Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) A very familiar person in D.C. politics will be moving back into an office at the Wilson Building today. Former D.C. Mayor Vince Gray will be sworn in as the representative for Ward 7 on the city council.
“In a sense it’s full circle,” Gray said. He was first elected to serve as the Ward 7 council member in 2005. In 2007 he was elected council chair, and in 2011 he became mayor. In 2014 Gray lost a re-election bid in the Democratic primary to current Mayor Muriel Bowser. Many blame that loss on a looming investigation into whether Gray was involved in a shadow campaign. That investigation wrapped up in 2016 without any charges brought against Gray.
Despite being out of public office since 2015, Gray said he has visited the Wilson Building many times. He’s excited to return to public office and be given another chance to help his ardent supporters in Ward 7.
He said he will try to put the past aside to work with his enemy Mayor Muriel Bowser to get things done for his constituents including bringing more sit-down restaurants to his ward and decreasing crime.
“Hopefully we will find harmony in those decisions, and the places where we don’t, then we’ll just have to have whatever debate is associated with trying to get it right,” Gray said of working with Bowser.
The question on everyone’s minds is whether Gray will run for mayor again in 2018.
“I don’t know. People ask me that constantly, and I really appreciate that people are so interested in what I may do in the future, but what I’ve said to people is that’s a decision that I’m not prepared to make,” Gray said.
For now, he will focus on improving the lives of people in Ward 7. He’ll hold off on making a decision about whether to run for mayor again until the primary gets closer.
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