By Editorial Board  January 16WARD 8 has plenty of problems that demand attention. Unemployment is high, poverty is pervasive, its homicide rate is the city’s highest and neighborhoods are starved for development. The last thing the historically underserved residents of this ward need is a D.C. Council member burdened with personal problems. That is why we hope that new allegations about a candidate with an already-checkered history will cause him to drop out of the council race.  

Marion Christopher Barry, the son of the late D.C. mayor, has emerged as a favorite  for April’s special election to fill the Ward 8 seat by virtue of his pedigree name (he went by his middle name for most of his life but is running as Marion C. Barry). No matter what the younger Barry calls himself, voters need to be concerned about his conduct.  According to police, Mr. Barry — on probation for an earlier offense — recently threatened a bank teller and then hurled a trash can that destroyed a surveillance camera when he was told his account was overdrawn.