Photo by Matt Dunn

Two weeks ago local activist Frederick Butler gave notice that he sought to recall both Mayor Vince Gray and D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown from office. The attempts, which would take over 45,000 signatures a piece to get on the ballot, will officially kick off this Wednesday when the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics will give the green light for Butler to begin circulating petitions.

The recall petitions will include both Butler’s statement advocating for their removal from office — posted here — and responses from both Gray and Brown, which we obtained today.

In his own defense, Gray opted for a simple bullet point list of what he says are his principal accomplishments while in office, including “Creating Jobs and Growing Our Economy” and “Providing a Quality Education for All.” In an accompanying letter, though, he offers some more thoughts on the recall attempt, calling it “ill advised…given the cost entailed in holding a citywide special election and the progress the Gray administration is making in a number of areas critical to the future of our city.”

In an interview with the Washingtonian’s Carol Joynt that was published last week, Gray was a little more direct, calling Butler’s recall “unwarranted” and lambasting his justification as “gibberish.”

In his own statement, Brown points to his work as chairman, including “his effort to enact the first comprehensive ethics law and pass the largest job creation bill in the District’s history.

Once the election board gives the go-ahead, Butler will have to collect signatures from 10 percent of registered voters in the District and from five of city’s eight wards for each recall petition. Every mayor spare Walter Washington has been subjected to a recall attempt, though none have made it to the ballot.

Gray Recall Response

Brown Recall Response