Marion Barry Announces Run for D.C. City Council

FORMER Mayor Marion Barry, fresh from a six-month prison sentence for cocaine possession, ended widespread speculation about his political future Saturday by announcing he will run for a City Council seat.

"There is a living God for I have experienced a spiritual resurrection - a living proof that there is life after death," Barry said in a speech outside his campaign office.

"My decision to run is a continuation of 30 years of serving ... uplifting and advocating on behalf of the people," said Barry, who was released from prison in April.

Barry, wearing a Ghanaian-style business suit accented with African kente cloth, said he will seek a council seat from Ward 8 in southeast Washington - the city's poorest area - competing with incumbent Wilhelmina Rolark.

Ms. Rolark and about 30 of her supporters disrupted the speech several times by driving by. Barry made no comment about the interruptions, saying only that he would not engage in a "mudslinging" campaign.

Barry was the city's second elected mayor before being convicted of smoking crack cocaine.