Kenyan McDuffie

McDuffie won the special election, receiving 43 percent of the votes. His term ended 2014.

McDuffie ran for re-election in the 2014 election and won the primary against Kathy Henderson, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Carver Langston; and Carolyn C. Steptoe, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Brookland. Libertarian Preston Cornish is the only candidate who opposed him in the General Election. He was re-elected with 83.93% of the vote.

2014 Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 5, Primary Election

2014 Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 5, General Election

In January 2012, Thomas resigned from the Council and pleaded guilty to two federal crimes, theft and filing three years of false tax returns. McDuffie confirmed that he would run in a special election to fill the vacancy represent Ward 5 in the Council.

2012 Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 5, Special Election

In February 2010, McDuffie resigned from his position in the mayor's administration and declared his candidacy to represent Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia. McDuffie supported expanding employment opportunities and tackling HIV. He criticized incumbent Harry Thomas Jr. for being reactive rather than proactive. During his campaign, McDuffie stressed several urgent problems in the ward, including lack of quality education, lack of effective job-training programs, lack of affordable housing, and a need for more services for senior citizens. Thomas won the Democratic Party primary election and went on to win the general election as well.

2010 Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 5, Democratic Party Primary Election

Following his graduation, he was hired by Prince George's County, Maryland, first working as a law clerk and later as an assistant state's attorney. McDuffie later worked for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in both her local constituent services office and Capitol Hill office, where he drafted legislation. In 2008, he served as a trial lawyer in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. In 2010, McDuffie became a policy advisor to Public Safety and Justice Deputy Mayor Paul Quander, serving as a liaison to public safety agencies. He has also served as president of the Stronghold Civic Association.

After four years with the Postal Service, McDuffie enrolled in the University of the District of Columbia before graduating from Howard University summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science and community development in 2002. He received a juris doctor from University of Maryland School of Law in 2006. At the University of Maryland School of Law, he served as an Associate Editor of The University of Maryland Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class, and research assistant to then-Professor Tom Perez.

Kenyan R. McDuffie (born c. 1975) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 5 since 2012.