Robert White to Resign From the D.C. Council on Monday to Protect His Run for Congress

At-large D.C. Councilmember Robert White will resign on Monday to remove any doubt that he can legally be elected the District's next delegate to Congress, according to published reporting on his announcement Thursday. White is the Democratic nominee for D.C.'s nonvoting seat in the U.S. House.

"I wanted to remove any doubt before Election Day about my eligibility to serve as Delegate," White said in a statement reported this week. The question turns on one line in the 1970 law that created the delegate's office: no one may hold the office unless, on the date of his election, he holds no other paid public office — and White's Council seat is a paid public office.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb reads those words to mean Election Day — Tuesday — according to the reporting. White had argued the date should be the day the winner is officially certified, which would have let him stay until December 2. A spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections said publicly that White is eligible to run as long as he resigns before Election Day, and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson declined to take up an emergency bill changing the rule. White's Republican opponent, Denise Rosado, argues he is already disqualified because early voting has begun.

White is running to succeed Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has held the delegate's seat since 1991 and is retiring. His departure leaves two openings at the Council: the D.C. Democratic State Committee will choose an interim at-large member, and a special election must follow within 70 to 174 days of the vacancy under D.C. law. White plans to speak outside the Wilson Building at 5 p.m. Monday, the day before District voters cast their ballots. Early voting in the District runs through Sunday, November 1, with Election Day on Tuesday, November 3.