Vincent Gray Mayor of Washington Date of Birth: 08.11.1942 Country: USA

Biography of Vincent Gray

Vincent Gray was the Mayor of Washington, D.C. His mayoral campaign in 2010 was embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that illegal funds were used to finance it. Jeanne Clarke Harris, a former consultant for Gray's campaign, made this statement in court on July 10th. She decided to cooperate with the investigation.

The campaign for the 2010 mayoral election in Washington, D.C. was already known to have had some issues. In March 2011, Sulaimon Brown, one of the candidates, revealed to The Washington Post that members of Vincent Gray's campaign staff had made a deal with him. They asked Brown to focus on criticizing Gray's main opponent, then-mayor Adrian Fenty, in exchange for campaign funds and a promised position in Gray's administration. This deal was made during the Democratic primary, as winning the primary would secure the mayoral position due to the city's Democratic majority. Gray won the primary and Fenty decided not to continue the fight in the general election. Brown did receive a position in the Department of Health Care Finance but was soon fired for unclear reasons, possibly due to his questionable past, including allegations of illegal weapon possession and harassment of a 13-year-old girl.

In May 2012, two former members of Gray's campaign staff admitted to giving money to Brown, confirming his earlier claims. This prompted Brown to demand Gray's resignation. However, this was just the beginning of the scandal. The investigation also focused on the sources of funding for Gray's campaign, as there were enough funds to even buy services from another candidate. On July 10th, Jeanne Clarke Harris, one of the accused in the case, struck a plea deal with the prosecution. Harris, who worked as a consultant for Gray's campaign, confessed to helping conceal funds secretly allocated by entrepreneur Jeffrey Thompson. Thompson was not explicitly named in court but is believed to be "Co-conspirator number one." According to prosecutor Ronald Machen, there was $653,000 in the secret fund that was not reported in any official campaign filings. Gray's legal campaign expenses amounted to $1.8 million, suggesting that the illegal portion of the expenses could have been significant. The money from the secret fund was used for campaign materials, consultant fees, drivers, and laptop purchases, though it is unclear if any of it went towards Brown's services.

Harris revealed that Thompson decided to secretly finance Gray's campaign to avoid damaging his relationship with the incumbent mayor, from whose administration Thompson received contracts. "He didn't want the incumbent mayor to find out that he was supporting his opponent," Harris explained. "If the then-mayor managed to win, Thompson would have faced serious difficulties with his contracts." The main question now is whether Gray himself was aware of these illegal funding operations. The prosecution has not yet claimed that the mayor personally participated, but believes that members of his campaign staff were involved. It remains uncertain who developed the plan for the secret fund, as Harris denies it was Thompson, although he is believed to have provided the funds.

This scandal has severely tarnished Gray's reputation. Bill Lightfoot, who led Adrian Fenty's campaign against Gray in 2010, questions the legitimacy of the current city administration. He believes that the $650,000 in illegal funds was sufficient to buy the local elections. Indeed, there are doubts about the legitimacy of the election. Gray won the Democratic primary by a margin of only 10 percent or 13,000 votes. He benefited from unexpectedly high turnout in the eastern part of the city, particularly in the Anacostia River area, where the funds from the secret fund were reportedly spent most actively, according to The Washington Post.