The list of Democratic candidates who plan to challenge incumbent D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large) in 2022 continues to swell — and a Ward 5 advisory neighborhood commissioner just threw his hat into the ring.
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Bradley Ashton Thomas, a 67-year-old who has chaired the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5E for the past five years, joins six other contenders vying for the seat. He ran to become the Ward 5 council member in 2018 and finished third in the June primary, earning just over 12 percent of the vote.
Now, despite an open race in Ward 5, he’s setting his sights on a citywide position: “I think that the issues that concern me are broader than a ward-level matter,” said Thomas, who cited education, crime and the environment as core principles of his campaign.
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A lawyer who specializes in probate administration, entertainment law and other civil matters, he received a master’s degree in sustainability from Harvard this year and believes many inequities in the city are exacerbated by environmental issues, such as the ones experienced by Ward 5 residents.
Two more candidates join a crowded at-large D.C. Council race
Thomas is opposed to mayoral control of public schools and said the system should instead be run by an elected body made up mostly of educators and administrators.
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Thomas said he is not aligned with advocates who seek to defund the city’s police department, calling the movement “inflammatory” and adding that the city should instead scrutinize how officers are trained.
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To further deter crime, he said, lawmakers must go further to support school-aged children and ensure that those coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds have access to meals and essential tools like computers.
“We need to make sure everyone has an equal and fighting chance to become educated and productive citizens,” he added.
Thomas will use public financing for his campaign. He joins Sharece Crawford and Leniqua’dominique Jenkins, two former advisory neighborhood commissioners, in running against Bonds. Dexter Williams, who formerly worked for at-large council member Robert C White Jr. (D), and Chevy Chase advisory neighborhood commissioner Lisa R. Gore have also filed to run.
The crowded slate is rounded out by former D.C. shadow representative for Congress, Nathan Fleming, as well as Ambrose Lane Jr., an activist for health-care access east of the Anacostia.