Vince Gray speaking at last night’s Ward 3 town hall.

We were expecting some fire. A little passion. Some pointed questions, even. Something — anything! — about D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. We got none of that.

Yesterday’s packed Ward 3 town hall with presumptive Mayor-elect Vince Gray — the second in an eight-stop citywide tour; Ward 5 was earlier this week — featured none of what you’d expect when a guy who only won 20 percent of the ward’s vote shows up promising to listen to resident concerns. (In opening remarks, Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh admitted that the “burden of proof and persuasion is on his shoulders,” calling his lack of support in the ward the “elephant in the room.”) In fact, the town hall was downright friendly, allowing Gray to both present himself to voters who may not know much about him and sketch his vision for his presumptive mayoralty.

Unlike in Ward 5, Gray delivered extended — and lively, if not a little aggressive — opening remarks that focused heavily on education reform, a key issue in the District’s recent primary. Hoping to soothe some nerves, Gray touted his support for charter schools, which he says have grown dramatically under his watch. He also trotted out what is becoming a something of a campaign slogan, “Education reform and collaboration are not mutually exclusive…they’re not strange bedfellows.” He also touched upon other issues, including jobs, public safety, the District’s precarious fiscal situation, and voting rights.