Marion Barry Not Running for Mayor but Vincent Gray is Running for Reelection

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by Prince Of Petworth December 3, 2013 at 12:30 pm 19 Comments

dc_mayor_election_2014
Photo by PoPville flickr user Carly & Art

Last night former Mayor and current Council Member Marion Barry tweeted:

“Just to set the record straight, I have no intentions of ever running for Mayor of this phenomenal city again.”

“D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Monday announced that he will seek a second term, bringing a sudden end to months of uncertainty over whether corruption surrounding his last campaign would keep him from running for reelection.”

That MAn A

Where can i find one of those pins though? lol
Anonymous

“Corruption only makes a man stronger.” -said every DC resident that votes to re-elect corrupt politicians
Anonymous

So, who is everyone going to vote for? I know I will never vote for Gray, but I’m not all that familiar with the other candidates.
- Anonymous
  
  why don’t you like Gray?
  i think he’s been a good mayor.
  - Anonymous
    
    He’s been good about fighting for DC’s self-governance, but that’s about it in my opinion. The grip I have against him is how slimy and divisive his campaign was and then turning around after his victory talking about a One City and all that. He played on people’s fears about people moving into the city, and then turned around and claimed to be a unifying force.
    - Anonymous
      
      *gripe
    - KenyonDweller
      
      I agree with most of what you say. In his favor, I think Gray has been a competent administrator and has continued most of Fenty’s initiatives, despite the rhetoric of the last campaign. I am strongly disinclined to vote for him after his conduct in the 2010 election, but I can foresee voting for him as the lesser of all evils if none of the candidates emerges as an viable alternative.
    - Anonymous
      
      the city has seen continued development. continued bike infrastructure. roads with potholes get fixed. trash gets picked up ( mostly).drastically increased funding for the arts and east of the river initiatives. lowered sales tax. higher crime closure rates. gets out and amongst the peoples often.
      i think he’s pretty solid.
  - Duponter
    
    Currently under investigation for corruption. Reason enough. Where there is smoke, there is fire.
    - Anonymous
      
      clinton was impeached. still a great president. i’d vote for him again if i could.
- Anonymous
  
  Gray’s going to end up behind bars at some point, so I don’t know why anybody would waste their vote on him.
Anonymous

Funy thing is, if Marion Barry ran he’d probably have a chance of winning.
- Anonymous
  
  i wonder.
- Anonymous
  
  I sincerely doubt Barry would have a chance. DC has changed too much.
  - Anonymous
    
    I think Marion could actually make it out of a crowded primary field where the “new DC” voters were fragmented among various candidates. Marion has a good sized voting block that sticks by him.
    .
    The question would then be – would white liberals hold their nose and vote for a Republican? Or does Marion win? If Marion was the nominee, I can imagine a strong independent candidate might arise for the general election.
    - Anonymous
      
      i bet some younger white voters that don’t really remember barry as mayor, but know barry as celebrity might actually vote for him.
anonymous

I have seen Barry in council meetings. He is so clearly past any prime he may have had that I doubt that any but his most die hard supporters would vote for him. I suspect that support for him is waning in Ward 8 as new residents (slowly) replace the old and agitate for effective representation. As for Gray, barring an indictment, I expect to vote for him for all the (good) reasons already stated by other commenters. I have seen him up close and have watched him in his press conferences; he is good. It would be a shame if it turns out he was foolish enough to have done something indictable. But, I would get over it. I hope (and expect) that DC would get over it as well. I don’t know who I would vote for instead, but my mind is open. I don’t hate (or love) any of them.
brookland_rez

I must say, even though I didn’t vote for him in 2010, I agree with what you’ve said.
- brookland_rez
  
  That was in response to anonymous at 2:34 today.

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