Charles Allen (Washington, D.C., politician)

Charles Allen (born 1977)^[1] is an American Democratic politician in Washington, D.C., and member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 6. He took office on January 2, 2015, after winning the Democratic Party primary and following general election in 2014 and won re-election in 2018.

Charles Allen
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 6
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2015
Preceded by	Tommy Wells
Personal details
Born	1977 (age 46–47) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Washington and Lee University (BA) University of Alabama, Birmingham (MA)

Early years and education

Charles Allen grew up in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Homewood and graduated from Homewood High School.^[1][2][3] Allen is married to Jordi Hutchinson. The couple has a daughter and a son.^[4]

Allen graduated from Washington and Lee University.^[5] The summer after his sophomore year, he interned at a free clinic in South Boston.^[2] He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.^[5]

Political career

Allen was hired as director of public policy for the District of Columbia Primary Care Association in 2003.^[3] The following year, Allen served as the Ward 6 coordinator for Howard Dean's presidential campaign.^[6] He was a delegate for Dean at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.^[6] As chairman of the grass roots Democratic organization D.C. for Democracy, Allen sent hundreds of District residents to other states to campaign.^[3]

Allen resigned from the District of Columbia Primary Care Association to manage Tommy Wells' campaign for the Ward 6 seat on the Council of the District of Columbia in 2006.^[3] After Wells won the election, Wells hired Allen as his chief of staff.^[7]

Allen was president of the Ward 6 Democrats from 2009^[8] to 2013.^[9] While president, the group voted to urge the Council of the District of Columbia to pass a law legalizing same-sex marriage.^[8]

In 2012, the D.C. Democratic State Committee chose the person to replace Phil Mendelson as at-large council member for 70 days before a special election was held.^[10] Allen was opposed to the process, saying that only the voters should choose the replacement for an at-large vacancy, not a small group of party committee members.^[10]

2014 election

Allen was the chief of staff of Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells.^[11] After Wells decided not to run for reelection in order to run for mayor, Allen resigned from his position and announced his candidacy to succeed Wells seat in the Council representing Ward 6.^[11] Darrel Thompson, a former deputy chief of staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also ran in the Democratic primary.^[12] Pranav Badhwar ran in the Libertarian primary.^[13]

When campaigning, Allen emphasized his work helping Ward 6 working for Wells, saying that gave him extensive knowledge and experience about Ward 6.^[14] Allen opposed the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which would have increased the minimum wage for large businesses located in the District, preferring instead an across-the-board minimum wage increase as opposed to a bill that only targeted large retailers.^[15][16] Allen also did not access donations to his campaign from corporations.^[17] Allen also criticized Thompson, saying Thompson's work has kept him focused on Nevada rather than the District, using the fact that Thompson has not voted in several District elections to make his case.^[14] Thompson responded saying that he knew the District well because he was born in the District, unlike Allen.^[18]

Thompson called Allen the "anointed candidate", a reference to Wells' choosing his own successor and labeling Allen as a political insider.^[14] Thompson also says that Allen is effectively asking for more time to carry out Wells' agenda that should have been completed during Wells' eight years on the Council.^[14]

Allen was endorsed by the editorial board of The Washington Post,^[19] Service Employees International Union,^[20] D.C. for Democracy,^[21] D.C. Chamber of Commerce PAC,^[22] the D.C. Chapter of the National Organization for Women, the D.C. Association of Realtors, Clean Slate Now,^[23] the local firefighters' union, and the local police officers' union.^[24] The local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees endorsed Thompson.^[24]

Allen and his treasurer Patrick Johnson opted for a campaign finance model that did not accept corporate donations. This was consistent with Allen's championing of campaign finance reform, having been a supporter of DC's Initiative 70 in 2012.^[25]

In the Democratic primary election, Allen defeated Thompson,^[26] with 58 percent of the vote.^[27]

Allen faced Libertarian Party candidate Pranav Badhwar in the general election.^[28] Allen won the general election with 88 percent of the vote.^[29] His term began January 2, 2015.^[30]

Results

Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 6, 2014 (Democratic primary)^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Allen	7,140	58
	Democratic	Darrell Thompson	5,156	42

Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 6, 2014 (General election)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Allen	19,805	88
	Libertarian	Pranav Badhwar	2,477	11

2018 Election

During the 2018 Democratic primary election, Allen faced a primary challenger in Lisa Hunter, who worked in the Peace Corps and on the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign.^[32] Allen won in the primary with a wide majority of the vote.

