DC Dem Profiles: Ward 5

This Summer, Sum of Change will be bringing you extensive coverage of D.C. local elections. To kick it off, we've been invited by D.C. for Democracy to film their pre-endorsement candidate meet n' greet on Wednesday, June 2. In preparation, we put together some bios on all the candidates that will be attending. Bios for Republican candidates for these seats will be coming shortly. To find all our current DC candidate bios, please visit our 2010 DC Election Page.

These are the Democratic Candidates for the Ward 5 Council

Councilman Harry Tomas, Jr. (incumbent)

From his website:

Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr. campaigned for and successfully won the D.C. Ward 5 Council seat in November 2006. He was sworn into office in January 2007. Councilmember Thomas is Chair of the D.C. City Council’s Committee on Libraries, Parks, and Recreation. He sits on four additional committees: Finance and Revenue, Housing and Workforce Development, Government Operations and the Environment, and Aging and Community Affairs. Councilmember Thomas is the son of late three-term Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Sr., and former D.C. Public School principal Romaine B. Thomas. Councilmember Thomas attended D.C. Public Schools and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He holds a degree in Public Relations/Marketing from Bowie State University. Councilmember Thomas was Vice President of Public Affairs for the Public Benefits Corporation (formerly D.C. General Hospital)...

Councilmember Thomas is a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, and has served as Chair of the Woodridge Health Clinic. He is a past President of the D.C. Young Democrats and a former At-Large elected member of the D.C. Democratic State party, for which he coordinated local and national events. Councilmember Thomas has worked for the national Democratic Party, holding the office of Treasurer. He has also served as the Adult and Youth Chair of the Neighborhood Planning Council. Councilmember Thomas is a member of the YMCA, NAACP, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and Woodridge Boys and Girls Club.

Kenyan McDuffie

From his website:

Kenyan worked as a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he conducted investigations and managed cases throughout the United States regarding enforcement of key federal civil rights statutes, including defending the rights of the mentally ill, nursing home residents, and persons with disabilities, and also working to reform the policies and procedures of police departments throughout the country. Prior to joining the Justice Department, he worked as an Assistant State's Attorney in Prince George’s County, where he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony cases in District Court and on appeal in Circuit Court. He also served as a judicial law clerk for an Associate Judge on the 7th Judicial Circuit of Maryland...

Kenyan, an experienced attorney and civil rights advocate, is a proven community leader whose campaign, like his life’s work, is focused on your future. For more than a decade, Kenyan has dedicated himself to improving the lives of Ward Five residents and the collective life of the Ward Five community.