The battle royale that every D.C. political wag had been hoping for is on: Adrian M. Fenty vs. Vincent Gray. It's fairly obvious how challenger Gray is going to cast his candidacy: Youth vs. experience. Alienation vs. collaboration. Arrogance vs. avuncularity.
So how's this thing going to play out for Hizzoner? LL has been searching for [...]
This afternoon, Vincent C. Gray gave his first extended interview as a mayoral candidate to NewsChannel 8's Bruce DePuyt.
"I would be a very different kind of leader," Gray said. "I'm an engaging person; I like to reach out to people." He later added: "People are saying, 'OK, I will acknowledge there have been certain things [...]
Vincent C. Gray kicked off his challenge to incumbent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty this afternoon, telling a crowd of more than 100 outside the Frank D. Reeves Center, "We can do better in the District of Columbia."
But that was about all that Gray said.
Aside from a nod to "connecting with every voter that we possibly [...]
When word leaked yesterday that D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray would be running for mayor, political junkies salivated, union officials cheered, and local athletes sure noticed, too.
You see, under Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, it's been a halcyon era for folks who, like Hizzoner, who push themselves to the limit in marathons, triathlons, and competitive [...]
It's high time that somebody pounced
And Vincent has all but announced
So long on the fence (oh hey, speaking of...)
The man got some sense (still needs more cents though)
And now let's just see who gets trounced
From nothing, it seems there are two
As Don joins the hullabaloo
Right 'fore his vacation
The man's inclination?
Towards joining the mayoral queue
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is reportedly announcing a mayoral run tomorrow, and if you think that R. Donahue Peebles—his main company in the will-he-run-or-won't-he-run derby—will be standing beside him offering an endorsement, think again.
Continuing a pattern that's played out several times in recent months, just when it seems Peebles might fade into a [...]
If Vince Gray runs for mayor as reports indicate, he forfeits an almost certain re-election as council chairman. So who runs?
Jack Evans: Back in September, the Ward 2 councilmember told LL he'd "be interested" in running for chair if Gray ran for mayor. But Evans, in his past, has pledged mayoral runs only to think [...]
UPDATED, 5:40 P.M.
Ahead of an imminent mayoral run, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is moving to quell concerns about an unpermitted fence surrounding his Hillcrest home.
Jeffrey Anderson reported in the Washington Times earlier this month that the District Department of Transportation threatened to fine Gray $300 for the six-foot-high fence, which exceeds the 48-inch [...]
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray will enter the mayoral race tomorrow, close sources tell LL, ending months of deliberations.
Gray will file papers with the city campaign finance office shortly before 2 p.m.; he will address a small group of supporters outside the Frank D. Reeves Center afterward, the sources say. A larger campaign kickoff will [...]
UPDATED 12:25 P.M.
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, appearing on WPFW-FM this morning, says he'll decide on a mayoral run next week, bringing to an end prolonged deliberations that have kept city political observers on edge.
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray "has told confidants that he is leaning toward running for the city's top political office," WaPo's Nikita Stewart and Paul Schwartzman are reporting this afternoon.
They write that "several sources familiar with his thinking said that a core group of his supporters has outlined a fundraising strategy for the mayor's [...]
Scuttlebutt this week has centered around D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray possibly announcing a mayoral run this week. But developer R. Donahue Peebles remains very much in the mix.
A hint that the wheels are in motion: Asher Corson, an ambitious young Foggy Bottom activist and staffer for Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, resigned from [...]
FINAL UPDATE 5:45 P.M.
Adrian M. Fenty, Democrat for mayor
Contributions This Period: $327,306 ($3,904,007 total)
Expenditures This Period: $57,656 ($570,388 total)
Cash on Hand: $3,333,619
The Skinny: For what's typically among the least active reporting periods, Team Green delivered another impressive haul, inching the total haul toward $4 million. The donors, per usual, are heavily from the building industry, [...]
Former school board member Jeff Smith says he's ready for a full-on challenge to Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham.
"I'm not positive yet, but we're probably going to file in the next couple of days," says Smith, who has run an exploratory campaign since December.
He's already on the attack: In a posting today on his Web [...]
LL learned today that Anthony Motley has a different crisis-management strategy than his patron, Marion Barry.
Both have been forced to respond to findings of misdeeds contained in Robert S. Bennett's report on council contract and earmarks. But where Barry issued a short statement yesterday in the sanctuary of a church, taking no questions, Motley today [...]
