May 11, 1984) is an American politician from Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From January 2017 to February 2025, he represented Ward 8 on the Council of the District of Columbia. He was first elected to the council in 2016. This was his second time trying for the position. Before him, former mayor Marion Barry held the seat.

Before joining the council, White worked as a community organizer. He also served on the D.C. State Board of Education. White ran for mayor in the 2022 mayoral election. He came in third place in the Democratic primary against the mayor at the time, Muriel Bowser. He was re-elected to the D.C. Council in a special election on July 15, 2025.

Early Life and Education

Trayon White was born on May 11, 1984, in Washington, D.C. His mother raised him in the Southeast part of the city. His family was very poor. White often did not have enough food or clean clothes when he was young. He said that his neighborhood could be a tough place to grow up.

In his early teens, White started living with his grandmother. A teacher began to guide him and help him. When this teacher passed away, White became more interested in Christianity. His grades got much better, and he joined the student government. He went to TechWorld Public Charter School for at least one year. He then moved to Ballou High School, where he graduated in 2002.

After high school, White went to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland, in 2002. Every week, he returned to D.C. to coach sports with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He graduated with high honors in 2006. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. White later started a master's degree program. This was in public administration at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. However, he did not finish his studies there.

Community Work

White started working with the East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership (ERCPCP) in high school. He continued to be a mentor and sports coach while in college. Around 2006, he joined ERCPCP as a paid community outreach worker. In 2008, he told The Washington Post that many of his friends had been robbed. He also knew five people who had been murdered that year. He said, "Living in the streets, you get numb to it." White lived in the Washington Highlands neighborhood.

In November 2007, White started Helping Inner City Kids Succeed (HICKS). This is a nonprofit organization. It helps children in need who live east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. In May 2008, White received an award for his work with young people who were at risk. In 2011, The Washington Post said White's group was doing "interesting work" with youth. They also said White understood the problems students faced in Ward 8 schools.

During his time as a community activist, White learned from William O. Lockridge. Lockridge was a long-time member of the D.C. Board of Education. White also became known as a supporter of Marion Barry. Barry was the D.C. Councilmember for Ward 8 and a former Mayor of the District of Columbia.

D.C. Board of Education Role

After Lockridge passed away, White decided to run for Lockridge's open seat on the Board of Education. Both Barry and Lockridge's wife supported him. White won the special election on April 26, 2011. He received 32.8% of the votes. He beat Philip Pannell, who came in second, by 6%. White ran for re-election in November 2012. Pannell was his only opponent. White won with 73.3% of the votes. This was a difference of over 13,500 votes.

White helped start building a new Ballou High School in March 2013. He praised charter schools for making education better. But he also said that Kaya Henderson, who was in charge of the District of Columbia Public Schools, needed a plan. This plan would help improve education for children in regular public schools.

The Board of Education job paid a small amount of money, $15,000 a year. In February 2014, White took a job as a supervisor. This was in the "Roving Leaders" program for at-risk youth. It was part of the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation. However, city rules said Board of Education members could not work for the city. So, White left his position on the Board on March 5, 2014.

First Run for District Council

On November 23, 2014, Marion Barry, who was 78, passed away. White was one of the people Barry called just before he died. In December 2014, The Washington Post reported that White was thinking about running for Barry's Ward 8 council seat. White was one of the first to sign up as a candidate. This was for the special election to fill the rest of Barry's term. He signed up in late December 2014. White asked for his name on the ballot to be "Trayon 'WardEight' White." He said friends started calling him "WardEight" on Facebook.

By the end of January 2015, White had raised $2,562 for his campaign. In comparison, LaRuby May had raised $177,405. Sheila Bunn, a former aide to Mayor Vincent C. Gray, had raised $51,692. Even with less money, the Washington City Paper said White was likely tied for the lead with May. By the end of February, White had raised over $10,000. He had $12,000 in his campaign funds.

On April 3, May easily won a Ward 8 Democratic party poll. This showed she was leading the race. May got 177 votes, Trayon White got 79 votes, and Natalie Williams got 77 votes. Sheila Bunn had 53 votes, and Eugene Kinlow had 30 votes. Will Sommer, a writer for the Washington City Paper, noted that May's win might have shown problems for her campaign. May paid for a free barbecue near the voting place. Mayor Muriel Bowser was also there, waving a May campaign sign. But May still got fewer than 200 votes. Candidates Stuart Anderson and Jauhar Abraham left the race. They asked voters to support Trayon White.

Election Results

The special election in Ward 8 on April 28, 2015, had a high number of voters. More than 6,200 people voted. This was much more than expected. Early results on April 28 showed LaRuby May with 1,711 votes. Trayon White had 1,559 votes. This was a difference of only 152 votes. May spent 16 times more money than White. But people watching the election said White gained a lot of support late in the race. He was seen as an "anti-establishment" choice.

However, 1,031 votes still needed to be counted. These were provisional and absentee ballots. The District of Columbia Board of Elections (BOE) said the race was too close to call. Voters who registered on election day or had address issues had ten days to prove their residency. The Washington Post said White needed to win 65 percent of these remaining votes to win. By May 7, May was ahead by 80 votes. Two hundred seventeen provisional ballots were still uncounted.

