WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former District of Columbia mayoral candidate has pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving without a valid license.

Sulaimon Brown entered the plea Tuesday and requested to go to trial. He was ordered to return to court on Nov. 14.

Brown lives in Washington but has a Maryland driver's license he claims is valid. Judge Richard Ringell advised him to obtain a D.C. license before he returns to court and said he could be jailed if he's caught driving again without a valid license.

A charge of failure to obey stemming from his September arrest was dropped.

Brown has accused aides to Mayor Vincent Gray of paying him and promising him a job during last year's campaign to disparage then-Mayor Adrian Fenty. Federal authorities are investigating those claims.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)