D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray acknowledged his poor approval ratings are related to the hiring scandal that has surrounded his administration since his second month in office.
Gray’s job approval rating among registered voters in the District is 34 percent, the third-lowest among major city officials in a poll conducted last week by Clarus Research Group.
“As best we can analyze it, it probably relates to something that happened earlier in the year,” Gray said on the “Politics Program” with WTOP’s Mark Plotkin. “Some of the missteps that occurred, those are things for which I’ve taken responsibility. I think we can move past those.”
The poll also showed that Gray would lose in a re-election bid against either of the city’s last two mayors if the election were held today. His support among the city’s blacks has also eroded. An overwhelming 82 percent of black voters supported Gray over then-Mayor Adrian Fenty in last year’s election. Last week, just 45 percent of black voters said they would vote for Gray in a Fenty/Gray rematch, while 31 percent opted for Fenty.
