Gray and Brown’s SUVs Cost More Than Your Rent (Updated)
Twins!
Who's ready for some awkward symbolism in a city that's considering slashing services and raising taxes to bridge a $600 million budget deficit?
How about this fact: The District's two top elected officials are cruising around in Lincoln Navigators that cost taxpayers nearly $2,000 a month to lease, each.
Ta-da!
To be precise, Mayor Vince Gray's 2010 Lincoln Navigator costs $1,941 a month, according to a contract requested from the Department of Public Works. The SUV is leased by the "executive protection unit" of the police department. The contract describes the ride as "fully loaded," with a leather interior, navigational and entertainment systems, and a "power tailgate." The lease is for one year, with the option for two additional years. According to a footnote in the contract, the lease payments would drop to a more reasonable rate of $782 a month the second year, and $671 a year by the third. Navigators appear to be official mayoral vehicle of the District; former Mayor Adrian Fenty used to commute from his home to the Wilson Building in one, while using his Smartcar to get around once at work.
Council Chairman Kwame Brown, meanwhile, drives a 2011 Lincoln Navigator that costs $1,963.28 a month. Brown's contract does not mention whether his ride is "fully loaded," but LL hopes it is, based on what he's paying. Brown's contract also appears to show the monthly rate decreasing greatly after the first year.
Taxpayers also paid an extra $1,600 fee to expedite the delivery of Brown's Navigator. DPW spokeswoman Linda Grant says her agency ordered the vehicle late and "wanted to have it here in time for the swearing-in ceremony." LL is sure all D.C. taxpayers are pleased to pay their share of that $1,600 fee to make sure Brown could ride in style from day one.
Grant didn't have an immediate answer as to why the contracts are so expensive. LL tried playing around on the Internet, but couldn't manage to convince anyone to lease him a car for anywhere near as much as the city's paying. The most expensive rate he found was about $1,200 a month on a 24-month lease. That would still cost less, over two years, than the leases DPW sent over. Also, in the category of 'just sayin': In the contracts Grant sent LL, it appears the city leases Chevy Malibus for $210 a month.
Brown's spokesman Traci Hughes says the chairman was "appalled" at the cost of the Navigator's lease, when he was informed by Hughes as she sought comment after LL inquired about it. The Wilson Building rumor mill was working overtime last week, saying Brown had requested an SUV that looked exactly like the mayor's. Hughes says that's not true. Brown was only asked if he wanted a town car or an SUV, she says, and he replied that he wanted a black SUV with a black interior. Hughes says Brown has just received his own copy of the contract and is trying to determine if it would be more expensive in the long run to back out of the deal, or just swallow the cost.
A spokeswoman for Gray says she's checking to see what his office thinks of his high-priced ride.
Close followers of city politics may recall that Brown owns his own (or did as of last summer) 2003 Lincoln Navigator. "I like cars. There's no question that Kwame likes cars ... I try to get the best value I can for the dollar I spend on my car," Brown told Post reporter Mike DeBonis in a piece focused on the sad state of Brown's personal finances.
Even closer followers may remember that when Gray was chairman he, at least initially, didn't use the city-funded car provided for him. LL knows that Gray occasionally drove (and once almost hit LL with) a black Chevy Tahoe SUV as chairman, which according to DPW, costs $1,025 a month. Grant says the lease on the Tahoe is over, and the car is "in the process" of being returned.
As of Friday morning, though, it was still parked outside the Wilson Building. Does that mean District taxpayers are still paying for it? And if so, why couldn't Brown just drive the Tahoe to save the $1,600 fee for expedited delivery of the Navigator? LL is still working on solving those and other mysteries. Stay tuned.
Update: In contrast to Brown, no one seems to be appalled on Team Gray. Behold, the slightly tone-deaf statement from Gray's spokeswoman Doxie McCoy:
The current monthly lease agreement for the SUV is $1,941.00, which is the government rate and not a consumer rate. The selection and procurement for the Mayor’s vehicle rest strictly with MPD. Incidentally, according to MPD, this vehicle is comparable to the vehicles used by Mayors Fenty and Williams.
