Kenyan McDuffie

Kenyan R. McDuffie (born c. 1975)^{[citation needed]} is an American lawyer and independent politician in Washington, D.C.^[1] He is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia since 2023, after previously representing Ward 5 from 2012 to 2023.

Kenyan McDuffie
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia at-large
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2023
Preceded by	Elissa Silverman
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 5
In office May 30, 2012 – January 2, 2023
Preceded by	Harry Thomas Jr.
Succeeded by	Zachary Parker
Personal details
Born	1975 (age 48–49)
Political party	Democratic (before 2022) Independent (2022–present)
Education	University of the District of Columbia Howard University (BA) University of Maryland, Baltimore (JD)

Early life and education

McDuffie grew up in Stronghold, a neighborhood in Ward 5 in Washington, D.C.^[2] After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School, he sold ice cream at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and briefly attended the University of the District of Columbia.^[3] He later worked for the United States Postal Service, delivering mail in the Friendship Heights and Spring Valley neighborhoods.^[3]

Career

After four years with the Postal Service, McDuffie enrolled in the University of the District of Columbia before graduating from Howard University summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science and community development^[4] in 2002.^[5] He received a juris doctor from University of Maryland School of Law^[6] in 2006. At the University of Maryland School of Law, he served as an Associate Editor of The University of Maryland Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class, and research assistant to then-Professor Tom Perez.^[5]

Following his graduation, McDuffie was hired by Prince George's County, Maryland, first working as a law clerk for an Associate Judge on the 7th Judicial Circuit of Maryland and later as an assistant state's attorney where he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony cases in District Court and on appeal in Circuit Court.^[6] McDuffie later worked for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in both her local constituent services office and Capitol Hill office, where he drafted legislation.^[7] In 2008, he served as a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he conducted investigations and managed complex cases throughout the United States regarding enforcement of key federal civil rights statutes, including defending the rights of the mentally ill. During his tenure at DOJ, he worked on cases to reform the policies and procedures of police departments.^[2][6] In 2010, McDuffie became a policy advisor to Public Safety and Justice Deputy Mayor Paul Quander,^[6][8] serving as a liaison to public safety agencies.^[9] He has also served as president of the Stronghold Civic Association.^[10]

Electoral history

2010 election

In February 2010, McDuffie resigned from his position in the mayor's administration^[11] and declared his candidacy to represent Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia.^[2] McDuffie supported expanding employment opportunities and tackling HIV.^[7] He criticized incumbent Harry Thomas Jr. for being reactive rather than proactive.^[7] During his campaign, McDuffie stressed several urgent problems in the ward, including lack of quality education, lack of effective job-training programs, lack of affordable housing, and a need for more services for senior citizens.^[12] Thomas won the Democratic Party primary election^[13] and went on to win the general election as well.^[14]

2012 election

In January 2012, Thomas resigned from the Council and pleaded guilty to two federal crimes: theft and filing three years of false tax returns.^[15] McDuffie entered the special election to fill the vacant Ward 5 seat.^[16]

The District's firefighter union, the Service Employees International Union Maryland and DC State Council, National Nurses United union, Local 25 Hospitality Workers' Union, AFL-CIO, DC Latino Caucus, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and Councilmember Tommy Wells^[17] endorsed McDuffie's candidacy.^{[17][18][19][20]}

McDuffie won the special election,^[21] receiving 43 percent of the votes.^[22]

2014 election

McDuffie ran for re-election in the 2014 election^[23] and won the primary against Kathy Henderson, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Carver Langston;^[24] and Carolyn C. Steptoe, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Brookland.^[25] Libertarian Preston Cornish is the only candidate who opposed him in the General Election.^[26][27] He was re-elected with 83.93% of the vote.

2018 election

McDuffie ran for re-election in the 2018 election. He won with 79.3% of the vote, defeating Kathy Henderson, Joyce Robinson-Paul, and Amone Banks on November 6, 2018.

2022 election

McDuffie announced his candidacy for Attorney General for the District of Columbia and said that he would not run to represent Ward 5 for another term.^[28] McDuffie's qualifications were challenged by candidate Bruce Spiva, who argued that the legislation required that the attorney general was "actively engaged" as an attorney for five years and that service on the Council was not adequate.^[29] The Board of Elections supported the challenge, the Court of Appeals upheld their decision, and McDuffie's appeal for a rehearing was denied.^[29][30]

In June 2022, McDuffie changed his registration to independent and picked up paperwork to file to run as a candidate for one of the at-large seats on the Council held by incumbents Elissa Silverman and Anita Bonds.^[1] He was elected in November 2022, finishing behind Bonds but ahead of Silverman.^[31]

Political positions and initiatives

 

McDuffie at a rally in 2017

Committee on Government Operations, Chair

As Chairman of the Committee on Government Operations, McDuffie successfully passed campaign finance reform to close the “LLC loophole,” which historically has allowed limited liability companies to make campaign contributions well above individual limits. His bill also requires campaigns to report all fundraising data online for the Office of Campaign Finance to publish publicly, mandates campaign finance training for candidates, expands the range of penalties for violations, and restricts money order donations to $100. Additionally, the legislation requires lobbyists to disclose any contributions bundled and forwarded to a campaign.^[32]

Contracting

In 2019, McDuffie initially questioned the sole source award of the D.C. Lottery contract, valued at $215 million. McDuffie later reversed his position and the contract was narrowly approved.^[33] It was revealed that his cousin, Keith McDuffie, was listed as Chief Executive Officer of a subcontractor who received $3 million from the deal. McDuffie denied knowledge of his cousin's involvement.^[34]

