For the second time in three years, Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was censured by the D.C. Council, this time for accepting cash gifts from city contractors.

The Council voted 9-4 to censure Barry and strip him of his committee chairmanship, with Councilmembers Vincent Orange (D-At Large), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) defending the long-serving politician.

While Evans said he did not “endorse” Barry’s actions, “in this case, Mr. Barry recognized that he had done something wrong, came forward with it.” Indeed, Barry reported the cash payments – one of which was reportedly handed over in a strip club – on financial disclosure forms. Orange argued that Councilmembers David Grosso (I-At Large) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large) shouldn’t be able to vote on the censure, as they’re able to take over the Committee on Workforce and Community Affairs.

Barry was censured and fined in July by the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability for accepting $2,800 from Forney Enterprises Inc. and $4,800 from F&L Construction, two firms that work on city projects. Keith Forney told the Washington Post he believed the money was used for personal expenses.

In 2010, Barry was also censured and stripped of committee chairmanships after a report accused him of helping to award a city contract to a former girlfriend.

“If you do this, you ignore justice,” Barry said as he insisted that he had broken no law when he directed earmarks to his close friends, and when he granted a personal services contract to his former girlfriend and then took money from those paychecks for himself. He said Bennett’s report, which he described as “flawed” and “inflammatory,” reduced him to “a Southeast hustler.”

Although Barry tried to avoid censure, he later seemed resigned to it. “I’m ready to get this behind me,” he said. “I’m ready to get this behind the Council.”