Vincent C. Gray
Encyclopedia
Vincent C. Gray is an American
politician who is currently serving as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia
. Prior to his inauguration as mayor in January 2011, Gray served as Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia
, and as Councilmember for Ward 7. In the 1990s he also served as director of the DC Department of Human Services.
. He earned a B.A. in psychology at George Washington University
, where he also took graduate courses. Gray was one of the first African Americans to join the Jewish fraternity, Tau Epsilon Phi
. While in the fraternity, he was the first to serve two consecutive terms as President. Other school activities included the Newman Catholic Center, as well as football and basketball intramurals. Gray is also an avid participant in hand dancing
, a D.C.-area derivative of Lindy hop
.
appointed Gray to the post of Director of the DC Department of Human Services.
Gray became the founding executive director of Covenant House Washington in December 1994. Over a decade, Gray grew the agency from a van outreach program to a multisite agency serving homeless youth in the city's Southeast and Northeast communities.
, the incumbent Ward 7 member of the Council of the District of Columbia, and went on to win the November general election with 91% of the vote. He was sworn in as a member of the council on January 2, 2005, and was a member of the council's Committees on Health; Economic Development; Human Services; and Education, Libraries and Recreation. Chairman Linda W. Cropp
also appointed him to chair a Special Committee on Prevention of Youth Violence.
In 2006, when Cropp decided not to run for another term as chairman but to run for mayor instead, Gray ran for chairman. He defeated his council colleague Kathleen Patterson
in the Democratic primary, 57% to 43%, and then won the general election unopposed. Gray ran his campaign under the banner "One City" and focused on unity among the disparate racial and economic groups in Washington, D.C.
In 2008, Gray successfully led his Council colleagues in passing the "Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008", a program to provide universal pre-kindergarten to every three- and four-year-old in the District of Columbia by 2014, to increase early intervention and enhancement services for student success.
, 38 percent to 31 percent among voters who are "certain" to participate in the September 14th Democratic Primary. The Washington Post noted that the poll's results are an indication of voters' disapproval of Fenty, rather than approval of Gray, because 36 percent of registered Democrats have no opinion of Gray. An August Washington Post poll found Gray with a 17-point advantage among likely voters and a 13-point lead among Democratic voters. It was reported early Wednesday morning on September 15, 2010 that Gray defeated Fenty in the primary election. Gray defeated Fenty by a 54 to 44 percent margin.
In response to a proposal by Congress to restart a school voucher program in the District, Gray said he was against the idea.
revealed that Gray had hired a larger senior staff than his predecessors, and for substantially more money. Among the newly hired top officials was Sulaimon Brown, who had been hired as a special senior assistant in the Department of Health Care Finance for $110,000. Brown was best known as a colorful fringe candidate in the 2010 mayoral election (ultimately receiving just over 200 votes) who, despite being his opponent, encouraged voters to support Gray (if not himself) and denigrated then-incumbent mayor Fenty. The news of the hiring led to charges of cronyism from the local media. However, when the Washington City Paper
four days later linked Brown to a 1991 gun charge, a 1995 conviction for unlawful entry, and a 2007 restraining order against a 13-year-old girl, Brown was fired and escorted by security from his office on the morning of February 24.
In response to his termination, Brown made allegations to the Washington Post that he had made a secret agreement with Gray during the 2010 mayoral campaign to remain in the race and continue attacking Fenty in his public appearances, in exchange for a job with Gray's administration if Gray won the election. Brown also claimed to have received cash payments from Gray campaign aides Lorraine Green and Howard Brooks; according to the Post, Brown's cellphone records indicated 29 telephone calls to Brown between June and September 2010 from Gray and Green, and text messages from Gray's phone number seemed to lend credence to Brown's story.
