By Tim Craig
Posted at 06:12 PM ET, 05/30/2012
Kenyan
R. McDuffie was sworn in Wednesday as the District`s newest council member,
ending a four-month leadership drought for Ward 5 residents who were left
without a representative after Harry Thomas Jr. resigned from the body in
January.
McDuffie,
a lawyer who at 36 became the youngest member on the 13-member body, was joined
by his wife, two children, parents and hundreds and friends and supporters for
the swearing-ceremony in the council chamber.
After
taking the oath from Superior Court Associate Judge Erik P. Christian shortly
after 4 p.m., McDuffie said he was ``utterly humbled`` to be in the standing-room
only chamber to assume his new responsibilities.
``This
moment is not lost on me,`` said McDuffie, who won a landslide victory in the
May 15 special election. ``I know where I am today, but I also know how far we
have to go … I will roll up my sleeves, right beside my colleagues, right
beside the mayor, and do the work of government for the residents of Ward 5 and
the residents of the District of Columbia.``
A
graduate from Woodrow Wilson High School, McDuffie is a third-generation
Washingtonian who was raised in Northeast.
But
like several of his colleagues, including Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (D),
McDuffie represents a new generation of African-American leaders who came of
age after the struggle for Home Rule and the divisive Marion Barry-era of
District politics when the city was quickly shedding residents.
McDuffie
declared during his campaign that he would work to unite a ward that forms the
core of the city`s black middle class as well as home to a growing number of
new, wealthier, multi-racial residents who are changing the culture in several
Northeast neighborhoods.
Supporters
also touted McDuffie as the most ``progressive`` candidate in the special
election, noting that he was a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage and had
refused to accept bundled or corporate contributions. But McDuffie received
solid support from every corner of the ward, providing him with a mandate for
rehabilitating the image of Ward 5 following Thomas`s conviction for stealing
more than $350,000 in city funds.
In
his 15-minute address, McDuffie noted how he worked as a mail carrier from 1992
to 1998 after he was forced to abandon his initial attempt to get a college
degree from the University of the District of Columbia.
In
2002, after he returned to college, McDuffie earned a bachelors degree in
political science from Howard University. He then earned a law degree from the
University of Maryland.
After
graduating, he went to work in Prince George`s County, first as a law clerk and
then as an assistant state`s attorney. From 2008 to 2010, he was a trial
attorney for the Justice Department`s civil rights division, according to his
resume.
McDuffie
has also worked for Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and Council member Vincent
B. Orange (D-At Large) earlier this decade. Most recently, he served as a
public safety adviser to Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D).
Though
Gray and Brown stayed neutral in the special election, both have praised
McDuffie`s selection and said they expect to have a good working relationship
with him.
``I`m
excited about McDuffie,`` Brown said Wednesday. ``He has integrity, character
and he loves Ward 5.``
McDuffie`s
win also represents a political victory for Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward
6), who was the only sitting council member to endorse him during the special
election.
But
McDuffie hopes to quickly carve out an independent role for himself on the
council.
``I
knew early on I wasn`t motivated by money, but my own success will be defined
by my ability to improve the quality of life of people around me,`` said
McDuffie, who now turns his attention to hiring a staff.
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