Photo by Alan Suderman
2:15 pm
Of course Kwame needed it expedited -- the repo man had already taken his own car.
2:37 pm
Y'all gotta be kidding right, WTH does this have to do with anything....
Let's see, FENTY cut his security detail down to 1 guy...KEITH LOMAX.. who was privvy to million dollar contracts for all 4 years that he was in office...
PEACE DA HOLICS, let's not even go there...
find something IMPORTANT to bitch about, this most certainly does not fit the bill!!
3:04 pm
re: sedcdude, what's important is that Gray promised to govern differently. Don't you think that these outrageously expensive luxury car leases are inconsistent with "character, integrity, leadership"?
There's also the point that Gray is moving very slowly to fill key cabinet positions and set a clear course for his administration, while he's wasting no time getting a phat ride for himself. (Even Kwame appears to be an afterthought; the DPW spokesperson sounds like a good soldier when she doesn't say 'We didn't get the chairman a ride because we weren't asked to at first.') These actions might show (better than his vague 'one city' refrain does) what the new mayor's priorities are.
3:14 pm
For those who pay even CLOSER attention, recall early 2005, right after Kwame became a Councilmember: he was riding all over town with a police lights on his dashboard, like a cop (or an idiot, you choose).
He and his office couldn't come up with a valid explanation.
http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2005/05-02-13.htm
Good job voters. This is who you elected to be the 2nd most powerful politician in DC. Now go out and do the right thing. Vote for his puppet, Sekou Biddle.
4:10 pm
If the budget is tight this does not send a good message. They are both saying me first and who cares about the city's poor and needy. So much for the campaign empty promises. Adding two new cabinet jobs is also a waste! The overspending started early didn't it?
4:11 pm
DPW Fleet keeps a tight hand on leasing of all DC Gov vehicles.
It might be interesting to not just focus on these two (very high profile) vehicles, pry to those books open a little wider and look at rates across the board at DC fleet.
I'll bet this is just the tip of the iceberg.
4:41 pm
Were the cars armorized? Perhaps that's where the $$$ went, their safety? Regardless, COME ON! No one needs a car that expensive :(
4:46 pm
SHAME ON GRAY AND KWAME BROWN. They should both give up the Navigators immediately. Thank you, Loose Lips, for uncovering this misuse of tax dollars.
5:16 pm
What about using those bikes that are all over this town? Hey Vince can't you and Kwame car-pool? Why am I imagining that both have the cd playing "Diamond in the back, sun-roof top, digging the scene with my gangster lean- uhooooooo!!!!
5:52 pm
ONE CITY, BABY.
Where pols are shaking down developers and lobbyists to pay for transition/inagural costs while the same pols are living large on taxpayer bucks.
Screw Fenty and his smart car. He got punked.
6:11 pm
such a total embarrassment for the whole city.
kwame is on the path to self destruction, no doubt. this, then his jacked up jobs bill that will put every small business in dc out of business.
statehood? riiiiiiiight.
6:25 pm
...Oh say does that $1500.00 banner still wave,
o'er the lunch that is free,
and, the home of the knave...
6:31 pm
Seems high for a non-armored vehicle.
7:06 pm
A Lincoln Navigator?? Even the President often goes around town in a Chevy Suburban (albeit a rather armored one). Wrong message, Mr. Mayor (and Chairman).
8:00 pm
Kudos to whatever dealer worked that deal. "We can throw in rustproofing and paint sealant for only another $1300 a month..."
8:10 pm
Great Reporting Sunderman!
8:21 pm
I keep seeing reference to armored vehicles.
Why would dc councilmembers or the mayor need armored vehicles.
8:36 pm
Re McCoy's update as Gray's spokesperson:
Wasn't one city elected because he's not Fenty? He should've asked Wilmot, Cooke, Bereano, Jemal, or various frat bros to pay for his ride. Lots of lobbyists would've been happy to pony up.
