Newschannel 8 and the Washington City Paper are reporting that DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray is announcing a primary challenge against Mayor Adrian Fenty. A number of polls (here, here) came out over the past few months showing Gray leading or competitive with Fenty. It's been generally thought that Gray was not going to get in- which comically led the Washington City Paper to propose a number of random alternative candidates, including NPR radio host Kojo Nnamdi and former Clinton budget chief Alice Rivlin- and that even if he was going to enter, he should have done so several months ago. As of just a few weeks ago, Fenty had already raised more than he raised in the entire 2006 campaign, with $3.9 collected- a massive warchest for this race. However, it appears Gray has now decided on the Mayoral race. This will also open up the DC Council chairmanship as an open seat.
From what I've read and observed from Gray over the past few years, much of Gray's criticism is based on style and less on policy substance. A lot of sentiment here is that Fenty governs as a competent, but arrogant Mayor who treats the Council as a fiefdom, something with which I agree (see here for more). Or, as the DCist blog put it, "Poll Shows Fenty's Personality Sucks, But Not His Policies". The narrative the traditional media will probably beat is that that Gray has an opportunity to appeal to African-Americans- one poll had Fenty at 22% approval in that community, and Gray represented Ward 7, a 97% African-American ward on the east side of the Anacostia River, with some of the highest rates of poverty in the city. January's WaPo poll showed Gray leading Fenty by thirty points among African-American registered Democrats in a matchup. What will really be interesting to me is how the candidates talk on the stump about their support for the city's new law legalizing same-sex marriage equality.
Will be keeping an eye on the race. If you have any opinions on Gray, Fenty or city politics in general, feel free to drop them in the comments.
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