[5] Allen was convicted for DUI in 1996[6] while a student at Washington and Lee University, and did not disclose this when running for re-election to Council of the District of Columbia.

[7] As chairman of the grass roots Democratic organization D.C. for Democracy, Allen sent hundreds of District residents to other states to campaign.

[10] While president, the group voted to urge the Council of the District of Columbia to pass a law legalizing same-sex marriage.

[9] In 2012, the D.C. Democratic State Committee chose the person to replace Phil Mendelson as at-large council member for 70 days before a special election was held.

[11] Allen was opposed to the process, saying that only the voters should choose the replacement for an at-large vacancy, not a small group of party committee members.

[12] Darrel Thompson, a former deputy chief of staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also ran in the Democratic primary.

[25] Allen and his treasurer Patrick Johnson opted for a campaign finance model that did not accept corporate donations.

[36] In an advertisement released in April, 2022, the Police Union points to Allen and Phil Mendelson for the results of crime bills that do not support law enforcement.

The police union placed blame on the increase in violence on Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen who they claim has "turned a blind eye to concerned residents and public safety experts, rather he chooses to cater to an activist crowd whose agenda is anti-police whatever the cost."

Allen's office responded, calling representation of the police force "lackluster," and blaming the uptick in gun violence across the city on the pandemic.

[38] The recall was filed by a group of Ward 6 residents who object to "soft on crime" and "anti-police" legislation that Allen shepherded through the D.C. Council during his tenure as chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.