9:00 pm
No reference about Allen Lew's Black Tahoe and the staffer on his payroll who is his driver.
Nice of DC Gov't to have such high debt but the upper executive staff have drivers and 2k per month cars
9:04 pm
So...I want to know what happened to the Smart Car and the 10,000 bicycle Fenty had...did we sell them to pay for the gas guzzlers?
10:07 pm
Look into DPW Fleet lease contracts Suderman...much there to find. They are crooked as Marion Barry.
11:45 pm
So if I understand the story. Gray is paying about the same amount that the previous TWO adminstrations paid?
Uhmm, did Gray run to be Barack Obama or Vincent Gray? I don't remember his chauffered transportation being part of a campaign pledge. Nor was it an issue for Fenty (save his friend) or Williams.
Now what is the story again? Gray is using the same transportation system set up by MPD that Williams and Fenty did and his critics are calling foul?
Wait, what's the story again? That Gray pledged not to ride around in chauffered vehicles like the previous two mayors?
Now wait, what was...
11:57 pm
The issue as I see it is why did Gray choose to get a new lincoln when he could have driven the lincoln that Fenty used. Why did he get a 2010 model with all of the extras, when he could have used the older vehicle?
But the issue is 1) why did kwame brown get such an expensive vehicle and 2) why did he need it to be rush delivered?
At the end of the day, Mr. Sunderman has scratched the surface of what seems to be a very shady car-leasing scheme. I can only imagine what else is burried underneath...
12:07 am
Check yourself for cuts cause the water is full of blood thirsty sharks. Hide your n*ts.
12:19 am
@Greg Gondry
Agreed 100%
10:48 am
Gray's car is fine, though it's hard to see why the "government rate" is so much more expensive than a commercial rate. Previous mayors shouldn't have paid that much, either.
But why does the D.C. Council chairman need a similar vehicle? At a similar price?
11:08 am
WOW!!
YALL MOFO'S NEED TO GET SERIOUS.
THE WHOLE CRUX OF FAGGIE FENTY'S ADMINISTRATION WAS DUE PART AND PARCEL TO HIS "BULLSHIT" THAT HE DIDNT NEED A DETAIL SO NO ONE CAN KEEP TABS ON HIM. I WANT MY MAYOR TO RIDE IN THE TANK THAT WAY HE CAN BE SEEN RIDING AROUND DC GOVERNING NOT BIKING. THAT PUNK RAN DC (INTO THE GROUND) FROM HIS BLACKBERRY WITH HIGHLY UNDER QUALIFIED, GROSSLY OVER PAID DRONES AND YALL SCREAMIN ABOUT MONEY ALREADY BUDGETED FOR THE TOP DC OFFICIALS TRANSPO.
1ST OF ALL SUDERMAN IS A COWBOY FAN SO HIS WORDS DONT EXACTLY RESONATE WITH LOGICAL THINKERS ONLY. 2ND HOW MUCH DID THE SMARTCAR COST TAXPAYERS? 3RD THIS IS A NON-ISSUE!
YALL WHITE FOLK ARE SOMETHING ELSE. YOU THE SAME MUTHA FUCKAS WHO VOTED FOR OBAMA AND NOW WANT TO BLAME HIM FOR THE MESS WE ARE IN FORGETTING SO QUICKLY THAT IT WAS BUSH WHO GOT US IN THIS MESS. WE HAVE THE SAME DYNAMIC HERE.
THE WORST MAYOR WDC EVER HAD DRIVEN THIS GOVENMENT JUST LIKE HE DROVE THAT MORNING WHEN HE HAD THE ACCIDENT. WRECKLESSLY! OR ONE COULD LOOK AT THE OTHER METAPHOR HOW HE LET UNAUTHORIZED FOLK DRIVE HIS ADMINISTRATION. CARELESSNESS!
