<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654087318494,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654087318494,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54087221", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1023197"} }); ","_id":"00000181-1f49-d297-a5e3-1fcd778e0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA mayoral hopeful in Washington, D.C., is urging a court to halt a debate from happening unless he is allowed to participate, according to a temporary restraining order announced on Tuesday.
James Butler filed the request with the district’s Superior Court last week in a bid to prevent a scheduled debate between mayoral candidates to go on, arguing on Tuesday he is being unlawfully barred from participating. The debate is set to take place Wednesday night at Georgetown University and will feature incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser and challengers Trayon White and Robert White.
DC ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES MARK ZUCKERBERG FOR FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY FAILURES
“This is a fight for free information for the people and voters of the District of Columbia,” Butler told reporters on Tuesday. “They have a right to know who is on the ballot.”
Event organizers filed to dismiss the case, arguing Butler did not meet the criteria established by the university. To be eligible, candidates must have secured 1,000 campaign donations, polled at 3% or higher in an independent public poll sponsored by a news organization, or taken part in the district’s public financing program, according to the event organizers. Butler is the only candidate who does not meet any of the three requirements.
The mayoral hopeful argued he should qualify via a Twitter poll conducted by the Washington Informer on May 2 that showed 41% of 161 respondents would vote for Butler in the June primary. The university did not specify how polling must be conducted, but a university official clarified later that Twitter polls do not meet its standards, according to court filings.
Georgetown has filed to dismiss the case, arguing the restraining order and injunction “fail to identify a precise cause of action against Georgetown and are legally deficient.” The university has also requested to move the complaint from the Superior Court to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit because Butler invoked a federal equal opportunity law.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Three candidates met our qualification requirements, and as of today, all three have confirmed. Out of fairness to all candidates, we are unable to accommodate requests by any individual candidate to change the impartial eligibility criteria that were established over three months ago,” Georgetown told WTOP.
The court is set to hold a preliminary hearing for the case Wednesday morning. It’s unclear whether it will affect the debate that is scheduled to take place just hours later.
