District of Columbia Councilwoman Christina Henderson said Tuesday that she is rejoining the Democratic Party, shedding her independent status in a move that sets her up to replace outgoing Councilman Robert White in the chamber.
White, a Democratic at-large councilman, resigned from his seat Monday to mount a new bid to replace retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in the House of Representatives. The development comes as Henderson, also an at-large councilwoman, has been rumored to be eyeing a chance to fill the vacancy by becoming a Democrat, upending district power dynamics by thwarting the local party’s power to appoint an interim Democratic replacement in his stead.
Henderson assumed an independent affiliation due to rules mandating that only three of the council’s five at-large members can be members of the same political party. But White’s resignation appeared to offer her a chance to fill the vacancy in a de facto manner by filling the last possible spot for a Democratic member.
The D.C. Democratic Party has the power to appoint an interim replacement before special elections are held to select White’s successor. But Henderson’s move to slide into the Democratic spot by becoming a party member could cancel out those appointee powers.
Henderson’s switch may be challenged on legal technicalities by disgruntled party members. It also leaves an independent seat open on the council, and has opened questions about whether the D.C. Democratic Party has the power or inclination to appoint an independent interim at-large council member, which Henderson is pushing for.
Though the drama could move the special election for a vacant seat from Democrats to independents, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson appears to be more on Henderson’s side than critics of her move.
Mendelson told the Washington Sun that he is still “sifting through” the law with the council’s general counsel on the debacle surrounding the White vacancy and that he thinks the criticism of Henderson by Democratic Party leaders in the district is unfair. He told City Cast DC much the same.
“I don’t think it makes sense that the Democratic Party would get to pick a non-Democrat to fill the vacancy; however, I am being told that that may not be a correct reading of the law,” the chairman said.
“Every individual has a right to choose their affiliation,” he said.
MAJOR RACES IN DC COULD CHANGE THE CITY’S STATUS QUO
Henderson’s switch Tuesday confirms rumors from last month that she would seek to do so.
“She has been asking around the council, talking to colleagues to garner support for switching party affiliation,” a Democratic Party insider told the Washington Informer. “She had even gotten support from Chairman Mendelson. I got a sneaky suspicion that he might be aligned with the switch.”