No one’s surprised that scandal-plagued D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray invited an investigation of his political campaign by the city’s attorney general. That’s Crisis Management 101. The move gives the impression Gray has nothing to hide. It also provides him a credible excuse for not answering any further questions about allegations that his 2010 mayoral campaign paid cash and promised a job to candidate Sulaimon Brown if he remained in the race and continued his savage attacks on incumbent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Those charges by Brown appeared in Sunday’s Washington Post.
Calling the allegations “surprising, shocking and appalling,” Gray said they are “inconsistent with what I know about my own campaign.” The mayor said he also “left a message” for D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown inviting an investigation by the legislature.
Gray’s righteous indignation may ring hollow for some residents. After all, Sulaimon Brown received a $110,000 job less than a week after Gray officially took office. Brown was subsequently terminated after media reports that he may have been involved in illegal activities.
Further, without regard for fiscal challenges facing the city or personnel rules, Gray approved exorbitant salaries for other political cronies. Adding insult to injury, he also hired some of their relatives, placing them in agencies without directors conducting prior interviews of those individuals.
“In less than three months, we’ve been set back more than 10 years,” civic leader Terry Lynch complained to me Saturday, during one of dozens of interviews I conducted as I attempted to gauge the effect of the series of scandals that began last month.
“His administration has demonstrated a lack of direction and discipline. It is spelling disaster for us,” added Lynch, whose views were not different from many people I spoke with, including some Gray supporters.
Gray had attempted last week to get ahead of the scandals. He penned a commentary in the Northwest Current acknowledging “missteps.” But he continued to defend the compensation packages to his Cabinet and dismissed the charges of nepotism, arguing, “Those young people were deemed qualified for the positions for which they competed.” In fact, none actually competed. They were selected.
Any ground that was gained by that effort has been lost.
“If this is a sign of what’s to come, it’s going to be a tough three and a half years,” Paul Craney, executive director of the D.C. Republican Committee, told me Saturday.
Unfortunately, scandal-weary residents won’t find relief in the legislature. Kwame Brown has been reeling from his own controversy involving his penchant for “fully loaded” SUVs. He started his crisis management campaign last week, sending out a slew of press releases. He announced Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute would provide the council ethics advice.
Ironically, ending cronyism and implementing ethics reform were supposed to be top priorities for the executive and legislature. Obviously neither the chairman nor the mayor got that memo.
The swift decline of the District government’s image under this new regime has been spectacular.
Somebody say amen.
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
