jonetta rose barras: When will we exhale?

That was the question I asked myself hours before the polls opened Nov. 5 for the general election. Vice President Kamala Harris was right: After having dealt with then-former President Donald Trump for eight years, I, like many Americans, was exhausted — tired of the blatant lying; tired of his penchant for bullying anyone who doesn’t kowtow to him and his exaggerated assessment of himself, which is far worse than his overstatement of his financial wealth; tired of his 18th-century attitude toward women as set pieces for his personal enjoyment or mistreatment; and tired, absolutely tired, of his exuberant racism.

For years, I have likened Trump to the escaped contents of Pandora’s box — but with the hope still stuck inside, waiting in vain to be released. He has been a force of unadulterated evil that requires full attention and fight — not unlike some of the racist white folks I encountered in parts of Mississippi during the civil rights era in the early 1970s.

By early Wednesday morning, as he racked up victories in state after state, it became apparent that the answer to my question in the title of this column was “not anytime soon.” While votes are still being counted, Trump appears to have won the popular vote and has secured well over the 270 electoral votes needed for victory. I nearly cried — not just for myself, but for all of us with any modicum of decency and civility; for women, especially those who had already died because of devastating abortion laws; and for Harris.

What happened?

She was drafted into a mission that mandated a suspension of doubt and required an unprecedented amount of energy and dedication. Harris had only 107 days — a severely abbreviated calendar in U.S. politics — to make her case to the country’s voters, many of whom didn’t know who she was and were too lazy to conduct their own research. Trump had been campaigning since his loss in 2020, making deals with billionaire business owners and co-opting traditional media organizations, who gave aid and cover to his nauseous ideas, behaviors and language.

Do not discount the fact that as a woman of color, Harris faced overt and covert gender discrimination, instigated in no small measure by Trump and his team.

As I became disturbed by the results of Tuesday’s election, I remembered the counsel my favorite aunt, Loweska, would give me after telling her about some disappointment that I had experienced and that I thought meant the end of me and/or the world as I believed I knew it.

She’d take me by the hand to the small porch outside her shotgun-style home in New Orleans where we lived and tell me: “Look up at the sky. Does it look any different than it did yesterday?” 

My answer was usually no. More than a few times it was a perfect, clear blue.

Then, she’d tell me, “Touch your head. Touch your arms and your legs; do they feel any different? Is anything broken?” she asked.

“If you are still alive, without any handicaps, and the world seems physically the same, then stop worrying. You still have an opportunity to get what you want,” she said, adding, “unless you just want to give up.”

I’d look at her, a smile slowly crawling across my face. Then, we’d go back inside for a cup of coffee with chicory and a piece of toasted French bread with butter. By the time I left her home, I was ready for the next round of the battle.

There will be no Friday morning armchair quarterbacking from me — the kind we have heard all week from pundits who quickly pivoted from their earlier belief that Trump was locked in a tight race that he would ultimately lose. Still, citizens who care about maintaining a truly democratic form of government, one where the Department of Education or health care for the poor and working class won’t be demolished by fiat by mad men, cannot ignore the moment in which we as a nation find ourselves.

I took my aunt’s guidance with me throughout the 10 years I worked as a community organizer. I shared it with the residents I trained to demand more from their government. I share it now, for those of us who know “a luta continua.” This is no time to run and hide.

DC residents who have tussled with Trump and his Republican Party during his first term and more recently during GOP control of the House of Representatives cannot grow complacent. After all, we know the man who has been elected the 47th president of the United States remains a clear and present danger — even to himself. 

Yes, DC residents are exhausted from dealing with him — we are bruised, bloodied even, but the bell just rang. This certainly is no time for complacency, no time to roll ourselves out like ready doormats. The city’s political independence, our morals, principles, values and, yes, the Rose Garden and the White House must be protected.

Equally crucial, I think, is that if residents, myself included, are concerned about the outcome of the national election, we surely should raise critical questions about the results from local political races.

Consider, for example, that Ward 8 DC Councilmember Trayon White Sr. prevailed in his reelection bid — with 18,700 votes or 75.8%, according to the latest count posted by the DC Board of Elections. 

How did that happen?

Wasn’t he the person who was caught on video and audio tape agreeing to accept $156,000 in bribes and who took $35,000 in cash and stuffed it in his pockets, according to federal government documents? White has been charged with a federal felony; he has pleaded not guilty. He is expected to make an appearance in U.S. District Court next week. 

A special committee of the legislature is investigating whether White violated DC financial disclosure laws and the council’s ethics rules, among other things. Their investigative report is expected to be presented on or before Dec. 16; the panel could recommend reprimand, censure or expulsion, notwithstanding the results of this week’s election.

Speaking Tuesday after the polls closed, a tearful White told a reporter that he hoped his victory “sends a loud message to the DC Council about keeping the decision in the hands of the people.”

Fake tears have never moved me. How about you?

