Photo by Matt Cohen.

Although he originally said that he wasn’t going to run for mayor unless Mayor Gray doesn’t gun for reelection, Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal formally kicked off his mayoral campaign today, despite what Gray may or may not be doing.

At an campaign kick-off event at Busboys and Poets Ben’s Chili Bowl, a crowd of about 75 supporters—along with a handful of media—squished inside the back of the venerable U Street landmark to listen to Shallal make his official announcement. The event kicked off with a congo drum line snake their way through Ben’s and through the crowd to the front of the podium, where Shallal then joined them in their drum circle for a bit. Afterwards. Bomani Armah, a supporter of Shallal’s campaign and Busboys and Poet’s Directer of Poetry Events, expressed why he thinks Shallal is the best candidate through a rap. “Make some noise for Andy Shallal,” Armah chanted, “make D.C. a city for all,” the crowd responded.

Former boxing promoter Rock Newman, who will be Shallal’s campaign manager, introduced the mayoral candidate with a speech that could’ve doubled as a pivotal monologue in a sports movie. He talked about Shallal’s status as an underdog, and that a prominent woman in D.C. politics said he was “chickenshit” for backing Shallal.

During his speech and taking questions from the media, Shallal touched upon some of the issues he’ll be campaigning on. Specifically, he’s a big supporter of the arts—especially in education—and would devote one percent of each agency’s budget to art and culture. He also said how he’d like to lower the voting age in the District to 17, so as to educate, “excite”, and “inspire” young people to care about voting and the various issues around D.C.

Shallal also mentioned that he’d accept corporate contributions for his campaign, saying that he’ll be able to raise enough money to compete in the election. When grilled about his relationship working on Michael Brown’s At-Large D.C. Council campaign, Shallal said that as soon as he heard about his bribery charges, he left the campaign. Despite Gray not yet saying whether or not he’ll run for reelection, Shallal said that if he does decide to run, “he wishes him the best.”

During and after the rally, Shallal’s supporters went around getting signatures from people for his mayoral candidacy petition and registering people to vote. Michon Boston, an entrepreneur who provides consulting services to various organizations for production, came to support Shallal because she believes he “adds something to this city.”

“We’re a different city, Boston said, “and he’s the shot in the arm this city needs. Boston, a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts also said she connects with Shallal’s emphasis on the arts and “creative vision” he has for the city. “We’re good,” Boston said, “but we can be better.