Barry Takes A Swipe At Stadium

A day after his victory in the Ward 8 council primary, Marion Barry rushes to greet supporters on a bus on Martin Luther Avenue SE. (Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)

Barry said he wants to unify the ward and is organizing a lunch to which he plans to invite Wilson and each of his six opponents in the primary.

He brushed aside any invitation to discuss Williams's management of the city or whether he would have any interest in seeking the mayoralty in the future. "I'm focused on Ward 8," he said.

Barry's victory Tuesday stunned the city's political establishment, which had largely dismissed him as a marginal player, particularly after the District spent his last term as mayor mired in a financial crisis. And his widely publicized personal troubles -- including a 1990 arrest for cocaine possession -- didn't help his chances.

But Barry demonstrated that he can still get voters to the polls. In the weeks before the election, his campaign manager said, Barry's team had identified 4,000 probable supporters, who filled out cards with their phone numbers and addresses and indicated whether they would need a ride to the polls.

The effort to turn out voters was crucial. On Tuesday, Allen received 2,061 votes, almost as many as when she won the 2000 primary. But Barry wound up with 4,728.

About 16 vehicles -- some rented, others donated by volunteers -- were decked out in green and dispatched to make sure that all those who said they would support Barry got to the polls.

"We knew if we got 4,000 support cards, we would win this election," said Velma Bell, the campaign manager. "We put the names in our data base, and we messaged those daily, every time we had meetings, every time we had events. That was our support."

After waking up at the Washington Court Hotel on New Jersey Avenue NW, Barry spent the morning doing telephone interviews before driving to his headquarters, where a small crowd of journalists awaited his arrival.

"I feel fantabulous," he said.

Responding to questions about his plans, Barry vowed to work with the mayor and the returning incumbents, none of whom publicly supported his election.

Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) had already called to congratulate him, Barry said, and council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) had shown up at his victory party. Barry said that he had not heard from the mayor but that his cell phone's service was spotty Tuesday night.

He said that he was not surprised that longtime council incumbents such as Kevin P. Chavous (D) had lost Tuesday and that he had warned Chavous that his Ward 7 constituents regarded him as too aloof.

"I told Kevin Chavous, you better get busy out here," Barry said.

Referring to his own success, Barry said that God had given him a gift because he not only feels comfortable at a public housing complex but also can visit "the White House and speak the King's English."

Barry said he would introduce "four or five" legislative initiatives within a month of taking office, including one to guarantee summer jobs to young people 14 to 21 years old.

He said the program would resemble initiatives he undertook as mayor, and he estimated the cost would be $6 million a year.

In addition, Barry said he would push legislation to spur development in Southeast by requiring developers who seek zoning variances for downtown projects to build housing and commercial projects in poor neighborhoods.

"I'm going to push downtown developers to link up with Southeast," he said. "You've got to build housing out here. We're going to link the two things together."

Ward 8 struggles with many of the same problems that it faced when he was mayor, including poverty, poor schools and crime. But Barry said that it has improved, thanks to initiatives that he started when he was mayor, and that he will continue to promote change, though in a more limited role.

"We were 10 feet down in the hole," he said. "Now we're three feet from the top of the hole. We'll get there."

Staff writers Hamil R. Harris, Thomas Heath and Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.