Ex-mayor Marion Barry apologizes for awarding DC contract to former girlfriend
By APTuesday, February 23, 2010
Marion Barry apologizes for contract to girlfriend
WASHINGTON — Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is apologizing for embarrassing the city by improperly awarding a contract to a woman he had been dating.
Barry, now a D.C. Council member, said Tuesday at a southeast Washington church that he hadn’t done anything illegal but that he was sorry for his “very, very poor judgment.”
He says the contract wasn’t a conflict of interest but was a violation of good judgment.
Barry’s apology came a week after an investigation by attorney Robert S. Bennett concluded the Barry violated conflict-of-interest laws when he awarded a contract to his girlfriend.
In July, Barry was arrested for stalking the woman, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. The charges were dropped but drew attention to the contract she had been awarded by Barry’s office.