In the general election on November 8, Allen defeated Republican Micheal Bekesha with over 80% of the vote.

Deteriorating Relationship With DC Police Force and Union

Despite endorsements from DC's police force and union early in his political career, Allen has been criticized more recently by DC's Police Union for weakening the police force by "shrinking" it, which they claim is the cause of an uptick in crime.^[33] In an advertisement released in April, 2022, the Police Union points to Allen and Phil Mendelson for the results of crime bills that do not support law enforcement. Subsequently, the Union made an urgent plea to Mayor Bowser, noting that two years of reform under the City Council have done nothing to increase safety, but rather Allen and Mendelson's reforms have resulted in more deaths, "The experiment is a failure, and people are dying."^[33]

Further, by December 30, 2022, the police union released the following statistics of increases in crime since the reforms were enacted: "Armed robberies increased by 36%; Carjackings increased by 177%. Also noteworthy, the annual homicide rate was less than 90 in 2012; 104 and 105 in 2013 and 2014 respectively.^[33] "Some neighborhoods are suffering greatly from this violence," the D.C. Police Union said. "In Ward 2, for example, homicides have increased 440% when looking at the last three years against the previous three."

The police union placed blame on the increase in violence on Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen who they claim has "turned a blind eye to concerned residents and public safety experts, rather he chooses to cater to an activist crowd whose agenda is anti-police whatever the cost." They continued by saying that Allen's reform measures have resulted in a tragic loss of life and an increase in violent crime." Allen's office responded, calling representation of the police force "lackluster," and blaming the uptick in gun violence across the city on the pandemic.^[34]

Recall Campaign 2024

On February 13, 2024 the D.C. Board of Elections approved a recall campaign that, if successful, would remove Allen from office. The recall was filed by a group of Ward 6 residents who object to "soft on crime" and "anti-police" legislation that Allen shepherded through the D.C. Council during his tenure as chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. Residents have formed a committee, Recall Charles Allen, that has raised over $80,000; an unprecedented amount of money for a recall campaign in DC.

If, within 180 days, the recall campaign collects signatures from ten percent of registered voters residing in Ward 6, a recall election will be held.

Results

Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 6, 2018 (Democratic primary)^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Allen	9,802	68
	Democratic	Lisa Hunter	4,569	32

Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 6, 2018 (General election)^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Allen	35,780	88
	Republican	Michael Bekesha	4,298	11

Committees

As of March 2020, Allen currently serves on the following committees:^[37]

• Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety (Chairperson)
• Committee of the Whole
• Committee on Education
• Committee on Business and Economic Development
• Committee on Transportation and the Environment
• Committee on Education
• Committee on Labor and Workforce Development

