Gray Rolls Out Anti-Fenty Website
We've got a week to go before the District's Democratic primaries, and both Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council Chair Vince Gray are in the final push to claim mayoral victory in the contest.
But of the two campaigns, it seems that Gray's is throwing everything it has at unseating Fenty. Late last week, they rolled out two new TV ads, both of which appear to be in relatively heavy rotation on local cable stations. And today the Gray camp unveiled "Formerly Fenty," a website highlighting residents -- including former Fenty administration officials -- that have turned on Fenty over the last four years. The site has six YouTube testimonials from such individuals, and allows others to add their name and personal story to what is a growing list of the disaffected. (Gray campaign manager Adam Rubinson could probably add his name to the list; he was a Fenty volunteer in 2006.) The website even uses the color scheme and font used by the Fenty campaign, and copied the format of the Fenty's campaigns first TV ads.
The initiative highlights a two-pronged approach by the Gray campaign -- while it keeps rolling out detailed policy plans and talking up the "One City" mantra, it is also maintaining a steady rhythm of attacks on Fenty. (Gray did release a video over the weekend calling for supporters of all candidates to remain "respectful," though.)
The Fenty campaign has also kicked up its efforts, campaigning with Michelle Rhee, getting First Lady Michelle Fenty's sympathetic face in front of as many cameras as possible, and tweeting a whole lot more in the last week than it has in the past few months. Oh, and there's new go-go videos, too.
A final campaign finance deadline is tonight, so we'll get a sense of how much cash each campaign has to burn in the closing seven days of the highly competitive race.