Gray's Town Hall Meeting in Ward 3

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote: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.

This analogy is absurd. - 13,124: The difference between Gray and Fenty in the Democratic primary
- 232,830: The number of registered voters who didn't vote that day.

Jeff, can you do math?

[Anonymous]

I am a Fenty supporter, and I agree with the previous poster who said that Gray is a decent, well-intentioned man. The problem is not that Gray is evil, it is that I fundamentally disagree with his view on the proper role of government. I was at the town hall meeting, and many of the questions were from non-Ward 3 people looking to the city for a job. While I believe that government can facilitate private job growth through policy, I think it is very important to emphasize that the government does not owe anyone a job. Also, Gray made it very clear that he plans to increase taxes. I already pay a lot in taxes, and contrary to his assertion at the town hall, I am not willing to pay more. Not as long as DC has a super-expensive summer jobs program that does not actually prepare kids to obtain real jobs. Not as long as DC metro bus drivers make as much as my wife who is a govt attorney.

Frankly, I am not crazy about Fenty either, and what I really want is a clone of Michael Bloomberg. But in DC Fenty is as close as I can get.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
This analogy is absurd. - 13,124: The difference between Gray and Fenty in the Democratic primary
- 232,830: The number of registered voters who didn't vote that day.

Jeff, can you do math?

This "math" is meaningless and suggests a misunderstanding of voting patterns. Just look at the recent primary in which Republicans were urged to write-in Fenty. Fenty received a paltry 800-some votes. The second place vote-getter was actually Gray, who received 5 or 6 hundred according to the Board of Elections. Therefore, it's not even a given that Republicans would automatically vote for Fenty. Statehood/Greens for sure won't.

Also, historically there has not been a huge increase between primary and general election vote numbers. To the contrary, in the 2006 primary, there were 123,448 primary votes and only 120,620 general election votes. So, the number of voters actually went down.

With Fenty not even running, the idea that he is going to get a landslide in the general that didn't exist in the primary is ludicrous.

BTW, the full video of Gray's Ward 3 Town Hall is now available here:

http://www.vincegrayformayor.com/blog/entry/video_ward_3_town_hall_meeting

Anyone interested can watch for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...
This analogy is absurd. - 13,124: The difference between Gray and Fenty in the Democratic primary
- 232,830: The number of registered voters who didn't vote that day.

Jeff, can you do math?

Throwing around figures is not math. The important issue is which figures are relevant. For example, I don't think the total registration is of much interest if you take a look at the last non-presidential election year, 2006. From the DCBOEE website:

Primary Registration: 321,087 Voters. Election Day Turnout: 103,476 (32.23%)
General Registration: 395,926 Voters. Election Day Turnout: 114,876 (29.01%)

At first I wondered how they managed to register over 70,000 new voters in less than two months. Then I realized that independents don't vote in the primary, so they were not counted in the total. Anyhow, the bottom line is that a lower percentage vote in the general, since the main action is the primary. So even with the rolls increased by the independents, the actual increase in the total vote was less than the difference between Fenty and Gray.

I'll grant that your 232,830 voters are a potential game changer. But if they were not motivated to come out when Fenty was going door to door, I don't see much likelihood they'll flock to the polls when he is making no public effort to support the write-in.

[Anonymous]

In case anyone wonders at the difference between the quoted figures for the 2006 vote in the two 13:00 entries, Jeff was careful enough to include the absentee vote, which the other poster (yours truly) overlooked. Jeff can not only do math, he can read!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oy. You are one sore and bitter loser.

That boulder on your shoulder has become disfiguring.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This analogy is absurd. - 13,124: The difference between Gray and Fenty in the Democratic primary
- 232,830: The number of registered voters who didn't vote that day.

Jeff, can you do math?

This "math" is meaningless and suggests a misunderstanding of voting patterns. Just look at the recent primary in which Republicans were urged to write-in Fenty. Fenty received a paltry 800-some votes. The second place vote-getter was actually Gray, who received 5 or 6 hundred according to the Board of Elections. Therefore, it's not even a given that Republicans would automatically vote for Fenty. Statehood/Greens for sure won't.

Also, historically there has not been a huge increase between primary and general election vote numbers. To the contrary, in the 2006 primary, there were 123,448 primary votes and only 120,620 general election votes. So, the number of voters actually went down.

With Fenty not even running, the idea that he is going to get a landslide in the general that didn't exist in the primary is ludicrous.

Again Jeff demonstrates his difficulty with simple mathematics. Fenty does not need a landslide in the general election. He need only receive the most votes, and "most" could be as little as one.

BTW, the full video of Gray's Ward 3 Town Hall is now available here:

http://www.vincegrayformayor.com/blog/entry/video_ward_3_town_hall_meeting

Anyone interested can watch for themselves.

[Anonymous]

13:00: Perhaps if people educate themselves as to the state of emergency this has truly become, the will flock to the polls, in droves.

And even if the effort does not succeed, we will have sent Gray an important message: Less than 20% of Wards 2 and 3 support you. We will not work with you; we will fight you every step of the way.

