Those pesky Save Our Safety Net folks (the same ones who got several D.C. Council members to put on superhero capes last week) got up in D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s face with a camera during a lobbying push this morning. You’ve got to admire their moxie.

These grassroots budget activists are pushing a proposal to increase income taxes on the wealthiest District residents (9.0 percent for those earning between $200,000 and $1 million, and 9.4 percent for those above $1 million), in an effort to avoid further cuts to basic social services. So far, Michael A. Brown (I-At-large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) have all pledged their support for some version of a new progressive income tax.

But without the support of Gray, such a dramatic tax increase will have trouble passing. When pressed this morning on whether he could support such a measure, the mayoral candidate was at least honest: He told them he didn’t think it was a good time to raise taxes, since he’s busy trying to get residents to vote for him.