Anita Bonds

Anita Bonds (born 1945[1]) is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. She is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia.[2] She served as the Chair of the District of Columbia Democratic Party from 2006 to 2018.[3][4] She worked as an executive at Fort Myer Construction, a District contractor.[5]

Anita Bonds
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia at-large
Assumed office
December 11, 2012
Preceded byPhil Mendelson
Chair of the District of Columbia Democratic Party
In office
November 2006 – September 20, 2018
Preceded byWanda Lockridge
Succeeded byCharles Wilson
Personal details
Born1945 (age 75–76)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of California,
Berkeley (BS)

Early life

Bonds was raised in Southeast Washington, D.C.[6] She attended college at University of California, Berkeley,[6] where she majored in chemistry.[7]

Career

Bonds helped run Marion Barry's first campaign for the District of Columbia Board of Education in 1971.[5] She was elected Ward 2 delegate to the Black Political Convention in 1972.[8] In 1973, she ran in a special election for the Ward 2 seat on the District of Columbia Board of Education.[9] Bill Treanor won the election with 62 percent of the vote.[9] Bonds worked as ward and precinct coordinator for Clifford Alexander's campaign for District mayor in 1974.[10] She served as deputy campaign manager for Barry's 1978[11] and 1982 bids for District mayor.[1] In 1979, Mayor Barry named Bonds special assistant for constituent services.[12]

Bonds served as manager of John L. Ray's reelection campaign for at-large councilmember in 1980.[13] In 1983, Bonds was director of the District of Columbia Office of Community Services.[1] She served on Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign in 1984.[14] She was campaign manager for Barry's bid for a third term as District mayor in 1986.[1]

In 1990, Bonds helped the defense attorney in Marion Barry's drug and perjury charges.[15] In 1994, Bonds became special assistant to District Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly's chief of staff, Karen A. Tramontano.[16] In May 1998, Bonds was named campaign manager for Councilmember Harold Brazil's bid for District mayor.[17] In August 1998, she left that role after a campaign reorganization.[18]

From 2004 to 2005, she served as director of the mayor's Office of Community Affairs.[19] In 2005, she became a senior adviser to Council member Kwame R. Brown.[20]

When elected to the D.C. Council, Bonds worked as an executive for Fort Myer Construction, one of the district's largest contractors.[5] Bonds said she would cut back on her hours when taking her seat on the Council but did not immediately sever ties with the company. She characterized questions about her outside employment as chauvinistic.[5]

Councilmember

Election

In November 2012, Democrat Phil Mendelson won a special election to become the chair of the Council of the District of Columbia,[21] creating a vacancy of his former seat as at-large member of the Council. District of Columbia law provides that, in the event of a vacancy of an at-large seat on the Council, the political party of the former incumbent shall decide who will fill the seat until a special election can be held.[22][23]

Bonds announced that she would seek to be selected to hold the at-large Council seat. Douglass Sloan, a public affairs consultant and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Riggs Park, and John Capozzi, former Shadow U.S. Representative and former at-large member of the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee, announced that they would also seek the selection. In a vote by the D.C. Democratic State Committee, Bonds received 55 of the 71 votes cast, winning the selection process.[5] Bonds was sworn in as councilmember on December 11, 2012.[24]

Bonds won reelection in the 2013 special election.[25]

Service

Bonds introduced legislation to limit property taxes on senior citizens. Her bill exempted homeowners with a moderate income or lower who have lived in the District for 15 consecutive years.[26]

In 2017, Bonds attended the parade for the inauguration of Donald Trump.[27][28]

Bond won reelection in 2018 against a trio of challengers who were half her age. Most of her donors came from people and companies associated with DC's building industry.[29]

In December 2019, Bonds was criticized in the media for revealing the identity of a whistleblower during a public hearing.[30] She claimed the outing was accidental, but some D.C. government employees suggested on background that they believed it was an intentional act of retaliation.[30]

In July 2020, Bonds opposed legislation that would have moved funds from the extension of the D.C. Streetcar to repair public housing. Earlier, Bonds made a statement saying she supported the budget change.[31]

In October 2020, Bonds complained after activists from the advocacy group Sunrise Movement demonstrated in front of her home, protesting that she was not more supportive of affordable housing and her endorsement of a developer for a vacant at-large position on the DC Council. Bonds equated her treatment to other African Americans who suffered at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. [32]

Personal life

Bonds is widowed. She has one adult daughter, two adult sons, and seven grandchildren.[33]

Election results

2012
2013 Council of the District of Columbia, At Large, Special Election[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anita Bonds 18,027 31
Democratic Elissa Silverman 15,228 27
Republican Patrick Mara 13,698 24
Democratic Matthew Frumin 6,307 11
Democratic Paul Zuckerberg 1,195 2
Democratic Michael A. Brown 1,100 2
D.C. Statehood Green Perry Redd 1,090 2
Write-in 187 0

2014
2014 General Election, Council of the District of Columbia, At-Large Seats[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anita Bonds 85,575 24
Independent Elissa Silverman 41,300 12
Independent Michael D. Brown 28,614 8
Independent Robert White 22,198 6
Independent Courtney R. Snowden 19,551 5
D.C. Statehood Green Eugene Puryear 12,525 4
Independent Graylan Scott Hagler 10,539 3
Independent Khalid Pitts 10,392 3
Republican Marc Morgan 9,947 3
Independent Brian Hart 8,933 3
Independent Kishan Putta 6,135 2
Independent Calvin Gurley 4,553 1
Independent Eric J. Jones 4,405 1
Libertarian Frederick Steiner 3,766 1
Independent Wendell Felder 2,964 1
  write-in 1,472 0

Committees

Bonds currently serves on the following committees:[36]

  • Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization (Chair)
  • Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety
  • Committee on Finance and Revenue
  • Committee on Education
  • Committee on Recreation and Youth Affairs

Bonds is also a former member of the Committee on Business and Economic Development.

