After his release from prison, Barry ran successfully for the Ward 8 city council seat in 1992, running under the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C." Upon this victory, Barry said he was "not interested in being mayor" again.

[1] This was by far the smallest Democratic victory margin in a regularly scheduled partisan citywide election since the city was granted home rule.

In the second year of her term, Barry loyalists mounted a recall campaign, which, although unsuccessful, weakened her administration.

Councillor John Ray received the endorsement of The Washington Post and was favored to win the primary.

[2] However, Barry ran a grassroots campaign, touting his record balancing the budget in 10 of his 12 years as mayor.