Politics
Vincent Gray declares intention to seek 2nd term as mayor of Washington D.C.
Vincent Gray (pictured), has declared his candidacy for a second term as the mayor of Washington D.C., settling a question that had hung over city politics for months.
Gray’s campaign will force voters to weigh the prosperity achieved during the Democrat’s nearly three years in office against the crimes several close associates committed to help get him elected in 2010.
A federal investigation of the 2010 campaign has been ongoing for most of Gray’s term. Four people who worked on the campaign have pleaded guilty to felonies, 2 of them for helping to orchestrate and spend US$653,000 in illicit funds on Gray’s behalf. Prosecutors called the effort a “shadow campaign” that tainted Gray’s victory over then-Mayor Adrian Fenty.
Gray maintained on Monday as he has throughout the probe that he did nothing wrong. He has refused to discuss the case in detail and declined to comment on whether he was running with the blessing of his attorney, Robert Bennett, who also declined to comment.
Gray arrived late Monday afternoon at the Washington D.C. Board of Elections to pick up nominating petitions and sign a declaration of candidacy. He has one month to collect 2,000 signatures to get his name on the ballot.
Gray is a late entry to the race, with the Democratic primary scheduled for April 1. The mayor said he waited until Monday because he wanted to give U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen as much time as possible to wrap up the investigation.
“I was hoping that all the 2010 stuff would be over,” Gray said. “It isn’t, and it will continue on however long the U.S. attorney chooses to investigate it.”
