For Immediate Release:
September 16, 2013
Washington, DC – Today, the Ad Hoc Committee In Re: Marion Barry released its recommendations to the Council pursuant to Council Rule 652. The Ad Hoc Committee was established to review the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability’s (BEGA) censure of Councilmember Marion Barry (D – Ward 8).
Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie (D- Ward 5) offered the following statement on the issue:
“In a mark-up held this morning, the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee In Re: Marion Barry, of which I am Chair, unanimously concluded that Councilmember Marion Barry violated the Council’s Rules and several provisions of the Council’s Code of Conduct. These violations include accepting monetary gifts from city contractors, the failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest related to those gifts, and the failure to recuse himself from votes directly benefiting one of those contractors. The Committee is therefore recommending to the Council in a resolution that was introduced following the mark-up that Councilmember Barry be censured and removed as Chair of the Committee on Workforce and Community Affairs.
“The Council’s Ad Hoc Committee was formed following the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability’s censure and fine of Councilmember Barry for accepting gifts from prohibited sources and participating in actions before the Council that benefited those sources.
“The Council has an independent obligation to enforce its Code of Conduct when members breach the public trust. It is up to the Council to protect the integrity of the institution and to assure the public that this body abides by the laws it passes and rules it adopts governing members’ conduct. With today’s action, the members of the Ad Hoc Committee have affirmed their commitment to requiring that the Council hold itself to the ethical standards necessary to protect its integrity and build public trust.”
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