Unfit for Office

It's time for the D.C. Council to take action against Marion Barry.

MARION BARRY is way past the point of being able to further tarnish his reputation. Sadly, though, he still has the power to damage the city he is supposed to serve, a fact made painfully clear by revelations that he apparently used the public payroll to reward and possibly punish a girlfriend. Even though federal prosecutors have opted not to press a stalking charge against the former mayor and current D.C. Council member for Ward 8, Mr. Barry is not fit for office. It is time that city officials take action.

Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips released a statement last night announcing that no criminal charges would be pursued against Mr. Barry, who was arrested by Park Service Police on Saturday night after a dispute with ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. That, though, does not absolve Mr. Barry of the troubling circumstances surrounding his employment of Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt. As reported by The Post's Tim Craig, Mr. Barry hired Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt as a consultant in "poverty reduction strategies" two months after the start of his relationship with her. At one point, he ordered the $60,000 contract terminated, only to have it later reinstated. Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt has received $15,000, with another $5,000 authorized.

In defending Mr. Barry against the stalking charge, representatives have sought to portray Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt as unstable -- which prompts the obvious question of why she was hired. "She met the criteria for the job and the qualifications for the job," Mr. Barry's spokeswoman gamely said at Tuesday night's surreal news conference. A better clue as to why Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt was hired can be gleaned from the embarrassing exchange of voice mails obtained by the City Paper in which, at one point, Mr. Barry professed to be "addicted" to the 40-year-old woman. It's disturbing to think that a city facing such severe financial pressures can hand out precious public money on the unexamined whim of a besotted council member. More also must be known about the out-of-town trips that the City Paper reported she took with Mr. Barry.

We know that because of his iconic political standing there is a standard response to Mr. Barry's misbehavior: to look away and say nothing except "that's Marion." That certainly was the case when he so flagrantly thumbed his nose at obligations to file and pay his federal income taxes and was permitted to remain on the council's powerful committee on revenue and finance. The council has no formal mechanism to censure or discipline a member, but that shouldn't stop Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) from letting the public know that he won't tolerate misdeeds that reflect poorly on the city. Mr. Gray already had ordered council procedures reviewed for a new code of conduct. Mr. Barry must be admonished, and contracting rules must be tightened; the city's attorney general also should launch an investigation into whether any ethical laws were breached.