Mary Cheh Is Sixth D.C. Councilmember To Endorse Gray
D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) has strongly endorsed Vince Gray for mayor, raising the number of Councilmembers who are supporting the outgoing council chair and primary mayoral opponent to Mayor Adrian Fenty to six.
In an interview with TBD's Bruce DePuyt this morning, Cheh took a stance on the mayoral contest. "I'm going to support Vince Gray...because I think, having worked with him over last four years, I have become an admirer," said Cheh. She added, "I have come to the view that he is the mayor that we need now." Cheh spoke highly of Gray's ability to forge consensus, saying, "he allows people to have their say, but that doesn't mean that they tell him what to do." She also admitted that she has been slow to come to Gray's side. "I have come skeptically to him...I supported his opponent for council chair," she said, referring to former Ward 3 Councilmember Kathy Patterson, who lost to Gray in 2006.
Cheh expressed frustration with Fenty, pointing out that he missed an opportunity with the council and the city. "My disappointment [with Fenty] is heightened by a sense of what could have been," she said. Cheh also harshly criticized Fenty for not working more closely with the council, a complaint echoed repeatedly by Gray on the campaign trail. "Instead of opening the door, the door is shut...we cannot have a system we have now of secrecy, of closed doors, of decisions by one, and pronouncements," she stated.
Cheh's announcement puts her alongside five of her colleagues on the Council. Gray has picked up the support of Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5), Michael A. Brown (I-At Large), and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). Fenty has only gotten Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), while Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Kwame Brown (D-At Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and David Catania (I-At Large) have stayed on the fence.
The endorsement is somewhat big news given that Ward 3 is considered to be part of Fenty's base. An August poll found Fenty leading Gray in wards 2 and 3 by a large margin -- 59 to 26, with 15 percent of voters undecided. Additionally, Cheh's only challenger, Republican candidate Dave Hedgepeth, made a bit of a stir in late August by endorsing Fenty, going as far as to accuse Cheh of not being pro-Fenty enough for the ward. "In this election, Cheh's refusal to endorse Mayor Fenty speaks volumes about were she really stands on education and on the quality of life issues that matter so much to Ward 3," he said.
Cheh's jump into the Gray camp isn't much of a stretch, though. She's repeatedly clashed with D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles, a loyal Fenty ally, and likely took solace in a recent Post poll that gave Gray as much as a 17-point lead. Regardless, it goes to show how strained the relationship between the Council and Fenty has become over the last few years.