Gray is clearly only concerned with those who live in Wards 7 & 8. Good luck trying to accomplish anything when most of Northwest Washington hates you, Vince.

We may not be able to elect Fenty. But we can try to freeze dry Vince Gray and just store him somewhere for 4 years. Somewhere where he can do as little damage to this city as possible.

[Anonymous]

Jeff again demonstrates his difficulty with numerics. Fenty does not need a landslide in the general election to win. He needs only to get the most votes, and "most" can be as little as one more than any other candidate.

Maybe Jeff, like Vince, received the same DCPS education that Vince did, and which Vince thinks was "great!" Since Jeff has now posted a link to the video of the meeting, you can all hear Vince boast about the wonderful DCPS education he recieved. And you should. Because that? Is some scary stuff.

You'll also hear his vision for school reform, which does not place any value on academics. And you'll hear him state that since we're all so compassionate, we should agree to a tax increase. You'll hear him say that city residents are entitled to city jobs.

Really, after listening to this meeting, you'll be so scared you won't even need Halloween.

Watch the video. Feel the fear. And then run -- do not walk -- to the polls in November. Write-in Adrian M. Fenty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

My bet is that a lot of those Gray supporters used to be Fenty supporters, but had a retroactive conversion on September 15, when they realized where the jobs and the influence lay.

[Anonymous]

Hey, 14:51! If your write-in Fenty campaign fails, maybe you can launch a secession effort! Start your own little Upper Caucasia. Cause I'm getting your message loud and clear about these stupid ward 7 & 8 people -- we KNOW who you're talking about.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:13:00: Perhaps if people educate themselves as to the state of emergency this has truly become, the will flock to the polls, in droves.

And even if the effort does not succeed, we will have sent Gray an important message: Less than 20% of Wards 2 and 3 support you. We will not work with you; we will fight you every step of the way.

Gray is clearly only concerned with those who live in Wards 7 & 8. Good luck trying to accomplish anything when most of Northwest Washington hates you, Vince.

We may not be able to elect Fenty. But we can try to freeze dry Vince Gray and just store him somewhere for 4 years. Somewhere where he can do as little damage to this city as possible.

LOL. State of emergency. Oh no, Gray wants to provide early childhood education. Man the barriers! Maybe you can practice civil disobedience and block the doors of schools to keep 3 and 4 year olds out?

I hate to break it to you, but all the Council Members from the northwest wards now support Gray. Even Muriel Bowser is holding a fundraiser for him. Cheh, of course, endorsed him. As long as Gray has the votes in Council, he will be able to govern regardless of what you prefer. Of course, if you and the rest of Wards 1, 2, and 3 don't want city services, feel free not to cooperate. What are you going to do? Refuse to renew your driver's license or put your trash out on the curb? Fenty PUMAs are hilarious.

[Anonymous]

And Jeff also fails to see the true numerics of the Republican vote in the primary. Hundreds of Republicans changed their registration so that they could vote for Fenty in the Democratic primary. Had those hundreds of people instead written in Fenty as Republicans, the percentage of Republican support for Fenty as opposed to Gray would be overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey, 14:51! If your write-in Fenty campaign fails, maybe you can launch a secession effort! Start your own little Upper Caucasia. Cause I'm getting your message loud and clear about these stupid ward 7 & 8 people -- we KNOW who you're talking about.

Sorry, but my message is no different than Gray's. Watch the tape. He starts by talking about Wards 7 & 8, and he ends by talking about Wards 7 & 8. He only wants to represent the interests of people living in Wards 7 & 8. If you do not live in Wards 7 or 8, he will not represent your interests.

It's just that simple. You cannot logically imply that I am any more of a racist than is Vince Gray.

Oh, but when he needed to place an elderly relative in a good nursing facility? Then Ward 3 suited him just fine! That's on the tape, too. Yes, Ward 3 subjects are resources from which to siphon taxes and services to the residents of Wards 7 & 8. Vince Gray leads by example! Superb!

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff again demonstrates his difficulty with numerics. Fenty does not need a landslide in the general election to win. He needs only to get the most votes, and "most" can be as little as one more than any other candidate.

Fenty would have to receive a landslide among people who didn't vote in the primary but would vote in the general. Fenty has to make up over 13,000 votes. There are unlikely to even be 13,000 additional voters in the general. But, if there are, Fenty will need a landslide among them. He won't get it. So, the PUMA party is over.

Anonymous wrote:You'll also hear his vision for school reform, which does not place any value on academics. And you'll hear him state that since we're all so compassionate, we should agree to a tax increase. You'll hear him say that city residents are entitled to city jobs.

Actually, you won't hear most of that. Rather, you will hear Gray outline his vision of birth-to-24 education which emphasizes early childhood education and college in addition to K-12. You will also hear him discuss enforcing First Source which gives priority to DC residents for jobs funded by DC's spending. The previous poster seems to be almost as confused about First Source as he/she is about how to count votes. Alleviating the high unemployment rates in DC should be the priority of our mayor. I'm surprised that this PP doesn't support First Source, but maybe the poster prefers paying for social services to support the unemployed. In that case, I hope the poster will be compassionate and support a tax increase because unemployment has a high cost.