On May 9, the BOE announced the final, unofficial count. LaRuby May won with 1,955 votes. Trayon White had 1,876 votes. This was a difference of 79 votes. This was just over the 1 percent margin that would have caused an automatic recount.

The BOE officially confirmed the election results on May 14, 2015. May won with 1,955 votes to White's 1,877. This was a difference of 78 votes. White asked for a recount on May 22. But a few hours after the recount started on May 28, he asked the Board of Elections to stop it.

Second Run for District Council

White stayed very active in Ward 8 for the next year. He often went to protests for better public housing and job training. He also protested against gentrification. He visited places where murders happened. He led protests against Mayor Bowser's plans to fight crime. His work gained strong support from teenagers and young adults. On June 18, 2015, White was hired for a temporary job. This was in the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. He worked as a Community Development Specialist. His job was to help with education and reach out to groups and communities. He focused on young people at risk and issues with young offenders. His job ended on September 30, 2015.

On February 8, 2016, White signed up to run for the Ward 8 District Council seat again. This was for the Democratic primary election. Not many other candidates were expected to run. White already had support from Jauhar Abraham, Stuart Anderson, Marion Christopher Barry, and Karl Racine. Racine was the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. Besides May, White also ran against Maurice Dickens, Bonita Goode, and Aaron Holmes.

May was very good at raising money. By the end of March, May had $184,000 in donations. White had $12,000. May was very popular with healthcare companies and real estate developers. Her network for donations was nationwide.

White, however, got several important endorsements. In mid-April, a group called D.C. For Democracy supported White. On May 14, White won the Ward 8 Democratic Party poll. Only 200 party members voted. White got 135 votes, and May got 50 votes. Holmes was third with eight votes. By the end of May, White had raised a total of $31,000. But on May 27, the editors of The Washington Post supported LaRuby May for the council.

Days before the primary election, Vincent C. Gray also seemed to support White. Gray was trying to get back on the District Council. He was running against Yvette Alexander in Ward 7. Gray paid for phone calls that supported White. These calls said White was an "independent thinker."

Just four days before the primary election, on June 10, the city's campaign finance office reported May had raised $245,090. White had raised $31,059. Still, The Washington Post said the race would be very close.

During the primary campaign, White supported Robert White. Robert White was running against Vincent Orange for a council seat. Trayon White and Robert White sometimes appeared together when Robert White campaigned in Ward 8.

Primary Election Results

LaRuby May lost the Democratic nomination to Trayon White on June 14, 2016. White won with 51 percent of the votes (4,272 votes). May received 43 percent (3,584 votes). About 8,700 people voted in the primary.

General Election

In June 2016, White supported a plan to change how campaigns are funded in D.C. This plan would stop companies from getting city contracts worth $100,000 or more if they donated to a District Council election. This was one of the strictest plans to deal with corruption and ethics issues on the Council.

On November 8, 2016, White ran for the Ward 8 Council seat without any opponents. He won with 25,870 votes. This was 93.29 percent of all votes.

Council Work

White officially started his job at noon on January 2, 2017. In 2017, White talked to NPR about how Ward 8 was working to find children who were missing. In March 2018, White organized protests against a new building project in his Ward. He said the developers, Bozzuto and Chapman Development, did not hire enough local workers.

White pointed to several successes during his first term. These included a new Washington Wizards practice facility and a new Starbucks. He also mentioned funding to build new affordable housing, a hotel, and offices. Another success was building a new hospital to replace the old United Medical Center (UMC). The Washington Post said his voting record on liberal issues was mixed. For example, he supported expanding social services. But he also voted to overturn a rule that would give tipped workers the minimum wage. He spent a lot of his time helping people in his district. This included giving out free groceries, going to protests, and helping with police issues. He also gave out cloth masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his time on the council, White pushed for trees to be removed on Xenia Street in Ward 8. In 2023, The Atlantic found that most people in the neighborhood did not want the trees removed. The main person who wanted them gone was Darryl Ross. Ross believed the trees were bad for home values. Ross did not live in the neighborhood but owned an apartment there that he rented out. Ross was in charge of money for White's constituent services fund. Some people called this fund a "slush fund."

Reelection Campaigns

White had three people running against him in the 2020 Democratic primary. These were Mike Austin, a former UMC executive; Stuart Anderson, his former campaign manager; and attorney Yaida Ford. White's statements from March 2018 were not a big issue in this primary. His opponents said White spent too much time helping people and not enough time making laws.

Fewer people voted in Ward 8 in 2020 compared to the 2016 primary. The election was supposed to be mostly by mail because of the COVID-19 health crisis. But only 3,500 mail-in ballots were asked for. Meanwhile, 3,200 people voted in person at the three polling places. White won the primary with 60.3 percent of the votes.

In 2024, White ran for re-election to the Council. He won the Democratic primary with 51 percent of the votes.

2022 Mayoral Campaign

White ran for mayor of the District of Columbia in 2022. He ran against the mayor at the time, Muriel Bowser. Bowser won the Democratic primary election with 49% of the votes. White came in third place with 9% of the votes.

Electoral Results

2011

2012

2015

2016

2020

2022

2024