Former DC Mayor Marion Barry Wins City Council Seat

Former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, who served prison time on a drug charge a decade ago, secured his comeback on Tuesday, winning a City Council seat to represent the U.S. capital's poorest area. Barry, a four-time Democratic mayor and one of Washington's most controversial and well-known politicians, easily won the election in Ward 8 with 95 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. He beat Republican candidate Cardell Shelton. In September, he beat incumbent Sandy Allen for the Democratic nomination, a win that virtually assured him the council seat in a city where Democrats account for 75 percent of registered voters. Barry's September victory stunned the political and business community, which had rallied behind Allen after Barry declared his candidacy. But to blacks in this majority-black city, the return to office of a man called "Mayor For Life" was not as surprising. [more]