WHEN GRAY FUCKS UP MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS BY DOLING THEM OUT TO HIS FRAT BROTHERS AND FAKE ASS LOUD MOUTHS THEN MAKE SOME NOISE OTHER THAN THAT STAY IN YOUR BIKE LANES AND STOP WEAVING IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC.
ONE CITY!
12:28 pm
Wow, LOl'z. One city, under duress, with usless public servants for all.
I get why Kwame wants a car, because his was repo'ed, but this is ridiculous. 24 days into "One City" and the mess is already overwhelming. Kwame, Gray, Thomas, all doing their best control board era impressions. Sweet.
Oh and btw, noodlez, Gray is already f'ing up millions of taxpayer dollars. Here is but one example. Sorry you're too dense to either (a) figure out how to turn off caps lock, and (b) realize what poor leaders we have in the Wilson building...
1:03 pm
Did Carlos Gray receive a new vehicle as well? He should be a top paid government worker now.
1:08 pm
Mike, I agree that the rate does seem excessive, even for gov't. But I have no doubt that the office of the mayor nor council chair negotiated the 1900/month lease. That doesn't really address the stories angle which presumed that Gray was acting out of step with his predecessors. It also implies that Gray's "One City" thing translates to his mode of official transportation. Something even Alan fails to point out in this article.
What he does is the usual, throw some old spit against the wall and watch the maggots dine.
See article
See comments
Point made
1:08 pm
Who cares about this. Every time during a budget deficit reporters start writing stories about how much politicians pay for transportation, travel, housing etc. It must be one of the top rules in the politico reporters handbook Rule: When in a budget deficit write about how much they lease the cars for.
If we just want to talk dollars and cents why dont we get rid of security and anything else that is not salary. There are real logistical reasons most of this stuff and the gov't rate is always higher than the consumer rate
1:13 pm
Dear Kwame,
You have an astonishing amount of personal debt because you tried to play "Mr. Big Man" with your luxury cars and boats; said debts were the primary threat to your chairmanship.
The city is broke, and as a result you are cutting the budgets for IMPORTANT and NECESSARY welfare services for the neediest residents.
So why hasn't it occurred to you that your image would IMPROVE if you sucked it up and started driving a Honda Civic? Seriously.
You already look like a massive tool, and hiding behind the tinted windows of a Navigator doesn't help. No one is impressed. NO ONE. Even if you don't really care, why not at least try to give the impression that you are a public SERVANT and not some ego-driven moron who takes advantage of situations for personal gain, as opposed to greater public good.
And NO, you do not need a luxe ride for "security." Again, check your ego. No one cares enough about you. Seriously, we don't.
Sincerely yours,
The District of Columbia
1:34 pm
Kwame Brown has no business in a seat that gives him the authority to make decisions about fiscal matters. His lavish lifestyle has him all up in civil court as his debtors are trying to recover their losses. For Kwame, securing the Chairman seat was all about the perks not about the people. His tired, raccoon looking behind needs to be riding one of Fenty's bikes as his growing gut tells us so. Not only Kwame but his obese wife too needs to definitely get on two wheels only and ride about town.
And for all you seemingly illogical people on here that speak to the fact that the former administrations rode about town in behemoth anti-green economy SUVs are clearly misguided. When we have a deficit as big as this one, as big as DC has ever seen, our so-called leaders SHOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE by demonstratively cutting the fat and waste. In this sad economic climate, they are being wasteful at the onset in their newly gained powers. People are being displaced from their homes all across the nation. We are overlooking that fact here though apparently. Just last night I watched and heard Gray say Homeland Security was bringing 14,000 jobs to Southeast, however, he says many residents' skill set cannot compete for those type of jobs. Well then honey, get ready because we'll see coming across the borders our friends of Maryland and Virginia. Don't you see that he's trying to make the case now regarding his foreseeable solid fail in getting the unemployed employed.
In defense of Fenty, yeah I said it, in defense of Fenty that firstly many of you on here speak blindly based on emotion and are totally apolitical in blaming Fenty wholly for this deficit. Guess what smart people? Fenty did not create that deficit alone. He had major help from the Council members. They either approvingly stamped his financial decisions or schemed right along with him. People, try to read more or merely attempt to use logic.