Gray flatly denied Brown's allegations, but acknowledged "missteps" in his administration's job vetting process and called for an investigation by the city attorney general and the DC Council. Brown began meeting with federal officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the FBI, and staff of the House Oversight and Government Committee, who said that they were "assessing" his allegations. Meanwhile, allegations of nepotism, poor vetting, and other unethical hiring practices within the Gray administration continued to surface, with reports published that Gray had hired the children of four high-level officials, including Green and Brooks; that Brooks had overcharged the operator of the Georgia Lottery more than $1 million in the late 1990s; and that the salaries of several of Gray's appointees, including his Chief of Staff and City Administrator, were higher than permitted by District law.
On March 10, 2011, District Councilmember Jack Evans
, chairman of the Council's Committee on Finance and Revenue, announced that he was postponing "indefinitely" Gray's nomination of Green to chair the Washington Convention and Sports Authority. The same day, Gray announced that he had retained the services of Robert S. Bennett
, the attorney who represented President
Bill Clinton
during the Lewinsky scandal
, as his legal counsel. The United States Attorney's Office is investigating, subpoenaing documents, interviewing campaign staff members, and looking into money-order donations possibly in excess of District regulations.
, Mayor Vincent Gray and several other D.C. elected officials joined city residents outside the Hart Senate Office Building
to protest budgetary line items that restricted the city's ability to spend its own locally-raised funds. In particular, the budget limits the city's ability to spend money on abortion services and reauthorizes a school voucher program that the city government opposes. U.S. Capitol Police arrested several protesters, including Vincent Gray, for blocking automobile traffic. Speaking to the press before the arrest, Gray said, "This is an absolute travesty. All we want to do is spend our own money... Why should women in the District of Columbia be subjected to a set of rules that no other woman is subjected to?"
of Ward 7. Gray is a Roman Catholic.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who is currently serving as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia
Mayor of the District of Columbia
The Mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of Washington, D.C. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Council of the District of Columbia...
. Prior to his inauguration as mayor in January 2011, Gray served as Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia
Council of the District of Columbia
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...
, and as Councilmember for Ward 7. In the 1990s he also served as director of the DC Department of Human Services.
Early life and education
Gray is a native of Washington, DC, and graduated from Dunbar High SchoolDunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)
Dunbar High School is a public secondary school located in Washington, D.C., United States. The school is located in the Truxton Circle neighborhood of Northwest Washington, two blocks from the intersection of New Jersey and New York Avenues...
. He earned a B.A. in psychology at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, where he also took graduate courses. Gray was one of the first African Americans to join the Jewish fraternity, Tau Epsilon Phi
Tau Epsilon Phi
Tau Epsilon Phi is an American fraternity with 14 active chapters, chiefly located at universities and colleges on the East Coast of the United States...
. While in the fraternity, he was the first to serve two consecutive terms as President. Other school activities included the Newman Catholic Center, as well as football and basketball intramurals. Gray is also an avid participant in hand dancing
Hand dancing
Hand dancing, also known as "D.C. hand dancing" or "D.C. swing", is a form of swing dance that can be traced as far back as the 1920s, from Lindy Hop, to Jitterbug and to the 50's when Washington, D.C. developed its own version and named it Hand Dance. It is characterized by gliding footwork and...
, a D.C.-area derivative of Lindy hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
.
Pre-council career
Gray began his political career with the D.C. Association for Retarded Citizens, where he successfully advocated for innovative public policy initiatives on behalf of people with mental retardation. In 1991, then Mayor Sharon Pratt KellySharon Pratt Kelly
Sharon Pratt Kelly , formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon and now known as Sharon Pratt, was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. Pratt was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city...
appointed Gray to the post of Director of the DC Department of Human Services.
Gray became the founding executive director of Covenant House Washington in December 1994. Over a decade, Gray grew the agency from a van outreach program to a multisite agency serving homeless youth in the city's Southeast and Northeast communities.