Judiciary Committee, Chair

McDuffie advanced “Ban the Box” legislation that bans the use of criminal background checks in housing as well as passing legislation to end the unfair use of credit history in hiring.^[35] McDuffie also passed the innovative Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results Act (NEAR Act),^[36] which reforms the District’s criminal justice system by incorporating behavioral and mental health professionals to perform tasks that previously fell to law enforcement officers.^[37]

Committee on Business and Economic Development

McDuffie sought to address the District’s racial wealth gap through the Child Wealth Building Act, a child trust fund, or “baby bonds,” aimed at eliminating the District’s stark racial wealth gap and ending generational poverty.^[38]

In 2021, McDuffie introduced legislation to create a Task Force to research and develop reparation proposals for African American descendants of slavery.^[39]

In addition, McDuffie serves as a member of the following committees.^[40]

• Committee on Transportation and the Environment
• Committee on Housing and Executive Administration
• Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs

Personal life

McDuffie lives on North Capitol Street with his wife, Princess, and their daughters, Jozi and Kesi.^[41]

References

1. "In the November 8, 2022 General Election". District of Columbia Board of Elections. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
2. Abrams, Amanda (June 26, 2010). "Where We Live: The Stronghold neighborhood of Northeast Washington". The Washington Post.
3. "A New Councilman for D.C.'s Ward 5". The Kojo Nnamdi Show. WAMU-FM. May 16, 2012.
4. "Kenyan McDuffie". Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
5. Suderman, Alan (May 23, 2012). "The Thomas Antidote". Washington City Paper.
6. Craig, Tim; DeBonis, Mike (May 15, 2012). "Kenyan McDuffie wins Ward 5 seat on D.C. Council in race to replace Thomas". The Washington Post.
7. Marimow, Ann E. (August 11, 2010). "Harry Thomas Jr.'s challengers say deep roots aren't enough in D.C. Council's Ward 5 race". The Washington Post.
8. DeBonis, Mike (April 29, 2012). "Council candidates try to reassure Ward 5 voters". The Washington Post.
9. Howell Jr., Tom (May 16, 2012). "Gray: McDuffie 'an outstanding choice' for Ward 5". The Washington Times.
10. Salmon, Barrington M. (March 29, 2012). "'Tenacity' Puts Hunter Back into Council Race". The Washington Informer.
11. Howell Jr., Tom; Noble, Andrea (May 15, 2012). "McDuffie wins Ward 5 D.C. Council seat handily". The Washington Times.
12. "2010 Election: Kenyan McDuffie". The Washington Post. 2010.
13. . District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
14. . District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
15. DeBonis, Mike (January 5, 2012). "Harry Thomas Jr. charged: What happens next". The Washington Post.
16. DeBonis, Mike (January 6, 2012). "The Ward 5 special election contenders". The Washington Post.
17. Craig, Tim (May 9, 2012). "Special council election comes at an anxious time for D.C.'s Ward 5". The Washington Post.
18. Howell Jr., Tom (April 11, 2012). "Separating from pack in Ward 5 race tough". The Washington Times.
19. Chibbaro Jr., Lou (April 22, 2012). "Stein Club endorses McDuffie in Ward 5 Council race". Washington Blade.
20. "The DC Latino Caucus PAC Announces Support of Kenyan McDuffie for Ward 5 Councilmember" (PDF) (Press release). District of Columbia Latino Caucus. May 11, 2012.
21. Chibbaro Jr., Lou (May 16, 2012). "McDuffie wins Ward 5 Council race". Washington Blade.
22. "Unofficial Election Results: District of Columbia Special Election May 15, 2012". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
23. . District of Columbia Board of Elections. January 2, 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on February 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
24. . District of Columbia Board of Elections. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
25. DeBonis, Mike (January 27, 2014). "Has Kenyan McDuffie brought fractious Ward 5 together at last?". The Washington Post..
26. "Preston Cornish". Libertarian Party. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
27. "Preston Cornish". Twitter. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
28. Brice-Saddler, Michael (October 21, 2021). "D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie running for attorney general". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
29. Brice-Saddler, Michael (April 20, 2022). "McDuffie to appeal ruling, while Spiva starts TV ads in D.C. AG race". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
30. Brice-Saddler, Michael (April 30, 2022). "DC Court of Appeals denies rehearing Kenyan McDuffie's case on the AG race". WJLA. Washington DC. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
31. Constantino, Abigail (November 9, 2022). "2022 DC election: Bonds wins, Silverman concedes to McDuffie in DC Council at-large race". Axios.
32. Cohen, Matt; Hughes, Sarah Anne. . dcist.com. WAMU 88.5. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
33. Nirappil, Fenit (July 19, 2019). "D.C. lawmaker defends vote on no-bid gambling contract that lists his cousin". The Washington Post..
34. Nirappil, Fenit (July 18, 2019). "D.C. Council member's cousin is listed in $215 million no-bid gambling contract". The Washington Post..
35. Patterson, Kathleen. "The Impact of "Ban the Box" in the District of Columbia" (PDF). Office of the District of Columbia Auditor. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
36. "Bill 21-0360". D.C. Register. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
37. "Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie • Council of the District of Columbia". Council of the District of Columbia. Council of the District of Columbia. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
38. Austermuhle, Martin. . dcist.com. WAMU 88.5. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
39. Diller, Nathan. "D.C. Could Explore Reparations For Descendants Of Enslaved People". npr.com. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
40. "Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie • Council of the District of Columbia". Council of the District of Columbia. Retrieved Nov 3, 2021.
41. (PDF). The Capital News. February 2012. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-08.

Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by Harry Thomas Jr.	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 5 2012–2023	Succeeded by Zachary Parker
Preceded by Elissa Silverman	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia at-large 2023–present	Incumbent