Kwame Ture, formerly Stokely Carmichael, I am sure is turning over in his grave. He rallied for Black Control believing that we are a responsible people and we could self-govern. He was wrong! The blacks in this city are so concerned about keeping the covenant of chocolate city that they repeatedly employ some of the undoubtedly worse local politicians in history. Shame on chocolate city! What disgust!
1:43 pm
I'M BLACK AND USE ALL CAPS BECAUSE I'M SO ANGRY AND IT SHOWS HOW TOUGH I AM IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD!!!!
2:00 pm
Look on the bright side: If Mayor-for-Life Barry were back, he'd want to use an Escalade....
2:12 pm
LOL@rices
2:21 pm
@Rake DONT MAKE GENERALIZED STATEMENTS WITH NO FACTS TO SUPPORT YOU ASININE REASONING!
ALSO NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY THICKNESS YOUR MOTHER SEEMED TO ENJOYED IT IN HER PIE HOLE!
2:24 pm
@rices-YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT MINUS THE VIRTUAL PART.
ITS A REALITY PRINCESS!
3:40 pm
Don't you people read. The DC Fleet has been reduced exponentially. Starting with the Williams Administration, through the Fenty Administration, agency assigned fleets are pretty much a thing of the past. The largest mandatory city fleet reduction came under Fenty. Recall, "Fleet Share"? It is still the Klein conflict-of-interest fleet management service contracted to the District government. The concept is cool, but still a conflict in that it is the same folks that manage Zip Cars (to which Klein is part owner). It works on the same concept. Cars are assigned to DPW Fleet who stations them in different city lots where employees can check them out for a finite period of time or be fined.
I can understand Gray having a luxury automobile to get to and fro. It is nothing new, but I DON'T understand why the Council Chair needs a Navigator SUV to get around. Let's hope he doesn't have an MPD police detail too.
Brown already has a personal owned Lincoln Navigator and it HASN'T been repo'ed. He also has a low number tag humongous P-U truck.
There is no such thing as it being too late to get rid of the SUV. Even if there is a lease termination penalty. Calculate the fuel and maintenance over 4 years and the city will come out ahead, even if it had to buy the thing and then re-sell it.
Kwame needs to take the Chevy Tahoe or drive his OWN Navigator.
It is quite childish to try and keep up with the Jones' on the city dime. We have bigger fish to fry Mr. Chairman, don't you think?
3:53 pm
the city owned Fenty's smartcar - for about $17,000 total. For all 4 years. A lot "smarter" than a $2000/month for 48 months.
4:04 pm
@Cat. Fenty did/does own a Lincoln Navigator as well. And, he did drive around in a city owned Navigator too. Recall, his buddy driving it, with Fenty in tow, in conflict with city rules governing the operation of government vehicles? With the Smart Car AND Navigator, Fenty wasn't the "green" guy many believe him to be. Put up a good facade though for those who don't know.
5:29 pm
If you want a bunch of wasted money look at the police chief with three cars with a driver. Each car has 2 cell phones in them and she has 2 cell phones and a pager on her plus a satellite phone. So that's 9 phones. WowWow
7:31 pm
What can I say? Say it ain't so! I am speechless.
7:33 pm
Was that Fenty's male partner driving is ex DC vehicle?
8:44 pm
FENTY COST THE TAXPAYERS EVEN MORE MONEY. WE PAID FOR THE SMART CAR HIS NAVIGATOR AND ALL THE SECURITY THAT HE LET JUST SIT BECAUSE HE WAS SLEEPING WITH SO MANY WOMEN HE DIDN'T WANT THEM TO SNITCH!
MAYOR GRAY IS RIDING IN THE GOVERNMENT ISSUED CAR AND USING IT AS HE SHOULD...IT COMES WITH THE JOB. AT LEAST HE DIDN'T GO OUT AND GET ANOTHER SMART CAR LIKE FENTY AND HAS THE OTHER CAR JUST SITTING.
