WASHINGTON (AP) — Former District of Columbia mayor Vincent Gray officially kicked off his campaign to return to the D.C. Council on Saturday.
The kick-off event was held at The House of Praise Church in Northeast.
Gray is running for the council seat representing ward 7, which is east of the Anacostia River where he lives. He was previously elected to the seat in 2004 before running successfully for council chairman and then mayor. This year he’s mounting a Democratic primary challenge to his successor, Council member Yvette Alexander.
If elected to the council seat he once held, Gray has promised to work to rein in D.C.’s high crime rate to spark economic activity in Ward 7, where Walmart recently halted plans to locate a store.
Gray said he also wants to expand early childhood education and promote charter schools. “I want our children to be able to achieve the best they possible can, and we need to recognize that our charter schools are not the enemy,” Gray said.
Gray lost his bid for a second term as mayor in 2014 amid a federal investigation of financial misdeeds in his 2010 campaign. Six people who helped Gray get elected pleaded guilty to felonies. The investigation ended last year when prosecutors announced they would not pursue charges against Gray.
Gray called the federal investigation into his 2010 campaign fundraising an injustice.
“I have moved forward and while I’m moving forward I won’t forget what happened because I don’t want that to happen to somebody else,” Gray said.
WTOP’S Dick Uliano contributed to this report
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
