Former Mayor Marion Barry: D.C.’s Most Famous, Powerful Politician Dies at 78

Almost from the moment he arrived in Washington, D.C., as a young, firebrand civil rights activist, Marion S. Barry, Jr., captured the imagination of the city, as he made headlines and news, for better and worse. He was mayor of D.C. for four terms and dubbed “Mayor for Life.”

He was at the center of a political firestorm in the infamous 1990 drug bust at a downtown D.C. hotel room. He went to prison and returned in a kind of triumph to become mayor again. He would rise again to become Ward 8 City Council member, and time and time again, through sickness and health, a censure by the District Council, and most recently, a controversial autobiography, Barry made news. He was admired and loved and often when spoke, he outraged more than a lot of people. He was a seemingly endless fodder for stories and headlines.

Here is the latest—but not probably not last—headline about him: “Marion Barry, Four-term Mayor of the District of Columbia, Dead at 78.”

Barry, who had entered the hospital over the weekend, died in the early hours of Nov. 23, after being released to his home. He had been battling various illnesses for a number of years. He died at United Medical Center.

The last time we saw Barry, we interviewed him during lunch at the Fours Seasons Hotel in Georgetown about his autobiography, “Mayor for Life: The Incredible Life of Marion Barry Jr.” It is a book which proved revealing about his deep South upbringing that forged his politics and thinking. It also provides some shocking details about that 1990 sting operation that led to his prison term.

Mayor Vincent Gray issued this statement about Barry’s passing: “Marion was not just a colleague but also was a friend with whom I shared many fond moments about governing the city. He loved the District of Columbia, and so many Washingtonians loved him.”

As the Ward 8 Councilmember, Barry supported an embattled Gray in his bid for re-nomination as the Democratic candidate in the April primary, which was won by Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who was then supported by Barry and went on to win the general election.

Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser, “shocked and deeply saddened” by Barry’s passing, said in a statement: “Mayor Marion Barry gave a voice to those who need it most and lived his life in service to others. … He has been a part of my family for decades, and he will continue to be an example to me and so many others.”

Former mayoral candidate and the longest-serving member of the District Council, Jack Evans wrote: “Mayor Barry never backed down from the belief that Washington, D.C., should do more, should be more, for every person who lives here.”

Barry is survived by his wife, Cora, and one son, Marion Christopher Barry.

Memorial services are pending. Mayor Gray said that he will speak with the Barry family and the District Council about government ceremonies that would be “worthy of a true statesman of the District of Columbia.”