Politics
Vincent Gray declares intention to seek 2nd term as mayor of Washington D.C.
Some of Gray’s opponents have been running for the better part of a year. The mayor remained coy about his intentions for so long that many observers, including some of his supporters and potential rivals, assumed he had no intention of running.
Supporters maintain that after a rocky first few months in office, Gray, 71, has been a conscientious leader for a city that’s enjoyed declining violent crime, soaring property values, a rising population and improving schools. But his approval ratings tanked amid revelations of the “shadow campaign” and a scandal involving minor candidate Sulaimon Brown, who was paid by Gray campaign workers to stay in the race and make negative comments about Fenty.
Brown was rewarded with a US$110,000-a-year job in the Gray administration but was fired in early 2011 after less than a month in the position. He then came forward with his allegations, which led to the federal probe. Two people pleaded guilty to paying Brown with Gray campaign funds and trying to cover up the transactions.
A Washington Poll in July 2012 put Gray’s approval rating at 29 percent and his disapproval rating at 59 percent.
Gray enters a crowded field of candidates with no obvious front-runner.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
