Washington Mayor Berry Takes Leave
Mayor Marion Barry, embroiled in a financial crisis gripping the capital city, checked into a retreat center Saturday to head off what his wife said was a danger that he could relapse in his recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.
“Relapse . . . starts way before you ever take a drink or a drug,” Cora Masters Barry told WUSA-TV. “The relapse process starts in the mind.”
Barry, who has had drug and alcohol problems in the past and served a prison term for cocaine possession, has not suffered a relapse, his wife said.
“I think the issue is making sure it doesn’t happen,” she said.
Barry’s office released a statement from the mayor saying he had not been giving proper priority to his health since surgery for prostate cancer in December. Barry, 60, noted that he has been in the middle of protracted budget battles, program cuts, job layoffs and elimination of some constituent services.
“I see telltale signs of spiritual relapse and physical exhaustion,” he said.
The mayor said he would stay for at least at least a week at the Skinner Farm, a retreat in Tracy’s Landing, Md.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
