Anita Bonds, a longtime fixture in the background of District politics, was selected tonight to be an interim at-large councilmember by the D.C. Democratic State Committee. She easily dispatched her opponents, Doug Sloan and John Capozzi, to win 55 of the 71 votes cast.

Bonds, head of the DCDSC, is set to be sworn in tomorrow morning.

“I’m a doer,” Bonds told the local Democratic Party’s members just prior to the vote. “I’m someone who can pull things through.”

Former Mayor-for-Life and Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry was on hand to see his longtime aide win elected office.

“You made a wise choice,” Barry told the Democrats after they’d voted for Bonds.

The selection of Bonds, who works for Fort Myer Construction, means two of the Council’s 13 members work for contractors that do significant business with the city*; At-Large Councilmember David Catania works for M.C. Dean. Both outside jobs are entirely legal under the District’s ethics rules.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

*This post has been updated.