The 1997 Council of the District of Columbia special elections were held on April 29, July 22, and December 2 to elect new members to the then-vacated positions of Ward 6 Councilmember, Council Chairperson, and At-large Councilmember respectively. All candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on one ballot for a special election in the District of Columbia. The individual who receives a plurality of votes is the winning candidate.
Chairperson
Incumbent chairman David A. Clarke had died on March 27 of Primary central nervous system lymphoma, and was replaced on an interim basis by incumbent At-large Councilmember Linda Cropp. She was contested in the July 22 special election by Socialist Workers Party candidate Mary Martin.
Candidates Linda Cropp, interim Chairperson and elected Democratic At-large Councilmember Mary Martin, activist
Endorsements
Special Election
At-large
Incumbent At-large Coucncilmember Linda Cropp's victory in the July 22 special election for chairperson of the Council resulted in a vacancy in the seat, triggering another special election to be held on December 2. Former Council Chairman and Democrat Arrington Dixon was appointed to serve as the interim At-large councilmember. He was challenged by 3 candidates.
Candidates David Catania, lawyer and Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Arrington Dixon, interim At-large Councilmember Philip Heinrich, reform activist Mary Martin, activist
Endorsements
Debates + Debates and forums for At-large candidates Date Place Host Participants Participant. Invitee. Absent. Confirmed non-invitee. Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered) 11 November 1997St. Thomas' Episcopal ChurchWashington Blade
Special Election
Ward 6
Incumbent Ward 6 Councilmember Harold Brazil won election to an At-large seat on the Council in the 1996 election, vacating his Ward 6 seat and triggering a special election. 14 candidates filed for the special election with 12 eventually reaching the ballot, as Democrat Sharon Ambrose eventually winning the seat.
Candidates Sharon Ambrose, former Council staffer John Capozzi, former District of Columbia Shadow Representative Howard Croft, professor at the University of the District of Columbia Charles W. Day, retired federal employee Anthony Graham Sr., lawyer Bernard A. Gray, lawyer and candidate in the 1997 Ward 7 election Tom Hamilton, computer engineer and education activist Sandy McCall, businessman and anti-crime activist Patrick Merkle, lawyer Steve Michael, AIDS activist Rob Robinson, former Council staffer George Augustus Stallings Jr., founder of the African-American Catholic Congregation
Withdrawn Ernest Postell Sr., former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Trista Tramposch, administrator
Endorsements
Special election
References