PRESS RELEASE: MOTLEY WITHDRAWS CANDIDACY FOR A SEAT ON THE DC CITY COUNCIL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Reverend Anthony J. Motley
(202) 373-0663 (day)
(202) 327-4837 (cell)
email: revajmotley@aol.com



MOTLEY WITHDRAWS CANDIDACY FOR A SEAT ON THE DC CITY COUNCIL

Washington, DC (September 2, 2010) -- Anthony “Tony” Motley, Candidate for an At-Large seat on the District of Columbia’s City Council in 2010 announced today that he is withdrawing his candidacy for an At-Large seat on the DC City Council. According to Motley with the notice, from the Board of Elections and Ethics dated Monday, August 30, 2010, informing him that their preliminary review of his petitions determined that he did not have enough signatures “to meet the requirements to have his name appear on the ballot”, he is withdrawing as a candidate for the At-Large Seat and will not seek any public office at this time.


Motley wants his supporters to know that he appreciates their efforts and all of their support. Unfortunately during the campaign we experienced several major set backs and distractions. Multiple deaths in his campaign to include that of the Chairman of the Motley 2010 Committee, a senior member of his public relations team, two of his devoted outreach workers, and the death of his coordinator for Bi-Sexual, Gay and Lesbian affairs, who was also his goddaughter, all have taken a toll on him and the campaign. Moreover, the investigation which resulted in the infamous Bennett Report, which he and others were subsequently exonerated by the DC Office of Campaign Finance and the DC Auditor (see Motley’s response, attached), engulfed his candidacy, and was also a challenge to the campaign in terms of keeping supporters on board, money being raised, and getting the required signatures for a ballot position.


Motley will take time off to devote to his family, which includes his ten week old daughter Lauryn, his career as an educator, strategic planner, social entrepreneur, and minister of the Gospel.


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4409 South Capitol Street, SW, Washington, DC 20032
(202) 373-0663 voice, (202) 327-4837
www.motley2010.com 

DC Council Candidate Anthony Motley’s Response to the Media With Regard to the DC Office of Campaign Finance Report and A Report from the DC Auditor on Earmark Funding



As I listened to and watched the recent unfolding of the Shirley Sherrod story that embroiled the Department of Agriculture, White House and even the NAACP, I was reminded of my own situation here in the District of Columbia as it relates to the Marion Barry investigation and the subsequent Bennett Report.


Ms. Sherrod’s reputation was sullied as a result of false allegations, mis-representation of videotape documentation, statements taken out of context, and individuals in authority quick to condemn and to judge.


In my case, as a result of a biased investigative report, which subsequently has been refuted by the recent DC Office of Campaign Finance Report regarding Mr. Barry and the DC Auditor’s Report on Earmark Funding, I have been tainted with the appearance of impropriety and questionable ethical conduct.


The reports from both the DC Office of Campaign Finance and the DC Auditor determined that there were no laws broken and that the earmark funds expended were in fact spent in accordance with the granting agency’s process and internal accounting procedures. In other words the claims made by the Bennett Report against those identified in the report, including myself, were from the very beginning, suspicious and narrowly-focused.


Moreover, Bennett’s reports of alleged falsification of documents was not true. No money from a scholarship fund was spent on items other than for its intended purpose. The charge that I received monies as a consultant with no justification was not true. And finally, the charge that there was an allocation of funds beyond the fiscal year program period was equally untrue. However, it should be noted that the media, especially the printed media, along with some blogs, have been quick to take what was reported in the Bennett Report as the truth and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, those who practice this brand of irresponsible journalism have chosen not to print the results of the investigation which determined that the “rule of law” was not violated. Instead, the opinions of those with questionable motivations and suspicious political interests remain standing.


I have been ridiculed in the papers and on the internet, accused of something I did not do. And for the things that I did do, nothing was sinister or illegal. However, the public wouldn’t know because some in the media refuse to come back with a story to give balance to the ugliness first reported in the Spring of this year.


Like Shirley Sherrod, I believe that I deserve my chance in the public forum to inform the people of the outcome of the rule of law investigation and the auditor’s report. With these two reports, along with the internal investigation conducted by my own organization, which has found no wrongdoing or criminal activity on my part, I should be able to move forward personally and professionally.


In conclusion, I maintain my earlier position that those of us investigated by Mr. Bennett and his team were simply targeted because of our association with Mr. Barry and were treated like criminals from the very beginning of the investigation. Now that Mr. Barry has been exonerated of any wrongdoing by the very agencies responsible for determining the rule of law, not just simply stating an opinion, I think that it is incumbered upon all media, especially the print media and blogs, to report the truth and not just the opinion of an investigative body that was hell bent on finding something wrong even if they had to distort the facts and state things out of context.

Reverend Anthony J. Motley
Social Entrepreneur/Engineer and
Former Candidate for City Council At-Large


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