Thousands watched as D.C. Councilmember Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) accepted an honorary Ph.D. from his alma mater, George Washington University (GWU), during its commencement on the National Mall on Sunday, May 19.
In 1964, Gray received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from GWU. As a student, he joined the Jewish fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi, where he served two consecutive terms as president.
Gray’s decades of public service not only include stints as Ward 7 council member, but council chairman and D.C. mayor. He’s the only elected official in D.C. history to serve in those three roles. Gray has set out to fulfill a vision centered on fiscal responsibility, economic development, equitable access to quality public education, and eradication of health disparities.
Still, as Gray’s wife, Dr. Dawn Kum, explained, there was something missing.
“Vince said that his only regret was not getting a doctorate,” Kum said to GWU faculty, staff, graduates and celebrants as she spoke on Gray’s behalf on Sunday. “I replied it’s not too late.”
Gray, who recently suffered his second stroke in two years, sat in his wheelchair on stage donning academic regalia as Kum expressed gratitude for the honor and took listeners on a trip down memory lane.
“To my surprise, the next day Vince reached out to the then-president to inquire about enrolling in a doctorate program,” she continued in her recounting of a conversation between her and Gray.
“And at once he made a plan to fit academics into an already full workload representing Ward 7 on the D.C. Council and chairing the Committee on Health. Sadly, [COVID-19] raised its ugly head and,like so many of us, his plans had to be put on hold.”
Questions Ensue Amid the Changing of the Guard
During the early part of May, Gray, who’s been a wheelchair user since his first stroke in 2022, didn’t attend the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole’s legislative meeting due to the in-patient physical therapy he took on in the aftermath of another stroke.
In the days leading up to GWU’s commencement, council colleagues and Ward 7 residents expressed concern about Gray’s health. On Friday, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) took the X (formerly known as Twitter), wishing Gray a speedy recovery from a “health setback.”
Minutes later, Gray, via his X account, responded to Mendelson, assuring him that all was well.
“I’m fine, Mr. Chairman,” Gray’s tweet read. “Three weeks ago, I experienced a health setback and have had no subsequent issues. I’m working every day on Ward 7 and [c]ouncil business, while at the same time undergoing physical therapy.”
After his first stroke, Gray continued to meet with council colleagues virtually while working at his home office. That didn’t stop constituents, organizers and colleagues from questioning whether the Ward 7 council member could continue to work on behalf of the ward.
Sheila Bunn, Gray’s chief staff, counts among those who are attempting to lay such concerns to rest. She told The Informer that Gray still makes every decision about policy, legislation and other actions. She noted that staff members brief the council member on issues and he further educates himself before arriving at a decision.
Assumptions about his cognition, she said, are rooted in misinformation and ulterior political motives.
“Let me be clear, the council member’s cognitive abilities are unaffected by his stroke,” Bunn said. “Councilmember Gray has been having mobility issues for several months. And, as we shared a few weeks ago, he has been doing in-patient physical therapy to improve his mobility… His recent stroke is a setback in that regard, but he isn’t receiving treatment or physical therapy for any additional effects.”
The Endorsement Read All across Ward 7
During the earlier part of last year, Gray’s office announced that he would no longer make verbal statements in public. He instead has opted to release written statements and responses to media inquiries through Chuck Thies, his director of communications.
That process, Thies told The Informer, involves him and Gray sitting together as Gray articulates his message and Thies turns it into “political prose” before disseminating it to the public.
Thies likened his job to that of a presidential speechwriter, saying that he and Gray embarked on a similar process when Gray endorsed Jacque Patterson in his re-election bid for the At-large D.C. State Board of Education seat and, more recently, Wendell Felder, one of 10 candidates running to succeed Gray as Ward 7 D.C. council member.
A statement released by Gray’s office dubbed Felder as one who stands above the other candidates when it comes to “ideas, work ethic and dedication to the community.”
“Wendell Felder’s journey in public service demonstrates his dedication to uplifting Ward 7 residents and advocating for their interests,” Gray’s statement said.
The current council member noted Felder’s experience in both local government and the private sector as unique positions that will help him “tackle complex challenges and unite varied interests toward a common goal.”
“I have complete confidence that Wendell will be ready on day one. He has a proven record of achievements and knows how to turn good ideas into successful accomplishments,” the statement continued.
Within hours of Gray’s office releasing the statement, questions circulated among constituents about whether Gray actually endorsed Felder or if the statement represented the perspective of someone else within Gray’s office or inner circle.
Carlos Gray, son of the Ward 7 council member, declined to comment on the matter.
Carrie Thornhill, a retired nonprofit executive and friend of Gray also didn’t speak on the endorsement or how he came to his decision. She did, however, tell The Informer that Gray’s family and office staff encouraged people to not directly contact the council member while he undergoes physical therapy.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kelvin Brown, a Ward 7 council candidate who Gray defeated in 2020, told The Informer that he’s not sure if the endorsement can truly be counted as such due to what he called the council member’s lack of engagement over several months.