Council of the District of Columbia
In the September 2004 primary election, Gray defeated Kevin P. ChavousKevin P. Chavous
Kevin P. Chavous is an attorney,author, national education reform leader and former Democratic Party politician in Washington, DC. He was elected as Ward 7 member of the Council of the District of Columbia in 1992 and served three terms until his defeat in the September, 2004 primary...
, the incumbent Ward 7 member of the Council of the District of Columbia, and went on to win the November general election with 91% of the vote. He was sworn in as a member of the council on January 2, 2005, and was a member of the council's Committees on Health; Economic Development; Human Services; and Education, Libraries and Recreation. Chairman Linda W. Cropp
Linda W. Cropp
Linda Washington Cropp is a politician in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. She was a Democratic member of the Council of the District of Columbia, where she was the first woman to serve as the elected Council Chairman. On September 12, 2006, she lost the Democratic Primary for...
also appointed him to chair a Special Committee on Prevention of Youth Violence.
In 2006, when Cropp decided not to run for another term as chairman but to run for mayor instead, Gray ran for chairman. He defeated his council colleague Kathleen Patterson
Kathleen Patterson
Kathleen "Kathy" Patterson is a politician from Washington, D.C. From 1995 to 2007, she was a Democratic member of the Council of the District of Columbia, where she served as the elected member for Ward 3, a post now held by Mary Cheh....
in the Democratic primary, 57% to 43%, and then won the general election unopposed. Gray ran his campaign under the banner "One City" and focused on unity among the disparate racial and economic groups in Washington, D.C.
In 2008, Gray successfully led his Council colleagues in passing the "Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008", a program to provide universal pre-kindergarten to every three- and four-year-old in the District of Columbia by 2014, to increase early intervention and enhancement services for student success.
2010 Campaign for Mayor
Gray formally entered the race for Mayor of the District of Columbia on March 30, 2010. His campaign adopted the slogan, commonly used during his time as Council Chairman, "One City. Leadership We Need". A Washington Post poll conducted in January 2010 showed Gray leading the incumbent mayor, Adrian FentyAdrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...
, 38 percent to 31 percent among voters who are "certain" to participate in the September 14th Democratic Primary. The Washington Post noted that the poll's results are an indication of voters' disapproval of Fenty, rather than approval of Gray, because 36 percent of registered Democrats have no opinion of Gray. An August Washington Post poll found Gray with a 17-point advantage among likely voters and a 13-point lead among Democratic voters. It was reported early Wednesday morning on September 15, 2010 that Gray defeated Fenty in the primary election. Gray defeated Fenty by a 54 to 44 percent margin.
Mayorship
In order to save the District $19 million in 2011, Gray proposed to furlough most District employees. including teachers. Workers would not be paid on four holidays, namely President's Day, Emancipation Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. The District Council voted in favor of the idea as part of a plan to save over $19 million for the District. On Presidents' Day, February 21, 2011, over 200 emergency calls made to 911 went unanswered since dispatchers were furloughed.In response to a proposal by Congress to restart a school voucher program in the District, Gray said he was against the idea.
Scandal
Amidst the reports of budget tightening and city employee furloughs in the early weeks of the Gray administration, an expose in The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
revealed that Gray had hired a larger senior staff than his predecessors, and for substantially more money. Among the newly hired top officials was Sulaimon Brown, who had been hired as a special senior assistant in the Department of Health Care Finance for $110,000. Brown was best known as a colorful fringe candidate in the 2010 mayoral election (ultimately receiving just over 200 votes) who, despite being his opponent, encouraged voters to support Gray (if not himself) and denigrated then-incumbent mayor Fenty. The news of the hiring led to charges of cronyism from the local media. However, when the Washington City Paper
Washington City Paper
The Washington City Paper is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Founded in 1981, and published for its first year under the masthead 1981, taking the City Paper name in volume 2, by Russ Smith, it shared ownership with the Chicago Reader from 1982...
four days later linked Brown to a 1991 gun charge, a 1995 conviction for unlawful entry, and a 2007 restraining order against a 13-year-old girl, Brown was fired and escorted by security from his office on the morning of February 24.
