‘Let’s Get It On!’ Gray and Fenty Drop the Gloves in Tenleytown
Mayor Adrian Fenty trumpeted his record while bashing that of his main campaign rival, Vincent Gray, at a forum of the mayoral candidates last night at St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Tenleytown.
When a question about the District's juvenile justice system was asked, for example, Fenty took the opportunity to remind the crowd that Gray had served as the Director of Health and Human Services under Sharon Pratt Kelly, "when the courts took over," the mayor said. While New Beginnings and the rest of the juvenile justice system may have problems currently, Fenty added, "we have gotten results."
Fenty approached budget issues in a similar way, touting his budget balancing skills while claiming "the number one agency that had a deficit in the early '90s was Health and Human Services."
After multiple mentions of his tenure under Pratt Kelly, though, Gray had enough. "Mr. Mayor, you keep coming back to my record at the Department of Health and Human Services ... I'll put my record against yours any day," he said. "You want to talk about my record? Let's get it on!"
While Fenty seemed intent on harping on Gray's record from decades' past, there were plenty of recent decisions on the mayor's own watch for Gray and the three other challengers to attack. Gray, for one, promised that "this council chair is not going to put three developers on the zoning commission" and called the Fenty administration "one of the most opaque" he had ever worked with.
Leo Alexander, the premiere second-tier candidate, decried declining SAT scores, a widening achievement gap, and the suspicious contracts given to Fenty's fraternity brothers. But Alexander was also eager to group the two front-runners together, referring at times to the "Fenty/Gray administration" and promising that neither would "do anything different."
The other candidates at the debate, Sulaimon Brown and Ernest Johnson, spent a good deal of time talking about their major issues—fiscal responsibility and providing services to low-income residents, respectively—but they largely served as comic relief.
After a heated sparring match between Fenty and Gray, Johnson quipped, "You can see from the back and forth why we haven't gotten anything done in the past three years." Later, when asked about the issues of D.C. statehood and home rule, Johnson said he was in favor of statehood but was also a realist—"we just got permission from Congress to pass out condoms," he noted.
Brown, for his part, ended the evening by imploring the audience to "vote for any color—Brown, Gray–just please don't vote for Fenty."
11:48 am
How can Gray be unprepared to answer those questions two times in a row. Where is the specific response from Gray about his record.
Did Gray defend his record in Pratt Admin? It seems to me that he needs to adress the assertions. Jumping up, finger waiving and throwing out his campaign slogan ("lets get it on") doesn't answer the question.
And, the "decades past" line in this story sounds a bit loaded.
Gray is 67 years years old. 80% of his professional life was "decades ago". Are voters supposed to ignore the mans track record within as District of Columbia? I would say that Director of an Agency is fair game to discuss. But, oh yes, Anybody but Fenty...Fenty is the one that is supposed to sit there as Gray atacks him at everyturn.
6:43 pm
hymesb although I often disagree with you and know that you're a Fenty-flunkie on the City's payroll out campaigning for Fenty when you're on the clock with taxpayer dollars...I wondered where was Gray's response to Fenty's allegations as well.
Hopefully it is an error in the now Debonisless reporting of CP.
7:28 pm
Like Fenty said to one city Gray: The truth hurts!
8:45 pm
The 90's were just that.....the 90's. Will Fenty defend his screwup of an elderly man's estate as a jack-leg lawler 4-5 years ago?
Mrs. Fenty couldn't get on his nuts if she wanted to with you two guys around.
9:03 pm
Leo Alexander and Suleymon Brown made more sense than Fenty and Gray put together. Fenty is steely. No amount of booing would stop him from talking about Gray's record. Both Gray and Fenty were mired it the past. The only one who talked about the future was Alexander. He was the surprise of the night.
12:30 am
Fenty can't even remember that he is the Mayor as was so beautifully pointed out on Fox morning news and he wants to compare records. Mr. Gray has a record of helping people, elderly, youth and the mentally and physially challenged. To keep bringing up a situation in time when Mr. Gray "INHERITED" the mess that was DHS shows that Mr. Fenty has NOTHING to smear Mr. Gray with. Yet we have millions of dollars in contracts, appointments to zoning boards of frat brothers, Sinclair Skinner, $2million dollar checks cut on Christmas Eve, wrongful terminations of employees who dare to disagree with the theft of city services and special priveledges of Administration personnel and the list goes ON!!! But for clarity I have posted the information from the post and former alum Mr. Mike Bebonis.
Last night, at a candidates' forum sponsored by the Ward 3 Democrats, Fenty opened the direct attacks on Gray after a question on juvenile justice.
"At that time, the courts took over the juvenile justice system under a case called Jerry M." he said. "One of the things that the government failed to do in that time is close [the infamous Oak Hill Youth Center] and make it into a world-class facility."
"There are distinctions in this campaign," Fenty closed. "This is a huge one."
Gray responded angrily at the next opportunity: "How could you be so uninformed?" he said. The Jerry M. case, he said, "was filed in 1986" -- well before he became human services director. He also took credit for closing two delinquent youth facilities that had as poor a reputation as Oak Hill: the Cedar Knoll Youth Detention Center in Anne Arundel County and the Receiving Home for Children on Mount Olivet Road NE.
Further, he claimed, "We began to introduce services to people that were rehabilitative in nature."
So here's the independent fact-check: Gray was more correct than Fenty on Jerry M., but neither are perfect. The Jerry M. case was filed in 1985; the city signed a consent decree with plaintiffs in 1986, establishing an ongoing judicial role in city's juvenile justice system. During Gray's tenure, the city's movement of youths into community-based programs failed to solve overcrowding problems at the detention centers.
With no money to build any new facilities, the problem compounded. In 1994, toward the end of Gray's time as director, the Superior Court judge overseeing Jerry M. ordered the city to pay $1,000-a-day fines for each youth held over court-imposed population limits.
Both the Receiving Home and Cedar Knoll did close under Gray's tenure. But the city did not do so without great pressure from judges and -- in the case of Cedar Knoll -- Congress. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), whose district included Cedar Knoll, passed legislation requiring the facility's closure.
It's worth noting that the issue of overcrowding at delinquent-youth facilities is still very much with us. The Receiving Home's replacement -- the Youth Services Center built by Mayor Anthony Williams on the same Mount Olivet Road site -- has suffered from the same overcrowding problems under Fenty. Some say the replacement for Oak Hill -- the New Beginnings Youth Facility -- is too small to accommodate demand.
8:22 am
@Wendy: How much are you paid to be a Gray flunkie?
If you and other Barry-era cronies support Gray, that about says it all for me.
I may not like Fenty. But I sure dislike Gray's Barry-esque flashbacks even less.
8:13 pm
Sally just a lil' FYI, unlike Fenty, the majority of the Vince Gray for Mayor campaign team are UNPAID volunteer workers and 3rd and 4th and 5th generation DC residents.
While Fenty's Green Team of campaign workers are paid recent college grads from New England and the midwest that relocated to DC because they like everyone else became overwhelmed with "DC nostalgia" once Obama got in the White House and they saw the Real World DC.
These college grads working for Fenty's campaign are no different than census workers...taking whatever job they can get to hold them over. Or a GAP employee or a used car salesman. Especially with how agressive they've become you'd think Fenty was giving them a commission for every person that allows them to put a green Fenty sign in their yard.
And of course King Fenty has promised these kids government jobs that they aren't qualified for if he wins reelection.
9:39 am
I hope these college students understand what a big liar this man is.
11:13 am
Sally.
Mayor Fenty was endorsed by Barry---AND accepted that endorsement proudly.
And when you say Barry it sound like racial coding. It simply does.
Because of the use of racial coding in your talking points---Fenty has turned people off.
Going forward I do believe Chairman Gray should make his case. We know why we support chairman Gray but the very few persuadable votes left Howard University not knowing anything about Chairman Gray. Mayor Fenty is at 31% of the vote--and that is not likely to climb significantly. 2/3 of voters have expressed that they want a new alternatives.
The time you spend sparring with Fenty is time wasted away from making your case.
12:08 pm
I have to agree with Brahmin. In marketing it is a risk to mention your rival--you give them free advertisement in doing so. Do so sparingly.
The people in my neighborhood know they don't like Fenty. They are waiting to like Gray but the forums would not have provided the needed information to make that decision. He needs to change that.
The people who have come to Gray side is due to great neighbor-to-neighbor volunteer staff. They are great messengers but for some people there is no substitution outside the candidate. He need to start speaking about his good record.
Leave Fenty to himself he is his own walking opposition, after years of on camera interviews he has not improved. He claims to be a leader but his campaign staff are silly college students or hired unsupervised thugs.
6:24 pm
@ Brahmin: Missed the made up endorsement of Fenty by Barry. Must've occurred the same day Gray endorsed Fenty.
Regarding racial politics, that's Gray's campaign in a nutshell. Fenty, to his credit, has refused to take Gray's bait.
9:28 pm
@Truth: There's no bait to take, Fenty's harping on what happened what,10 years ago? Every DC Government Agency has OVER SPENT their budget; especially the D.C. Fire Department. He rolled over to appease the Rosenbaum's and the Department's no better than what it was before; actually it's worse and severly over budget.
Crime is susposedly down due to the court ruled unlawful/illegal All Hands on Deck by MPD, and even you wouldn't dare try to justify Fenty spending 400,000 on a doggie park while the Fenty administration is laying off/firing city workers left and right.
10:29 am
DC has spent tens of millions on recreation centers in recent years, and hundreds of millions on schools.
$400K on a park for people to take their dogs to isn't out of line- it's chump change.
I don't even own a dog and appreciate that these are being built. They help keep dogs out of the school yards and parks where my kids play.
4:17 pm
I stand corrected..........you would dare to defend it. BULLSHIT!!!! You've got Fenty's nuts in your mouth like you're a squirrel.
11:22 pm
So it's true. Brahmin's makes up tea party b.s. for foolish haters and S.E. can't post a comment without talking about sucking on Fenty's nuts. Welcome to D.C. one city Gray style.
7:46 am
The "Truth Hurts!"
12:20 am
Going forward I do believe Chairman Gray should make his case. We know why we support chairman Gray but the very few persuadable votes left Howard University not knowing anything about Chairman Gray. Mayor Fenty is at 31% of the vote--and that is not likely to climb significantly. 2/3 of voters have expressed that they want a new alternatives.
The time you spend sparring with Fenty is time wasted away from making your case.
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