Orange's supports say he "has some integrity," though his record might suggest otherwise. Photograph by Flickr user Keith Ivey.
Saying they want a mayoral candidate who “has some integrity,” a group of 30 District residents today “drafted” DC Council member Vincent Orange, who has been dogged by political scandals ranging from interference in city health inspections to associations with individuals associated with the federal investigation into Mayor Vince Gray’s campaign finances.
“We approached Vincent Orange because he has the intelligence and compassion to bring this city back to its citizens and leave no one behind,” says Gerri Adams-Simmons, a Northwest DC resident who picked up ballot petitions on Orange’s behalf Friday morning. (Orange is traveling, according to his office, and could not be reached.)
Adams-Simmons says she is part of a group calling itself the “Draft Committee to Save our City” which started meeting with Orange a few months ago. She says Orange attended seven of the organization’s meetings to discuss issues facing DC residents.
Orange, 56, is months behind his Council colleagues Jack Evans, Muriel Bowser, and Tommy Wells, along with former State Department official Reta Jo Lewis, but his candidacy is not terribly surprising. Orange ran for mayor in 2006 and for Council chairman in 2010, and still has supporters who would like to see him leap beyond the at-large Council seat he currently holds.
Of particular concern to the Adams-Simmons’s committee are affordable housing and raising the minimum wage. Orange was a leading proponent of a bill earlier this year that would have required Walmart and other large retailers to pay starting wages of more than 50 percent above the District’s current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. Gray vetoed the bill in September and a vote challenging Gray’s decision failed.
“We want someone who can think of all things and come up with a plan,” Adams-Simmons says of her group’s candidate. Orange’s supporters need to collect 2,000 signatures from registered voters in order to put him in the Democratic primary next April 1. The 2014 mayoral election officially kicked off today with candidates and their supporters visiting the DC Board of Elections to pick up ballot petitions, which are due back by January 2.
Orange’s past campaigns and actions while a member of the DC Council stir questions about his reputed integrity. His successful 2011 run in a special election barely survived a seven-month investigation last year by DC’s Office of Campaign Finance over questions about unreported expenditures and $26,000 in money-order donations from people affiliated with Jeffrey Thompson. Thompson is the businessman and political financier suspected of paying for a $653,000 “shadow campaign” to help elect Gray in 2010.
More recently, Orange earned himself a trip to ethics training after he intervened in the inspection of Sam Wang Produce, a grocery store in Northeast that was cited for rodent infestations and other health violations last December. The store, affiliated businesses, and employees donated $19,000 to Orange’s various campaigns over a six-year period.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
DC Council Member Vincent Orange Is Running for Mayor
Orange, who has weathered multiple ethical issues, is the choice of a group of residents dissatisfied with the other candidates.
Saying they want a mayoral candidate who “has some integrity,” a group of 30 District residents today “drafted” DC Council member Vincent Orange, who has been dogged by political scandals ranging from interference in city health inspections to associations with individuals associated with the federal investigation into Mayor Vince Gray’s campaign finances.
“We approached Vincent Orange because he has the intelligence and compassion to bring this city back to its citizens and leave no one behind,” says Gerri Adams-Simmons, a Northwest DC resident who picked up ballot petitions on Orange’s behalf Friday morning. (Orange is traveling, according to his office, and could not be reached.)
Adams-Simmons says she is part of a group calling itself the “Draft Committee to Save our City” which started meeting with Orange a few months ago. She says Orange attended seven of the organization’s meetings to discuss issues facing DC residents.
Orange, 56, is months behind his Council colleagues Jack Evans, Muriel Bowser, and Tommy Wells, along with former State Department official Reta Jo Lewis, but his candidacy is not terribly surprising. Orange ran for mayor in 2006 and for Council chairman in 2010, and still has supporters who would like to see him leap beyond the at-large Council seat he currently holds.
Of particular concern to the Adams-Simmons’s committee are affordable housing and raising the minimum wage. Orange was a leading proponent of a bill earlier this year that would have required Walmart and other large retailers to pay starting wages of more than 50 percent above the District’s current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. Gray vetoed the bill in September and a vote challenging Gray’s decision failed.
“We want someone who can think of all things and come up with a plan,” Adams-Simmons says of her group’s candidate. Orange’s supporters need to collect 2,000 signatures from registered voters in order to put him in the Democratic primary next April 1. The 2014 mayoral election officially kicked off today with candidates and their supporters visiting the DC Board of Elections to pick up ballot petitions, which are due back by January 2.
Orange’s past campaigns and actions while a member of the DC Council stir questions about his reputed integrity. His successful 2011 run in a special election barely survived a seven-month investigation last year by DC’s Office of Campaign Finance over questions about unreported expenditures and $26,000 in money-order donations from people affiliated with Jeffrey Thompson. Thompson is the businessman and political financier suspected of paying for a $653,000 “shadow campaign” to help elect Gray in 2010.
More recently, Orange earned himself a trip to ethics training after he intervened in the inspection of Sam Wang Produce, a grocery store in Northeast that was cited for rodent infestations and other health violations last December. The store, affiliated businesses, and employees donated $19,000 to Orange’s various campaigns over a six-year period.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What’s Going On With These Allegedly Stranded Astronauts?
Lauren Boebert and Kid Rock Could Be the Perfect MAGA Power Couple
Spoons Are Becoming a Symbol of Feds’ Resistance to Trump and Musk
In the Event of a US Invasion, Canadians Really Like Their Chances
Trump’s Attempts to Shrink the Federal Workforce Could Hit the DC Area’s Economy Hard
Washingtonian Magazine
February Issue: 100 Very Best Restaurants
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
DC Culture Roundup: Book, Podcast, Album, and TV Recommendations
The National Building Museum Wants to Show You Its Weird Stuff
These DC Food Activists Were Behind the Ranked-Choice-Voting Initiative
A Biography of Perle Mesta Sheds Light on a Famed DC Figure
More from News & Politics
PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Protesters Drag Trump’s Kennedy Center Takeover
Trump Gives Feds Layoffs for Valentine’s Day, Protest at Kennedy Center, and We’ve Got Some Brunch Ideas
How a DC Immigrant Resource Center Is Tackling the Second Trump Administration
“Wonder Woman” Lynda Carter on Transitioning From Hollywood to Washington
Enrique Tarrio Weighs Run for Matt Gaetz’s Old Congressional Seat
5 Things Know About Richard Grenell, the Interim President of Trump’s Kennedy Center
Sheer Madness at the Kennedy Center, Mass Layoffs Begin at Federal Agencies, and We Found a True Hidden Gem of an Eritrean Restaurant
More Wet Weather, Trump Promises Federal Workforce Cuts, and Elon Musk Occupies the Oval Office