Vincent C. Gray facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vincent Gray
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 7
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2017
Preceded by	Yvette Alexander
In office January 2, 2005 – January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Kevin Chavous
Succeeded by	Yvette Alexander
Mayor of the District of Columbia
In office January 2, 2011 – January 2, 2015
Preceded by	Adrian Fenty
Succeeded by	Muriel Bowser
7th Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia
In office January 3, 2007 – January 2, 2011
Preceded by	Linda Cropp
Succeeded by	Kwame Brown
Personal details
Born	Vincent Condol Gray (1942-11-08) November 8, 1942 (age 81) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Loretta (Deceased 1998) Dawn Kum (2019–present)
Children	2
Education	George Washington University (BS)

Vincent Condol Gray (born November 8, 1942) is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2011 to 2015.

He served for one term, losing his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary to D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser in the 2014 election. Prior to his inauguration as mayor in January 2011, Gray served as Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, and as Councilmember for Ward 7. In the 1990s he also served as director of the DC Department of Human Services. In June 2016, he defeated incumbent Yvette Alexander in the Democratic primary for the council seat he previously held in Ward 7.

Early life and career

Gray was born on November 8, 1942 in Washington, DC, and graduated from Dunbar High School. In 1964 he earned a B.S. in psychology at George Washington University, where he also took graduate courses. Gray was one of the first African Americans to join the Jewish fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi. While in the fraternity, he was the first to serve two consecutive terms as President. Other school activities included the Newman Catholic Center, as well as football and basketball intramurals. Gray is also an avid participant in hand dancing, a D.C.-area derivative of Lindy hop.

Gray began his political career with the D.C. Arc, where he successfully advocated for innovative public policy initiatives on behalf of people with mental retardation. In 1991, then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly appointed Gray to the post of Director of the DC Department of Human Services.

Gray became the founding executive director of Covenant House Washington in December 1994. Over a decade, the agency grew from a van outreach program to a multisite agency serving homeless youth in the city's Southeast and Northeast communities.

Council of the District of Columbia

In the September 2004 primary election, Gray defeated Kevin P. Chavous, the incumbent Ward 7 member of the Council of the District of Columbia, and went on to win the November general election with 91% of the vote. He was sworn in as a member of the council on January 2, 2005, and was a member of the council's Committees on Health; Economic Development; Human Services; and Education, Libraries and Recreation. Chairman Linda W. Cropp also appointed him to chair a Special Committee on Prevention of Youth Violence.

In 2006, when Cropp decided not to run for another term as chairman but to run for mayor instead, Gray ran for chairman. He defeated his council colleague Kathleen Patterson in the Democratic primary, 57% to 43%, and then won the general election unopposed. Gray ran his campaign under the banner "One City" and focused on unity among the disparate racial and economic groups in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, Gray successfully led his Council colleagues in passing the "Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008", a program to provide universal pre-kindergarten to every three- and four-year-old in the District of Columbia by 2014, to increase early intervention and enhancement services for student success.

Mayor of the District of Columbia

2010 campaign

Gray at the Nannie Helen Burroughs Day Parade on May 08 2010.

Gray formally entered the race for Mayor of the District of Columbia on March 30, 2010. His campaign adopted the slogan, commonly used during his time as Council Chairman, "One City. Leadership We Need". A Washington Post poll conducted in January 2010 showed Gray leading the incumbent mayor, Adrian Fenty, 38 percent to 31 percent among voters who were "certain" to participate in the September 14th Democratic Primary. The Washington Post noted that the poll's results were an indication of voters' disapproval of Fenty, rather than approval of Gray, because 36 percent of registered Democrats had no opinion of Gray. An August Washington Post poll found Gray with a 17-point advantage among likely voters and a 13-point lead among Democratic voters. In the event, Gray defeated Fenty by a 54 to 44 percent margin.

Activities as Mayor

Gray was sworn in on January 2, 2011.

In order to save the District $19 million in 2011, Gray proposed to furlough most District employees, including teachers. Workers would not be paid on four holidays, namely President's Day, Emancipation Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. The District Council voted in favor of the idea as part of a plan to save over $19 million for the District. On Presidents' Day, February 21, 2011, over 200 emergency calls made to 911 went unanswered since dispatchers were furloughed.

In response to a proposal by Congress to restart a school voucher program in the District, Gray said he was against the idea.

During the April 11, 2011 debates on the 2011 United States federal budget, Mayor Gray and several other D.C. elected officials joined city residents outside the Hart Senate Office Building to protest budgetary line items that restricted the city's ability to spend its own locally raised funds. ..... U.S. Capitol Police arrested several protesters, including Vincent Gray, for blocking automobile traffic. Speaking to the press before the arrest, Gray said, "This is an absolute travesty. All we want to do is spend our own money... Why should women in the District of Columbia be subjected to a set of rules that no other woman is subjected to?"

2014 mayoral campaign

On December 2, 2013, Gray filed papers to run for reelection and announced his reelection campaign in a letter to supporters. On April 1, 2014, Gray was defeated in the Democratic primary by D.C. council member Muriel Bowser. His loss was attributed largely to the ongoing investigation into his 2010 campaign finances.

Second Council tenure

In February 2016, Gray announced he was running to represent Ward 7 on the Council. Gray said he was running because accomplishments in Ward 7 were slowing or stalling. Incumbent Councilmember Yvette Alexander said Gray was running for the seat just to set up for a mayoral candidacy in 2018. On June 14, Gray defeated the incumbent and former protege Alexander in the Democratic primary. Gray was sworn into office for a four-year term at noon on January 2, 2017.

Electoral history

Personal life

Gray has two children, Jonice Gray Tucker, and Vincent Carlos Gray, and two grandchildren, Austin Gray Tucker and Jillian Gray Tucker. In 2012, it was revealed that Gray had passed dozens of Verizon Center tickets to his children. The Sky Suite tickets were freely provided to the Mayor's office, while Gray defended his children as "ambassadors" of the District; the widower’s daughter was designated First Lady of the city.

Gray's first wife Loretta died in July 1998. In 2018, he announced his marriage to longtime partner Dawn Kum. Gray lives in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Ward 7. He is Catholic.

See also

In Spanish: Vincent C. Gray para niños