Another controversial politico has joined the crowded field of candidates hoping to fill David Grosso’s soon-to-be vacant at-large council seat in November.

Kathy Henderson, a longtime ANC commissioner and Ward 5 firebrand, is running as an independent candidate for the seat, while also making a comeback bid for her old Ward 5 ANC seat. Former Ward 6 ANC commissioner Keith Silver entered the at-large race last week as well.

Henderson, a familiar face (and name — a Christina Henderson is also in the race), served as an ANC commissioner up until an unsuccessful council run against Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie in 2018. In that election cycle, Henderson chose to forego her ANC spot to focus on the council race. (Although she did appear to publicly—and rather hilariously—clash with Sydelle Moore, the candidate who was running to fill her vacant ANC seat.)

Now, Henderson is up against a field of 18 other independent candidates for the at-large role, and the incumbent commissioner Moore for the ANC 5D05 seat. According to a 2013 advisory opinion from the D.C. Board of Ethics and Accountability, a sitting councilmember or council staffer may run for an ANC seat, so long as their council duties are distanced from ANC oversight. And in a regulation from the Code of the District of Columbia, a candidate cannot run for more than one office on the State Board of Education, the council, Mayor, or Attorney General in any election — but the stipulation makes no mention of concurring D.C. Council and ANC campaigns. The Office of Campaign finance did not immediately return DCist’s request for comment, nor did Henderson.

While on the ANC, Henderson was especially vocal about crime and maintained a close relationship with the Metropolitan Police Department — a position that differs from other at-large candidates who are pushing back against D.C. police funding. She received the Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Special Award in 2011 and 2014, according to her old campaign website, and created the 5D Court Watch program, an initiative that encourages residents to submit statements of how they’ve been impacted at a crime for a sentencing hearing.

In public testimony before the council’s judiciary committee following the recent protests in city — where the large majority of speakers called for defunding MPD — Henderson said the city needs police, but that there is room for improvement.

“If you think we don’t need the police, you need to take a look at that video of the shooting in broad daylight over on Simms Place, where one of the individuals pulled out an AK-47,” she said. “Do you think that unarmed police are able to deal with those individuals that are clearly undermining black lives? So if black lives matter, we need to make sure that we provide policing equally, equitably, safely in all of our communities all across the city.”

The other recent entrant, Silver, has made local headlines in the past as well, primarily for championing D.C. statehood.

Silver, who served as a Ward 6 ANC Commissioner in the area surrounding Union Station in Northeast, was arrested in a protest for D.C. voting rights and autonomy in 2011 — a story that has recently been shared on a Facebook page that appears to be promoting his current council run. (Then-mayor and now Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray was also arrested in the demonstration). Silver was acquitted in D.C. Superior Court later that year. He did not immediately return DCist’s request for comment.

With the new arrivals of Silver and Henderson, the field of independent candidates registered with BOE is now 19 people strong. Independent Asar Mustafa is also seeking the seat, per a statement of candidacy he filed with the campaign finance office, but he isn’t included on the BOE’s latest candidate list.

The deadline for candidates to file is August 5, so the list could grow even larger.

Come fall, D.C. voters will choose from the slew of independents, or one of the three non-Democratic nominees from the Republican, Statehood Green, and Libertarian parties, respectively. (D.C. typically elects an independent candidate for the non-majority party at-large seat). Democratic incumbent Robert White is also seeking re-election to his at-large seat, which he’ll likely keep: He ran unopposed and won more than 93,000 votes in the June 2 primary.