References
  1. Evans, Sandra (January 15, 1986). "Anita Bonds to Direct Barry's 3rd Campaign". The Washington Post. p. C5. ProQuest 138942786.
  2. "D.C. Councilmembers". Council of the District of Columbia. January 11, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  3. "DC Democratic State Committee Members". District of Columbia Democratic State Committee. January 11, 2013. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  4. Blinder, Alan (December 10, 2012). "Anita Bonds Elected to D.C. Council At-large Seat". The Washington Examiner.
  5. Madden, Patrick (December 11, 2012). "Anita Bonds Elected to At-large D.C. Council Seat". WAMU.
  6. Suderman, Alan (December 12, 2012). "Same as the Old Boss?". Washington City Paper.
  7. Stevens, Joann (January 25, 1979). "Mayor's Assistants". The Washington Post. p. 2. ProQuest 147014539.
  8. "Delegates Named by D.C. Blacks". The Washington Post. February 28, 1972. p. C6. ProQuest 148355121.
  9. Prince, Richard E. (November 28, 1973). "Treanor Elected to Board: Youth Worker Wins Ward 2 School Post". The Washington Post. p. C1. ProQuest 148278712.
  10. Mathews, Jay. "Mayor Campaigns Go to Grass Roots: Canvassing Seen Mayor Race Key". The Washington Post. p. C1. ProQuest 146165846.
  11. Dash, Leon (August 6, 1978). "Seeking Affluent Black Vote: Barry Takes His Mayoral Campaign to 'Tucker Territory'". The Washington Post. p. C1. ProQuest 146990695.
  12. Coleman, Milton (January 10, 1979). "Barry Names Nine To Personal Staff In Reorganization". The Washington Post. p. B4. ProQuest 147103818.
  13. Bowman, LaBarbara (September 20, 1980). "Carter-Mondale Crews Open D.C. Headquarters". The Washington Post. p. B2. ProQuest 147116252.
  14. Edsall, Thomas B.; Broder, David S.; Webb, Robert A. (January 14, 1984). "Jackson Officials Announce Selection of Campaign Staff". The Washington Post. p. A5. ProQuest 138356085.
  15. Mills, David (August 11, 1990). "Mistrial: The Frenzy at the Finish Line: For Ken Mundy, Celebration Begins". The Washington Post. p. C01. ProQuest 307297958.
  16. Ragland, James (January 27, 1994). "Kelly's Recent Hires Seen as Campaign Move". The Washington Post. p. J01. ProQuest 307743215.
  17. Williams, Vanessa; Powell, Michael; Harris, Hamil R. (May 7, 1998). "Chavous Picks a Winner to Manage His Mayoral Campaign". The Washington Post. p. J01. ProQuest 408385309.
  18. Harris, Hamil R.; Woodlee, Yolanda; Williams, Vanessa (August 20, 1998). "Ex-Manager Of Campaign Tells Her Side". The Washington Post. p. J01. ProQuest 408402995.
  19. Montgomery, Lori; Hsu, Spencer S. (February 17, 2005). "Key Aide Gets Reshuffled". The Washington Post. p. T02. ProQuest 409824720.
  20. Montgomery, Lori; Woodlee, Yolanda (April 28, 2005). "Would-Be Mayors Are Testing Waters for 2006". The Washington Post. p. T02. ProQuest 409840989.
  21. "Declaration of Winner and Certification of Election Results: Special Election Held November 6, 2012 for the Office of Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections. November 29, 2012. p. 29.
  22. Wright, James (December 5, 2012). "DC Political Roundup: The Race Begins". The Washington Informer.
  23. Craig, Tim (November 28, 2012). "Here Comes Another Special Election for D.C. Council". The Washington Post.
  24. Suderman, Alan (December 10, 2012). "Anita Bonds D.C.'s Newest Councilmember". Washington City Paper.
  25. "Election Results". Bonds Holds Council Seat; Silverman 2nd, Mara 3rd, Frumin 4th. April 24, 2013.
  26. DeBonis, Mike (January 6, 2014). "Two D.C. bills promote property tax cuts". Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  27. Jamison, Peter (19 January 2017). "Only 3 of 13 D.C. Council members to attend inauguration parade". The Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  28. "3 DC Council Members, Mayor to Watch Inaugural Parade". NBC Washington. Washington DC. Associated Press. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  29. Giambrone, Andrew (5 December 2019). "Big-Dollar Donors Line Up for D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  30. Ryals, Mitch (December 5, 2019). "Councilmember Anita Bonds Outed a Whistleblower During a Public Hearing". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  31. Baskin, Morgan (5 December 2019). "Anita Bonds Does a 180 on Funding for Public Housing Repairs". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  32. Delia Goncalves (12 October 2020). "DC councilmember says protestors outside her home crossed a line". WUSA. Washington DC. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  33. DeBonis, Mike (October 24, 2014). "Meet an at-large D.C. Council candidate: Anita D. Bonds". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  34. "Certified Results, Special Election, 2013". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. May 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  35. "General Election Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections. December 3, 2014. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  36. http://dccouncil.us/council/anita-bonds
Party political offices
Preceded by
Wanda Lockridge		 Chair of the District of Columbia Democratic Party
2006–2018		 Succeeded by
Charles Wilson
Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by
Phil Mendelson		 Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
at-large
2012–present		 Incumbent
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