Gray's Town Hall Meeting in Ward 3

[Anonymous]

Did anyone attend? Tom Sherwood, speaking on Kojo Nnamdi's show this morning, seems to think that Gray won over skeptical Ward 3 voters by acting like the ultimate government wonk he is. If you went, was that your experience?

[Anonymous]

I was there. He didn't win anyone over. He packed the place with his supporters. Overwhelming majority of speakers were not Ward 3 residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was there. He didn't win anyone over. He packed the place with his supporters. Overwhelming majority of speakers were not Ward 3 residents.

Loose Lips gives a slightly more upbeat description, including links to several other articles. Go to http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was there. He didn't win anyone over. He packed the place with his supporters. Overwhelming majority of speakers were not Ward 3 residents.

Thanks. I was wondering about Sherwood's interpretation.

[Anonymous]

The question with Gray is not whether he is a decent, hard-working and smart guy. Because he is. He knows policy and cares about the City. But the issue is whether he has the guts and determination to make the real and substantive changes that need to be made in DC, particularly DCPS. Williams and Fenty have dramatically improved DC but more needs to be done. Given that Gray is being supported by many of the people working in teh system that needs to be changed, one must wonder whether he has the guts and determination. This is not a question of intellect or caring.

[jsteele]

I attended the town hall and ended up standing right in the middle of many of the reporters covering it. Based on our vantage point, it wS impossible to tell what effect Gray was having on Ward 3 Fenty supporters. There were a number or attendees from outside the ward -- including me -- and Ward 3 Gray supporters obviously loved it. Given the conversations between reporters that I overheard, Gray seriously won them over. Gray did present himself very well. He made some news when he announced that Alice Rivlan and Tony Williams had agreed to serve on his transition team. But I heard a lot of grumbling from folks afterwards who were not satisfied by what they had heard.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Thanks for the report, Jeff!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Jeff.

[Anonymous]

I think it's unfair to say that Gray packed the hall with supporters. Anyone was free to come -- and as a Gray supporter, I received no special plea to come, as I have in the past for campaign events.

I'm disappointed to hear that that more Fenty voters were not there and I imagine Gray was too. He specifically wants to reach out to people who didn't vote for him.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I attended the town hall and ended up standing right in the middle of many of the reporters covering it. Based on our vantage point, it wS impossible to tell what effect Gray was having on Ward 3 Fenty supporters. There were a number or attendees from outside the ward -- including me -- and Ward 3 Gray supporters obviously loved it. Given the conversations between reporters that I overheard, Gray seriously won them over. Gray did present himself very well. He made some news when he announced that Alice Rivlan and Tony Williams had agreed to serve on his transition team. But I heard a lot of grumbling from folks afterwards who were not satisfied by what they had heard.

Since Jeff obviously has a crush on Vince Gray, perhaps he should just ask him out. Then, in time, he may be able to discern who Gray really is and what he actually stands for. Here is an accurate account of what happened at what was supposed to be a meeting for the residents of Ward 3:

I got to hear Vince Gray boast about the great education he received within DCPS. Apparently, he thinks that the status quo is pretty good. I also got to hear him pay lip service to the notion that, as Mayor, he does not intend to micromanage the schools. But then he immediately droned on and on about how he does not understand why this teacher was fired, or that teacher was let go, or a certain administrator was placed elsewhere. I got to hear about how he intends to look into each suspect personnel action. The cognitive dissonance in what he said was overwhelming.

Then I got to hear Mr. Gray stress the importance of vocational education; technical education, and special education. I heard him say that all education should be tailored towards obtaining a job; apparently learning for the sake of learning is a concept foreign to Mr. Gray. If what you are learning within DCPS is not relevant to a specific job skill, it is irrelevant. Not once did Mr. Gray speak of the importance of a rigorous, traditional, academic curriculum. Not once did Mr. Gray speak of the importance of ensuring that our children are educated in a way that will prepare them for college and make them competitive college applicants.

I also got to hear about how the residents of this city are so compassionate that, perhaps, we will not mind having our taxes increased in order to better our provision of social services (while I do consider myself compassionate, I do most certainly mind).

Mr. Gray next proclaimed his view that, in order to hold a government job in DC, residency in DC should be required. Mr. Gray stressed that in his view, "a government job in DC" includes a job with the federal government. He did not explain how he came to this conclusion of over-inclusion, possibly because he was drowned out by applause from over-entitled, under-qualified residents who live well outside my ward.

What was made very clear to me throughout this travesty is that Mr. Gray's vision of "one city" is one that will cater to the lowest common denominator. He views residents living in wards two and three as mere subjects from which he intends to siphon taxes, which he will then use to try to bring those who are below the lowest common denominator up to that level.

Don't like it? Go to http://www.facebook.com/RunFentyRun?v=wall and click "like". Also check out www.FentyWriteIn.com.

[Anonymous]

I should also note that this town hall meeting was never intended to address, nor include the residents of Ward 3. It was painfully apparent that Mr. Gray does not possess the courage to face the residents of Ward 3, listen to our concerns, or even take our questions. Instead, he packed the hall with supporters from other wards.

[Anonymous]

I didn't realize Ward 3 residents were so incapable of getting themselves to a meeting at St. Columba's Church to ask questions. Stop whining and move on.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that not more than a handful of Fenty supporters were able to gain access to the building. Gray packed it with his supporters from other wards so tightly that it was SRO.

[jsteele]

In the aftermath of Obama's defeat of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary, many embittered Hillary supporters joined various PUMA groups. The Fenty write-in people are nothing more than DC's version of PUMA. One more bunch of sore losers. Instead of wasting time and energy tilting at windmills, the write-in people should take a look at the PUMAs today. A lot of them got so wrapped up in their hatred and bitterness that today they are nothing more than fringe lunatics. Has anyone heard from Larry Johnson and his famous Michelle Obama "Whitey" tape recently? Just like Johnson who constantly promised to produce the tape "next week" but never actually got around to doing so, the Fenty PUMAs have a limited grasp of reality. Gray held a meeting at which anyone was welcome. If anti-Gray people failed to show up and ask questions, it is hardly Gray's fault and is certainly not indicative of a lack of courage on his part. To the contrary, the poster above should explain what prevented him/her from voicing what are obviously strongly held opinions.

[Anonymous]

Again, it was quite obvious that Gray was too afraid to face the residents of Ward 3. He therefore packed the hall full of his supporters from other wards. It was also quite apparent that, with the exception of one person from Ward 3 who openly supported him, Gray only allowed his supporters from others wards to make comments and ask questions.