Barry unseats Allen in his comeback

Former D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry last night defeated D.C. council member Sandy Allen for her Ward 8 seat, staging a political comeback in a Democratic primary that saw two other council incumbents lose their seats to political newcomers.

With about half of the Ward 8 precincts reporting, Mr. Barry had 2,413 votes, or 61 percent, and Miss Allen had 902 votes, or 23 percent.

“First of all, let me thank God,” Mr. Barry said at the victory party at his headquarters in Southeast. “There’s a new Ward 8 a’ coming. … I’ve given service to this community, my brain power, my energy.”

Democratic council member Kevin P. Chavous lost his re-election bid in Ward 7 to Vincent C. Gray, executive director of Covenant House Washington and the director of the Department of Human Services under Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly.

With 54percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Gray had 1,862 votes, or 50 percent, and Mr. Chavous had 1,219 votes, or 33 percent.

Harold Brazil lost his at-large seat to Kwame R. Brown, president of the Maryland-D.C. Minority Supplier Development Council. With 62 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Brown had 13,283 votes, or 53 percent, and Mr. Brazil had 8,153 votes, or 32 percent.

Problems were reported with some of the voting machines. The District uses touch-screen machines and optical scanners that read paper ballots. However, there were no results from the touch screens more than three hours after the polls closed.

Linda Green, Barry campaign manager, said there were problems with voting machines at four of the 16 precinct polling stations in Ward 8.

Other campaigns reported similar problems in at least two other wards. Election officials were not available late last night to comment. Sources close to the vote count said the modems that are supposed to transmit results were malfunctioning.

Mr. Barry — the man once dubbed “mayor for life” who was infamously videotaped smoking crack — won the same Ward 8 council seat that he captured in 1992 after six months in federal prison. That victory served as a springboard to his election for a fourth term as mayor.

Miss Allen, who was once Mr. Barry’s campaign manager, talked about the “joy” of working with her campaign staff before conceding defeat.

Outside the Barry campaign headquarters, streets were closed for a post-election party, and the song “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” played over the public-address system. Mr. Barry repeated his promise to bring jobs to the community east of the Anacostia River and was joined by former wife Effie, who gave him a hug.

Voter turnout throughout the District was low, but one of the biggest was at the Birney Elementary School on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, about a mile from the Barry headquarters.

Iyon Johnson, 25, voted for Mr. Barry and recalled how, in his earlier days, he got her and other children summer jobs and frequently visited the neighborhood.

“He did such a great job. … He wanted to know what was going on,” said Miss Johnson, who cited jobs and affordable housing as her key election issues.

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