Photo by KCIvey
The Washington Times just keeps hammering away at D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray. After reporting last month that Gray had some unusual repair work done on his Hillcrest home by mega-developer William C. Smith & Co., a company with a long list of city contracts that does not normally do such small jobs, today there’s this addition: Gray voted in July to award an $86 million contract to Smith & Co. to develop part of the Northwest One project.
Since the original WashTimes stories ran in November, Gray has repeatedly stated that Smith is a longtime personal friend, and that he could not recall ever voting on anything related to his friend’s company. It now appears the Council record refutes that assertion.
The thing with these Times stories about Gray is that not many people believe the Chairman was unduly influenced to funnel contracts to Smith. Gray and Smith may be longtime friends, but Smith is an established, credible developer with his own reputation. His company would surely be landing just as many city contracts were Gray not on the Council. But the importance of disclosing these kinds of potential conflicts, and abstaining from voting on them when they arise, seems so far to be a little lost on Gray.
Asked about Mr. Gray’s comments about his votes on projects involving William C. Smith & Co., a spokeswoman on Tuesday reiterated that the council chairman “does not recall any” such votes.
Informed of the council record relating to the Northwest One project, the spokeswoman denied any wrongdoing but did not elaborate.
“As we have stated repeatedly, the chairman has received absolutely no favors and has done nothing improper in connection with work on his home,” Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy told The Times in an e-mail Tuesday night.
Also note the timing of the Council vote with the work done on Gray’s house: the vote took place July 31, and the home repair work began on July 13. That’s enough of a coincidence that Gray ought to be taking great pains to make this as transparent as possible to taxpayers – not to mention voters.
