DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced she accepted his resignation Wednesday afternoon. “I regret to say that I have accepted the resignation of Deputy Mayor Chris Geldart,” Bowser said at a press conference. “But I’m proud of the work we’ve done together over the last few years.” He declined to reveal what prompted Geldart to resign, other than that “all the questions that are being raised are distracting from his work and my work.” Bowser said the resignation was a “mutual” decision and that the two had a “face-to-face” conversation. DC Deputy Mayor of Public Safety on leave after assault charge Geldart’s departure was first reported by NBC4. “I no longer wanted to distract from the vital work of the District government’s Public Safety services,” he told the news station. He did not respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post. Geldart had been on leave since early last week, when police said the personal trainer filed a criminal complaint alleging Geldart grabbed him by the throat in a parking lot of a Gold’s Gym in Arlington on Oct. 1. Geldart is scheduled to appear in court Monday for a hearing on the criminal charge. Bowser said City Administrator Kevin Donahue will oversee D.C.’s public safety services until the city hires a permanent replacement. Donahue stepped in for Geldart when he was placed on leave last week. Bowser’s office initially downplayed the assault claim, saying in a statement that it “sounds like something that happens to a lot of people.” The mayor said Wednesday that she had not seen video of the attack when her office made the comment. Video from part of the encounter shows personal trainer Dustin Woodward and Geldart pointing aggressively at each other before Geldart approaches Woodward and the two go chest to chest. Woodward claims the deputy mayor grabbed him by the throat. The video shows Geldart appearing to push him before Woodward pushes his arm away. “The response was serious,” Bowser said. “But… it wasn’t for nothing.” The fight started when Geldart’s car door hit the car Woodward was riding in in the parking lot, according to Woodward’s account. “It’s a lot,” Woodward said in a statement, referring to Geldart’s resignation. “I’m not necessarily happy that he resigned. There’s a lot of mixed feelings there.” Shortly after the incident, Geldart came under scrutiny regarding his residence. An Arlington County police statement about the incident said Geldart lived in Falls Church, Virginia, causing community leaders to worry that the deputy mayor was violating D.C. law. According to district code, high-level executive appointees must be city residents within 180 days of their appointment and remain so for the duration of their term. Bowser previously said she knew Geldart had a home in Virginia where his family lived and that he was allowed to have a second home. On Wednesday, she said Geldart “claims to have taken up residence in the District” and stressed that she expects her cabinet members to be “bona fide” residents of the city. Geldart had served since early 2021 as deputy mayor of public safety and justice, a position that includes oversight of the city’s police, emergency and fire response, jails and other agencies tasked with protecting DC residents . He previously held roles leading DC’s Department of Public Works and Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and was praised by the mayor for his role in the city’s early response to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2017, he resigned from his position at the helm of D.C.’s Homeland Security agency amid allegations that he used the office to benefit a “close personal acquaintance.” The city’s ethics board ultimately dismissed the investigation, citing insufficient evidence. “Chris was a very capable and efficient public servant,” Bowser said Wednesday.
