WASHINGTON – The races for mayor and D.C. Council are heating up, with the District’s typically decisive primary just one month away.
The crowded Democratic primary for mayor features incumbent Mayor Vince Gray and council members Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans, Vincent Orange and Tommy Wells, along with Carlos Allen, Reta Jo Lewis and Andy Shallal.
“It makes the debates very unwieldy, particularly at the debates where all the candidates are there. It’s a given, particularly on the big issues like public safety and education, economic development and income inequality that almost all the candidates are going to want to talk, so it makes it hard for people in the audience to get a sense of how the candidates differ, and it makes it hard for there to be a real debate,” NewsTalk on Newschannel 8 host Bruce DePuyt says.
Gray has touted his accomplishments, including the improving economic situation in much of the city and continued changes in the school system. But he is the focus of a long-running investigation into a so-called “shadow campaign” that prosecutors say helped him win the office in 2010.
“Having a crowded field tends to work to the incumbent’s advantage because whatever anti-incumbent sentiment there is