8:56 pm
Kwame is a buffoon who can't count and can't pay his debts. When he runs for mayor in 4 years, he will likely be elected and will help return the old DC federal commissioners system because of his stupidity.
9:46 pm
Kudos to Alan Suderman! pretty good chance you may be the next deBonis. But back to the subject matter. Whether it for appearance or for real, our last mayor, Adrian lack of substance, was accessible in traffic. No kidding. you could see him in the Tonka toy and at minimum he would wave, Just like mayor for life Bloomberg !
(NY). seriously ward 7 and 8 you voteed for them in droves. so did i in ward three but i knew i was about to be wripped off! why did they do this? Gray wants to be treated like Mayor; Brown just wants to be Mayor, get his kds around in a safe car, get over his debt & short man complex. I agree with others - look at the bright side, Barry would have an Escalade and a security detail in the Lincoln...
9:39 am
Those cars should be converted into Metro Access vehicles to take disabled people to the hospital, or into school buses to take kids to magnet programs across town and Kwame and Vince should be given a Metro Card and a Capital Bikeshare key. Problem solved.
4:43 pm
IGNORANCE and bitterly served up by ignant idividuals who make much ado about absolutely nothing!
Find the pimple on Fenty's left ass cheek, that oughta keep you busy!
@ faineant
FENTY lost and was the absolute worst....get over it!
12:26 pm
SEis4ME --
To me, the focus of the post seemed to be Brown's car, not Gray's. And it doesn't mention anything about "One City" anywhere in it. So if you're reading implications into the piece, I don't know where you're finding them.
Gray's spokeswoman's response, though, was not the most politically sensitive one I've ever heard. The budget's a mess. You've got to at least acknowledge that when you're defending your own expenses.
12:44 pm
Hey noodlez - how's this for wasting taxpayer money, re: UDC, and transferring an old elementary school to the "college" without any operating budget.... UDC is asking for an ongoing $8 million to $10 million increase in its operating subsidy. And preparing the Ward 8 school, P.R. Harris, for students will require as much as $60 million in capital investment.
ONE CITY, baby. Idiots.
3:20 pm
I see this will cause more of an immediate (and possibly sustained) uproar than the fact that DC residents STILL have no representation in congress and very little say in the destiny of this town...Egypt, Wisconsin...
9:27 am
noodlez, put the crack pipe down. Gray and Brown are not kings and they shouldn't be putting tax increases through to pay for their luxury lifestyles.
2:29 pm
Love it! Expose all the crooked leadership in DC Government. The reason why the city is in such economic turmoil is because those in leadership are all for themselves and their friends. I am so disappointed in Grey and Brown. The workers who were furloughed on Monday are livid. I hope people will begin to talk about what they know. There are so many improprieties going on in DC Government agencies that need to be exposed.
2:02 pm
@EA - Congress (GOP Chaired Oversight)is paying close attention to how DC's Leadership Governs through its decision-making processes. They are simply building a solid case to take control and/or make sure DC remains their plantation a couple generations longer.
Proud/envious of the Egyptions and Wisconsins' Unions~Pray WI has the resources and support to hold tight.
Made a vague reference to The French Revolution a few months back. Came across off-beat at the time, but I knew what I was talking about, just takes months before my common sense is realized by anyone else but me-lol.
I only wish more DC voters on my side of the river read & researched more to be a little more concerned.
2:13 pm
@Exposem - There are people who'd like to assist in exposing corruption or provide solid leads for dedicated investigative reporters. Unfortunately Independent reporters are becoming scares in this town. If they want to keep their coveted access to DCs Leadership, they are advised to tread lightly - thus DC looses on important info needed to make halfway intelligent decisions in voting.
@Suderman - GREAT reporting as usual. When I share a WCP article/blog, I insist readers take in the comments as well.
@ Noodles - Great posts before you got heated. Though a chuckle is always expected.