Two weeks after LaRuby May was sworn in as Ward 8’s newest councilmember, second-place candidate Trayon White is calling it quits. White’s campaign has asked the D.C. Board of Elections to stop the recount the campaign requested last week, according to elections board.

White, who lost to May’s vastly better-funded campaign by just 79 votes, asked DCBOE on May 22 to recount ballots from the April 28 special election in some precincts. The recount started Thursday and ran for just a few hours before the campaign called it off, according to DCBOE spokeswoman Denise Tolliver.

Political tensions appear to have eased since shortly after the election, when White and May supporters nearly brawled at a parade. May patron Muriel Bowser even gave White a shout-out at her budget rally in the ward. Don’t expect that to last, though—-White told LL hours after polls closed last month that he plans to run again for the seat when it’s available next year.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery