Jayaraman Calls Out Candidates on Party Allegiance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2020

Every “independent” candidate except one in the DC Council at-large race switched parties to run as an independent. At least eight of them were still Democrats at or around the time they filed to run for the seat. And several, including Ed Lazere and Marcus Goodwin, ran as Democrats in previous elections.

The one is Chander Jayaraman.

In a recent campaign video, Jayaraman called out the party-switching and reiterated his campaign tagline - that he is a “true independent.”

“As an elected ANC Commissioner these past eight years, I have worked closely with residents, brought people together and produced results for the people I represent,” Jayaraman says. “Party politics should never drive policymaking or play a role in helping constituents and I will bring that perspective to the DC Council.

“How can we trust someone not to play party politics when they are so readily willing to game the system for their own benefit on something as fundamental as party affiliation.

“I am not an independent out of convenience.”

In addition to the eight candidates who dropped their registration as Democrats around the time of their filing, another 10 were still registered as Democrats less than two years ago. Several are deeply involved in Democratic politics. “This is exactly the type of one-party control that the District’s Charter intended to prevent,” Jayaraman said. “It was supposed to promote debate and discourse from various perspectives which is the bedrock of our democracy.”

Chander Jayaraman is an independent candidate for one of the two at-large seats on the DC Council. He has served on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B on Capitol Hill for eight years, four of those as Chair or Vice Chair. He is an emergency planner and small business owner; he helped write the city’s Pandemic Plan and is advising and training daycare centers on safely reopening during the pandemic. He previously led the YouthBuild job training program at the Latin American Youth Center and fought for the inclusion of people with disabilities in work and community life. He has lived in DC for 25 years, is married to Suzanne and father to Kol.

###