The flirtations were intense and the relationship rocky, but the District’s affair with Sulaimon Brown and the wide-ranging investigation he provoked came to a quick and quiet end today.

The D.C. Council committee charged with digging into the shady hiring practices and excessive salaries that marked the early months of Mayor Vince Gray’s tenure adopted its report on the matter in a 3-0 vote this afternoon, effectively ending an investigation that leveled accusations at senior Gray aides including nepotism, cronyism, paying mayoral appointees excessive salaries and giving Brown over $1,000 in payments during the contentious 2010 mayoral campaign.

During the brief committee session this afternoon, Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) read the report’s conclusions and stated that, come September, she would be authoring legislation that would seek to prevent many of the mistakes uncovered by the report from happening again. Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large), who in March called Cheh’s first crack at an investigation a “whitewash,” praised the report, complimenting Cheh for the “fairness with which you’ve exercised your responsibilities.” Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) also endorsed the report, and intoned against any “wasteful” parallel investigation by Congress. He also joined Gray in looking for the city to move forward.

And while the most we may come away with is the fond memory of Brown testifying before the committee in sunglasses, this isn’t technically the last emotional tug we’ll feel — Cheh noted that since Brown has yet to comply with the final committee subpoena for documents, the report couldn’t yet be considered final.