As Brown recounted, he and his fellow advisory neighborhood commissioners in ANC 7B have unsuccessfully attempted to get Gray’s office to respond to community members’ concerns. Brown told The Informer that, oftentimes over the last few years, the commissioners would have to rely on one another instead of the council member to address problems.
Similarly, Brown spoke about what he called confusion among voters he encountered on the campaign trail about the council member’s presence, or lack thereof.
“It just seems that as taxpayers we don’t have representation on the D.C. Council, and now all of a sudden there’s an endorsement,” Brown said. “It might hold weight with some of [Wendell Felder’s] supporters but I’m running my own race.”
For one Ward 7 resident who requested anonymity, Gray’s endorsement is subject to debate given the prominent role that his staff, particularly Thies, have taken in the wake of the council member’s first stroke.
The resident said that Gray’s staffers are leveraging political influence, much to the detriment of Ward 7 voters. They even went as far as to demand that Gray make the Felder endorsement verbally and on camera.
“There is a difference between love, respect and appreciation for Vince Gray’s years of service and the reality that he currently doesn’t personally represent the ward 7 community,” the resident told The Informer.
“The views of his non-resident staffers don’t reflect the will of the people. Other candidates like Veda Rasheed and Eboni-Rose Thompson are the true top contenders in the race and a reflection of the community’s wishes.”
Thies has since pushed back against such assertions, telling The Informer that he first learned about Gray’s decision from a third party on the evening of May 14. As Thies recounted, he and Gray discussed the endorsement the following day over the phone and began work on a statement while Gray was at the in-patient physical therapy center.
Thies said that it was at that time that he first heard the council member’s in-depth thoughts about Felder.
This exchange, Thies said, came months after Gray reportedly started receiving inquiries from candidates and campaign surrogates about whether he would seek re-election and, if not, how to secure his endorsement.
Thies told The Informer that Felder, D.C. State Board of Education President Eboni-Rose Thompson, and Villareal Johnson, in particular, engaged Gray last fall respectfully and out of regard for his incumbency.
Thompson and Johnson declined to speak about Gray’s endorsement.
After the field expanded in the wake of Gray’s late 2023 announcement, dialogue between Gray and Thies about the race continued. Thies said that the electoral contest accounted for 10% of his conversations with the council member. He went on to point out that Gray zeroed in on Felder and Thompson, two Ward 7 leaders with whom he’s built rapport over many years, during the latter part of April.
“I advised the council member to stay neutral,” Thies said as he criticized any notion that he made the Felder endorsement decision on Gray’s behalf.
“He and he alone made the decision. It became a decision I supported,” Thies continued. “The conspiracy theory that I somehow made this decision is the worst type of politics coming at the expense of Vince’s reputation and isn’t founded in reality.”
Wendell Felder Speaks
The Ward 7 D.C. Council race has called into question who among 10 candidates — Felder, Brown, Thompson, Johnson, Veda Rasheed, Ebony Payne, Ebbon Allen, Denise Reed, Roscoe Grant, Jr., and Nate Fleming. — has the resume, know-how, and sincerity to represent Ward 7 at a critical juncture in its development.
Felder, a millennial, Ward 7 civic leader, and former Bowser affiliate, counts among the more prominent figures in the Ward 7 council race. Since announcing his candidacy, he has secured endorsements from the Ward 7 Democrats, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Tyrell Holcomb (SMD 7F01), former D.C. Democratic national committeewoman Barbara D. Morgan, International Brotherhood of Teamsters – Local 639, and Service Employees International Union – Local 32BJ, and SigmaPAC 1914.
On Monday, Opportunity DC endorsed Felder.
While Felder acknowledged his engagement with Gray in the fall, he called it part of a relationship that the two of them had cultivated since Felder first started pursuing public service.
“The council member is my mentor,” Felder said. “We’re colleagues and friends.”
As Felder recounted, he and Gray often communicated in the days and weeks leading up to May 16, when he learned about Gray’s decision to endorse him. Their conversations, he said, increasingly centered on his campaign, particularly comments he made to the American Civil Liberties Union about backing a congressional overturn of D.C. legislation he deems harmful to Ward 7 residents.
Felder told The Informer that Gray’s endorsement further confirmed his ability to take Ward 7 to new heights. If elected, his immediate plans include a unity breakfast intended to ensure that Ward 7 can overcome what he described as an electoral process mired in rumor, speculation and backbiting.
“The council member [also] endorsed me in my role as Ward 7 Democrats president,” Felder said. “He endorsed Jacque Patterson [for D.C. State Board of Education.] He was fine when he received his doctorate from GWU. It’s very disappointing to see the lengths that individuals will go to create a false narrative so they can promote their candidate. It shows desperation.”