Let’s hope legislators understand that “the people” doesn’t just include the cult of Trayon White but all DC residents — across all eight wards. Let’s hope councilmembers will not be oblivious to the fact that part of their job is to maintain a standard of integrity and hold their colleagues accountable for violating District laws. 

Obviously a great many people have concluded Trump is above the law. Or more precisely, all roads to the court have been effectively blocked with his presumptive election. Special Counsel Jack Smith is closing out his case. No doubt Georgia’s Fani Willis will not move forward with her prosecution under RICO — at least not against Trump. That surely was partially Trump’s motivation for running a third time.

Should that lawless privilege also be applied to White? 

Equally disturbing, in my view, is the fact that the count of “under votes” was substantial in multiple races on the DC ballot. In the council at-large race, for example, there were no less than 238,767, according to preliminary results posted by the Board of Elections. That contest permits voters to choose two candidates. 

Incumbent Democrat Robert White, believed to be angling for a mayoral run in 2026, won with 225,041 votes, which amounted to 62.38% of the votes cast in the four-person race. The second-highest vote-getter was independent Christina Henderson, whose total number of votes — 83,366 — and percentage — 23.11% — aren’t much better than her performance in 2020, when she first ran for office in a field that included 24 candidates. Back then, she won with 79,189 votes, which was 14.77% of the total ballots cast.

A close review of this year’s results could debunk the myths advanced by Make All Votes Count in their advocacy of Initiative 83 — a measure that would partially open political party primaries to non-members and install a candidate selection system known as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as soon as 2026. 

To listen to Make All Votes Count folks, RCV would guarantee that officials can’t be elected with anything less than majority support. However, consider that in this year’s at-large race, only Robert White reached the supposedly magical 50% threshold. Granting Henderson the other two candidates’ votes would still have given her only 36.93% support — in part because of the number of under votes. 

Would the machinations involved in RCV really indicate to voters that the victors all have majority support, as is the RCV fantasy? Or would it just add to voter confusion already evident in the at-large results each election cycle? If such a large portion of the electorate doesn’t use both at-large votes, is it really reasonable to expect the majority of voters to offer their second, third and fourth choices?

For now, I-83 supporters are celebrating their ballot victory: 195,586 voters, or 72.7%, approved the measure while 73,437 rejected it. Another 30,792 voters did not weigh in one way or another.

But the initiative still faces scrutiny from the DC Court of Appeals — and from Mayor Muriel Bowser and councilmembers, who must decide whether to provide the minimum $1.5 million needed for its implementation.

When I spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Council Chair Phil Mendelson before the polls closed, he said he wasn’t sure how he might proceed. He opposed the measure, asserting that it is attempting to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.

“I have to see what happens. If it passes with 90% of the vote, that sends a message,” said Mendelson.

Advocates have already started lobbying for funding. It’s worth noting that DC is still challenged by a tight budget because of declining commercial property tax revenues.

Maybe there are a few bright spots in the local election — or not, depending on how the results are analyzed. In the State Board of Education races, incumbent Jacque Patterson, who ran unopposed, received 212,218 votes; however, 81,699 failed to mark their ballots in that race, according to the unofficial results posted by the Board of Elections. 

Perhaps these are people without children in DC Public Schools. But District taxpayers are forking over nearly $2 billion for public education; that seems a big reason to get involved.

Ward 4 had a competitive State Board of Education race between incumbent Frazier O’Leary Jr. and T. Michelle Colson. O’Leary pulled in 13,899 votes (44.69%); his opponent prevailed with 16,881 or 54.27% of the ballots cast. 

Were RCV proponents satisfied with those numbers, even though 8,009 people didn’t vote? 

East of the Anacostia River in Ward 7, facing three opponents, State Board of Education President Eboni-Rose Thompson brought in 21,999 votes, which amounted to 71.42% of the total ballots in that three-candidate race. At least there were only 3,797 under votes.

In the Democratic Party primary in June, Thompson had sought to level up to the Ward 7 council seat, hoping to replace the ailing Vincent Gray, who had announced his retirement. She lost that bid to Wendell Felder, who won Gray’s coveted endorsement and this week won the general election with 30,377 votes.

Interestingly, Gray distributed a statement on Oct. 24 indicating that as a result of the onset of early-stage, age-related dementia he would no longer be voting on legislation or other matters pending before the council. Normally under such circumstances a politician would step down. Instead, Ward 7 residents will not have full representation for two months or as many as five meetings.

Why is this allowed to occur? Should an elected official establish a personal preserve? 

While there may be no District law that permits Felder to be sworn in sooner than January, the council should long ago have sought to amend the Home Rule Charter to enable temporary appointments when ward vacancies occur — a provision that would have altered the current dynamics. District residents should not lose out on ward representation for months on end, nor should they be asked to continue to pay the salary of a political representative when, in fact, they are not being represented.

I guess democracy over party or person didn’t work in the national races. Should I be naïve and expect it to have any agency locally? Probably not.

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jonetta rose barras is an author and DC-based freelance journalist, covering national and local issues. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.