WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The son of former Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry on Monday announced his decision to run for his late father's former Ward 8 council seat.
Marion Christopher Barry, who goes by his middle name, tweeted his intention to run for the seat less than two months after his father died, vacating the Ward 8 seat.
"It's official I'm running for Ward 8 Council member. Ward 8 the legacy continues, I'm energized, let's go!" Christopher, 34, tweeted.
It's official I'm running for Ward 8 Council member. Ward 8 the legacy continues, I'm energized, let's go! pic.twitter.com/AuwzpZQmTW
— Marion C. Barry (@marioncbarry) January 5, 2015Christopher joins 23 other people who have announced their intentions to run for the seat. A special election for the Ward 8 and vacant Ward 4 seats is scheduled to be held April 28.
Whoever is elected to Barry's former seat will hold the position until the end of 2016.
Barry, who died Nov. 22 at age 78, was elected mayor of DC four times -- in 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1994. He won his last term after an arrest in 1990 on drug charges.
He was videotaped smoking crack during a federal drug sting in a hotel room. He served six months on a misdemeanor possession charge and went on to be elected mayor again four years later.
Barry left the mayor's office in 1999 and worked as an investment banker. But he wasn't done with politics. In 2004 he was elected to the District of Columbia Council representing the city's 8th Ward. He held that seat until his death.
Christopher, Barry's only son, has already taken out petitions to run for his father's Ward 8 D.C. Council seat.
Christopher has had his own brushes with the law, including an arrest in 2014 for driving under the influence of drugs near the White House.
