DC Democrats appoint Jamal Holtz to fill Robert White’s former council seat
The D.C. Democratic State Committee appointed Jamal Holtz as interim at-large councilmember Thursday and called for his immediate swearing-in.
A fourth-generation Washingtonian and president of the DC Young Democrats, Holtz would fill the vacancy left by former Councilmember Robert White, who recently resigned to become the D.C. delegate in Congress.
Holtz started his public service career as youth city administrator and deputy youth mayor of the Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute, before moving to the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.
“We are proud to have selected Jamal Holtz, a native son of the District and a true Democrat, to continue the legacy of former Councilmember Robert White,” the executive committee said in a statement. “He joins the blue wave that swept our country and our city this week”
If the D.C. Council swears in Holtz, that would block At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson from assuming White’s vacancy.
Henderson announced a political party change on Tuesday, from independent to Democrat.
This move challenges the Democratic party’s authority to name the interim at-large councilmember, since only three of the five at-large seats on the council, including the chairman, can be held by members of the same political party, according to D.C. law.
As a Democrat, Henderson would join Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmember Anita Bonds. That means three Democrats would hold at-large seats, preventing Holtz from filling the vacancy.
“We don’t need controversy in this city,” White said before Henderson’s announcement. “I think Christina Henderson knows that it would be controversial to switch parties, step into the seat and undermine the Home Rule Act.”
“The Home Rule Charter gives the DC Democratic Party the authority to appoint Councilmember White’s successor. No political maneuvering or self-interest supersedes the Charter,” the executive committee said in a statement.
“Voters elected Robert White as a Democrat; Democrats deserve to select his replacement. The DC Democratic Party will not stand idly by while politicians use deceptive shell games to take away their choice. We will use the full force of the law and our bylaws to protect their rights,” the committee added.
“Federal law limits DC’s representation and full participation in democracy by limiting who can serve on the DC Council based on party identification. This is an actual threat – one of many – to full Home Rule,” Henderson said in a statement. “Today, I have the opportunity to freely associate and rejoin the party I once called home.”
Although Henderson didn’t expand on her intentions with this move, if in the future she decides to run for higher office, as chairman of the D.C. Council or D.C. mayor, for example, it is more likely she would win either of those offices as a Democrat rather than as an independent.
The interim at-large councilmember would fill that seat until a special election is held next year.
