Mayor Vince Gray, embroiled in scandal after a series of revelations that some of his supporters waged an illegal “shadow” campaign on his behalf in 2010, appeared for the full hour of today’s edition of NewsTalk With Bruce DePuyt on NewsChannel 8.

The show was Gray’s first lengthy interview since Tuesday’s guilty plea by Jeanne Clarke Harris, in which the local public-relations executive admitted to running an off-the-books campaign operation largely financed by mega-donor Jeffrey Thompson. Though Gray was diligent in following his attorney’s advice not to discuss in detail matters related to the ongoing investigation by U.S. Attorney Ron Machen, the suspicion and outrage inspired by the shadow campaign hung over the entire interview.

Near the end of the broadcast, after diverting toward policy issues, host Bruce DePuyt re-approached the shadow campaign by asking Gray about the calls for his resignation issued by three members of the D.C. Council. On Wednesday, David Catania (I-At Large), Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) put out statements calling on the mayor to step down.

Though the resignation demands were initially rebuffed by Gray spokesman Pedro Ribiero, today, Gray offered his own response to the councilmembers, and he did not mince his thoughts, giving a different reply to each disapproving councilmember.

With respect to Catania, Gray reminded DePuty of Catania’s political history. “Let’s be honest, David Catania was a Republican,” the mayor said, adding that though perhaps unbeknown to many, D.C. government has its own partisan divides. Gray also pointed to the fact that under his mayoralty, Catania, who chairs the Council’s health services committee, has less power to oversee the District’s health agencies than he did under former Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Gray repeated his office’s earlier line that he was “disappointed” to see the call for his resignation from Cheh, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University who when she endorsed Gray in 2010 bucked her Ward 3 constituents, most of whom supported Fenty.

But Gray’s response to Bowser, while short, was perhaps the sharpest. “Bowser wants to be mayor, so I’m hardly surprised by that,” he said, intimating at the expectation that Bowser, who succeeded Fenty as the Council’s Ward 4 representative, is plotting a campaign for the District’s top job.

Most of the callers who made it on-air were supportive of the mayor. “Your help cometh from the lord,” said a pastor who called in, telling Gray that he had the backing of the religious community.

Still, if there was anything that truly piqued the excitement of John A. Wilson Building observers watching on television, it was the dynamic between Gray and Bowser.


And Bowser was among those watching, too. Early in the program, DePuyt jumped from his first line of questioning about the shadow campaign to the recent performance by Pepco. Although Gray had a response ready for that topic, Bowser was incredulous:

Here’s video of Gray’s appearance on NewsTalk:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Filed Under: bruce depuyt, interview, muriel bowser, newstalk, vince gray,