In response to his termination, Brown made allegations to the Washington Post that he had made a secret agreement with Gray during the 2010 mayoral campaign to remain in the race and continue attacking Fenty in his public appearances, in exchange for a job with Gray's administration if Gray won the election. Brown also claimed to have received cash payments from Gray campaign aides Lorraine Green and Howard Brooks; according to the Post, Brown's cellphone records indicated 29 telephone calls to Brown between June and September 2010 from Gray and Green, and text messages from Gray's phone number seemed to lend credence to Brown's story.
Gray flatly denied Brown's allegations, but acknowledged "missteps" in his administration's job vetting process and called for an investigation by the city attorney general and the DC Council. Brown began meeting with federal officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the FBI, and staff of the House Oversight and Government Committee, who said that they were "assessing" his allegations. Meanwhile, allegations of nepotism, poor vetting, and other unethical hiring practices within the Gray administration continued to surface, with reports published that Gray had hired the children of four high-level officials, including Green and Brooks; that Brooks had overcharged the operator of the Georgia Lottery more than $1 million in the late 1990s; and that the salaries of several of Gray's appointees, including his Chief of Staff and City Administrator, were higher than permitted by District law.
On March 10, 2011, District Councilmember Jack Evans
Jack Evans (D.C. Council)
Jack Evans is a Democratic politician from Washington, D.C. He currently represents Ward 2 on the Council of the District of Columbia and serves as its chairperson pro tempore....
, chairman of the Council's Committee on Finance and Revenue, announced that he was postponing "indefinitely" Gray's nomination of Green to chair the Washington Convention and Sports Authority. The same day, Gray announced that he had retained the services of Robert S. Bennett
Robert S. Bennett
Robert S. Bennett is an American attorney best known for representing President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal. Bennett is also famous for representing Judith Miller in the Valerie Plame CIA leak grand jury investigation case, Caspar Weinberger, the U.S...
, the attorney who represented President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
during the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
, as his legal counsel. The United States Attorney's Office is investigating, subpoenaing documents, interviewing campaign staff members, and looking into money-order donations possibly in excess of District regulations.
Civil Disobedience
During the April 11, 2011 debates on the 2011 United States federal budget2011 United States federal budget
The 2011 United States federal budget is the United States federal budget to fund government operations for the fiscal year 2011, which is October 2010–September 2011. The budget is the subject of a spending request by President Barack Obama...
, Mayor Vincent Gray and several other D.C. elected officials joined city residents outside the Hart Senate Office Building
Hart Senate Office Building
The Hart Senate Office Building, the third U.S. Senate office building, was built in the 1970s. First occupied in November 1982, the Hart Building is the largest of the Senate office buildings. It is named for Philip A. Hart, who served 18 years as a senator from Michigan.-Design and...
to protest budgetary line items that restricted the city's ability to spend its own locally-raised funds. In particular, the budget limits the city's ability to spend money on abortion services and reauthorizes a school voucher program that the city government opposes. U.S. Capitol Police arrested several protesters, including Vincent Gray, for blocking automobile traffic. Speaking to the press before the arrest, Gray said, "This is an absolute travesty. All we want to do is spend our own money... Why should women in the District of Columbia be subjected to a set of rules that no other woman is subjected to?"
Family
Gray has two children, Jonice Gray Tucker and Vincent Carlos Gray, and two grandchildren, Austin Gray Tucker and Jillian Gray Tucker. Gray's wife Loretta died in July 1998. Gray currently lives in the Hillcrest neighborhoodHillcrest, Washington, D.C.
Hillcrest is a neighborhood in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States. Hillcrest is located in Ward 7, east of the Anacostia River. Hillcrest is a rather affluent and well-kept neighborhood. Former mayor Marion Barry is a former resident. Current residents include Mayor Vincent C...
of Ward 7. Gray is a Roman Catholic.
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