If you’re the mayor of Toronto and you get caught smoking crack, you get voted out of office. If you’re the mayor of the United States’ capital and you get caught smoking crack, you get reelected and the city builds you a statue.
That’s what will happen if the Barry Commemorative Commission gets its way, WTOP reports.
Wednesday night the special commission got together to brainstorm wasy to permanently honor Marion Barry, the man who served four terms as District of Columbia mayor, and along the way did a six month stint in federal prison for crack cocaine possession.
Set up by current D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to honor the late “Mayor-for-Life” Marion Barry, the commission wants to go all out in his honor.
Ideas proposed by community members to honor Barry include, according to the Washington City Paper, building a statue of the former mayor in front of city hall, renaming a high school in his old neighborhood after him and even establishing a museum for him.
Christopher Barry, the former mayor’s son, who has seen his own legal issues lately, said his father deserves to be honored with the rest of the country’s founding fathers.
“Washington is a city that’s defined by its monuments and its landmarks, starting with the founding father of this nation, George Washington,” said Barry, a member of the commission. “And I see Marion Barry as being the founding father of Chocolate City.”
The commission will submit its final decision by the end of the year, so the city can include funding for the memorials in its 2017 budget.
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