Do you regret voting for Vincent Gray?

[Anonymous]

If you live in Washington, DC, do you regret voting for Vincent Gray for Mayor? I sure do! I was quite tired of Fenty's seeming immaturity, and thought Gray was the "adult" in the race. But I realize now that Fenty got things done and the city was at least moving forward. With the Gray administration, a languid summer torpor has enveloped the whole city government --- starting last January. And Gray's apparent indifference to the ethical lapses of his appointees and his cronies makes it seem more and more like "Back to the Future" (i.e., the pre-control board Barry era) in DC. The latest was that Gray basically gave Harry ("I admitted nothing, but I'm returning the $300K") Thomas a pass the other day.

Where have you gone, Tony Williams? The city turns its lonely eyes to you.

[Anonymous]

Gray was an ideal chairman, acting as foil for Fenty and, for the first time I can remember, getting an unruly council in line.

I wouldn't have voted for him for mayor if you'd paid me. But for certain constituencies (teachers, cab drivers) and individuals (Sulaimon Brown) it seems some kind of quid pro quo was, at the very least, expected. I mean, wasn't that obvious before the primary?

Fenty wasn't warm and fuzzy but he was visible and he got things done.

Those days are far behind us now.

[Anonymous]

Only the shortsighted voted for him.

[jsteele]

There is plenty to criticize about Gray -- and if you have been reading my blog articles you will see that I have criticized him plenty -- but, it's important to keep things in perspective. First and foremost, Gray is dealing with a completely different environment than Fenty faced. Fenty had plenty of money to toss around improving the government. Gray, in contrast, has faced nothing but budget cuts. Nevertheless, I personally have not seen a degradation in city services. To the contrary, his appointment to replace Gabe Klein at DDOT, Terry Bellamy, had been both accessible and aggressive in resolving issues faced by my neighborhood. Similarly, it was Gray's AG appointee who sued CM Thomas. Can you imagine the situation if the CM had been a Fenty crony and Nickles was AG?

Gray is in a bit of bind with Thomas. That bind is caused, in part, but the fact that a majority of Council members are embroiled in some sort of corruption. Thomas has not yet been charged, let alone found guilty of a crime. Jim Graham was involved in a bribery scheme. He was, in fact, offered a bribe and failed to report that crime or even fire the staff member who attempted to bribe him. Yet, Gray has not been pressed to call for Graham's resignation. Campaign finance violations by Kwame Brown are being investigated by the Feds and he may face charges in relation to that investigation. Barry, of course, has multiple convictions and was found to have used taxpayer money for his own benefit. Gray has not been pushed to call for either Brown or Barry's resignations. I can easily see why Gray would not want to be in a position of singling out one Member of the Council. Ideally, he should be demanding them all resign, but I can understand why politically that doesn't make sense to him (he need Council support to get anything done).

Gray has not met my expectations. But, he has hardly been the disaster that some make him out to be.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Jeff.

[Anonymous]

NO! I do not regret my vote.

[Anonymous]

A criminal is a criminal.......Vince Gray and his best friends i.e. Harry "THE CROOK" Thomas and Quami... funnel money to my brother brown all deserve what they get (prison).

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

I didn't vote for him. He sounds as dumb as can be. There of been so many problems with his administration. I hope he is recalled out of office.

[Anonymous]

I am disappointed in him and will likely vote against him next time. But I felt the same about Fenty. Give them their for years, and if they have disappointed you, give someone else a chance.

But I don't think Gray's missteps so far justify recall.

[Anonymous]

I agree, recall is pretty extreme -- absent criminal behavior or malfeasance, recalls shouldn't be used to refight the last election. Gray won, and there will be another election in 3 years (I'm thinking of the primary, which is decisive in DC). I think Gray means well, but it seems that since he became mayor the city....is...just...slowly...drifting. I hope that his election was just a reaction to Fenty's style -- and was the last gasp of DC's old political guard and the status quo who felt that Fenty challenged their interests. Already, it feels like it's time to get DC moving again.

[Anonymous]

I might love me some Count Chocula cereal, but regardless I'm not a fan of Gray.