References

1. Lightman, Andrew (10 May 2018). "Charles Allen: A Journey". Washington DC. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
2. Schulte, Brigid (August 6, 2006). "Class Questions; A groundbreaking poverty studies program at Washington and Lee University has some of the country's most affluent students pondering why they have -- and others have not". The Washington Post Magazine. p. 18. ProQuest 410049664.(subscription required)
3. Silverman, Elissa; Montgomery, Lori (June 8, 2006). "A Tale of Two Tonys". The Washington Post. p. T2. ProQuest 409987428.(subscription required)
4. Hess, Hannah. "Wells' Former Chief of Staff Wants to Represent Capitol Hill". Roll Call. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
5. "About Charles Allen". Charles Allen for Ward 6. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
6. Timberg, Craig; Strauss, Valerie (March 11, 2004). "Evans Loses Out to the Little Guy". The Washington Post. p. T02. ProQuest 409615108.(subscription required)
7. Stewart, Nikita (May 8, 2007). "City Covers Police Overtime Costs for Sponsor; Carnival Organizer Also Wants Waiver". The Washington Post. p. B2. ProQuest 410116183.(subscription required)
8. Harris, Hamil R. (May 28, 2009). "Ousted Parks and Recreation Head Is Pushed to Run for Council". The Washington Post. p. DE1. ProQuest 410316355.(subscription required)
9. Chibbaro Jr., Lou (October 16, 2013). "Committee voids election of gay official as head of Ward 6 Dems". Washington Blade.
10. Allen, Charles (November 18, 2012). "This is no way to choose a D.C. Council member". The Washington Post. p. C6. ProQuest 1162831629.(subscription required)
11. DeBonis, Mike (October 11, 2013). "Evans comes on strong in D.C. mayoral race fundraising, but Bowser retains cash edge". The Washington Post. ProQuest 1441755226.(subscription required)
12. Beyers, Dan (October 28, 2013). "Darrel Thompson, former aide to Harry Reid, joins Collins Johnson". The Washington Post. ProQuest 1446801724.(subscription required)
13. "Pranav Badhwar for DC City Council, Ward 6". Committee to Elect Pranav Badhwar. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
14. Svitek, Patrick (March 22, 2014). "Council hopefuls' boosters? You may have heard of them". The Washington Post. p. B3. ProQuest 1509170005.(subscription required)
15. Sommer, Will (October 10, 2013). "Ex-Wells Chief of Staff Charles Allen Makes Ward 6 Run Official". Washington City Paper.
16. . WAMU Voter Guide. Archived from the original on 2014-11-11.
17. Hess, Hannah (April 2, 2014). . Roll Call. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
18. (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
19. "Our choices for D.C. Council". The Washington Post. March 15, 2014. p. A14. ProQuest 1507543569.(subscription required)
20. Sommer, Will (January 22, 2014). "Graham, Allen Land SEIU Endorsements". Washington City Paper.
21. Sommer, Will (February 14, 2014). "Wells Leads in D.C. for Democracy Vote, Falls Short of Endorsement". Washington City Paper.
22. Wright, James (March 14, 2014). . The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
23. Wright, James (February 14, 2014). . The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
24. Sommer, Will (February 20, 2014). "Union Endorsements Fly in Ward 6 Race". Washington City Paper.
25. Sherwood, Tom (12 July 2012). "Bubbles From the Political Pot... - Tom Sherwood's Notebook". Current Newspapers. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
26. St. Martin, Victoria (April 2, 2014). "Two new members will change the face of the D.C. Council". The Washington Post.
27. "Primary Election 2014, Election Night Unofficial Results, April 01, 2014". District of Columbia Board of Elections. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017.
28. Wright, James (April 2, 2014). . The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014.
29. . District of Columbia Board of Elections. November 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
30. DeBonis, Mike (January 1, 2015). "Bowser's 'fresh start,' new blood on council heralds new era for D.C. government". The Washington Post.
31. . The Washington Post. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014.
32. Lightman, Andrew (14 May 2018). "Lisa Hunter: Challenging the Status Quo". Retrieved 15 May 2020.
33. "DC Police Union Ad Blames 2 Council Members for Crime Increase". 14 April 2022.
34. "DC Police Union demands change after violent crime increase across the District within last 3 years". 30 December 2022.
35. "Primary Election 2018 - Certified Results". DC Board of Elections. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
36. "General Election 2018 - Certified Results". DC Board of Elections. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
37. "Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen". Council of the District of Columbia. Retrieved 14 May 2020.

Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by Tommy Wells	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 6 2015–present	Incumbent