DC Mayor Vince Gray received the first standing ovation of his campaign kickoff speech by talking about his least favorite subject: the past.
“I know that the 2010 campaign caused many people great pain,” Gray, 71, said in reference to the ongoing federal investigation into his first mayoral run amid allegations that it was aided by a $653,000 shadow campaign. To date, four officials from Gray’s 2010 campaign have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme.
“Today, I apologize to you for the pain that my campaign caused,” Gray continued. “I ask for your forgiveness.”
After the genuflecting, Gray, addressing a packed theater at THEARC, a community and arts center in Southeast, switched to his record since taking office in January 2011. The mayor hit on a declining unemployment rate (from 11.2 percent to 8.6 percent), improved school test scores, and the growth of the private sector.
Gray, working slowly through his speech, also addressed the city’s rising cost-of-living, which has been a talking point for several of his opponents in the nine-way Democratic primary. “Everyone feels it,” he said. “And for our residents with the fewest resources, sometimes what they feel is fear.”
Though Gray led off with a mea culpa, it wasn’t without teeth, in this instance directed largely toward the journalists who cover him. “I know that some journalists and our opponents want you to focus on the past,” he said. “I know that some reporters prefer a circus to a thoughtful discussion of issues. I know that they care about ratings and selling newspapers.”
Perhaps, then, it was not surprising that Gray did not make himself available to reporters following his speech. He spent 15 minutes shaking voters’ hands while exiting THEARC, leaving the media availability to his campaign manager, Chuck Thies. But contrary to Gray’s speech, Thies’s question-and-answer session was circus-like.
Thies bickered with a gaggle of reporters who complained that Gray has been largely unavailable as a candidate, giving just one in-depth interview this week with WUSA, and has only participated in one debate with the other candidates. Thies said that Gray was plenty available, at least in the context of his mayoral duties.
“If you don’t think the mayor is available, you’re not reading his schedule,” Thies said.
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.
Vince Gray Launches 2014 Campaign With Apology for 2010
Gray talked up his record and bashed the media in the first major event of his reelection campaign.
DC Mayor Vince Gray received the first standing ovation of his campaign kickoff speech by talking about his least favorite subject: the past.
“I know that the 2010 campaign caused many people great pain,” Gray, 71, said in reference to the ongoing federal investigation into his first mayoral run amid allegations that it was aided by a $653,000 shadow campaign. To date, four officials from Gray’s 2010 campaign have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme.
“Today, I apologize to you for the pain that my campaign caused,” Gray continued. “I ask for your forgiveness.”
After the genuflecting, Gray, addressing a packed theater at THEARC, a community and arts center in Southeast, switched to his record since taking office in January 2011. The mayor hit on a declining unemployment rate (from 11.2 percent to 8.6 percent), improved school test scores, and the growth of the private sector.
Gray, working slowly through his speech, also addressed the city’s rising cost-of-living, which has been a talking point for several of his opponents in the nine-way Democratic primary. “Everyone feels it,” he said. “And for our residents with the fewest resources, sometimes what they feel is fear.”
Though Gray led off with a mea culpa, it wasn’t without teeth, in this instance directed largely toward the journalists who cover him. “I know that some journalists and our opponents want you to focus on the past,” he said. “I know that some reporters prefer a circus to a thoughtful discussion of issues. I know that they care about ratings and selling newspapers.”
Perhaps, then, it was not surprising that Gray did not make himself available to reporters following his speech. He spent 15 minutes shaking voters’ hands while exiting THEARC, leaving the media availability to his campaign manager, Chuck Thies. But contrary to Gray’s speech, Thies’s question-and-answer session was circus-like.
Thies bickered with a gaggle of reporters who complained that Gray has been largely unavailable as a candidate, giving just one in-depth interview this week with WUSA, and has only participated in one debate with the other candidates. Thies said that Gray was plenty available, at least in the context of his mayoral duties.
“If you don’t think the mayor is available, you’re not reading his schedule,” Thies said.
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
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
“Mean Mugging” at Ward 8 Candidate Forum Leads to Arrest
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
More from News & Politics
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor