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Alexander says her constituent services team “responds to more than 1,500 calls a month. Sometimes when a constituent has an issue, it does not always work out in that [person’s] favor,” she continues. For example, she says, a resident may need help paying a utility bill, but may no longer be eligible for a grant from Energy Assistance. “When people question my record,” Alexander says, “I tell them they need to look at what’s happening in the ward. I tell them they need to ask the same questions of my opponent.”She advises them to ask Gray about his record. “Considering that he was councilmember, chairman, [and] the mayor, his record should be quadruple mine.” Oddly, Alexander and Gray seem to be battling for credit that is not theirs to claim. Consider, for example, that each has highlighted the ward’s renovated libraries and schools, including H.D. Woodson High School, the Dorothy Height and the Anacostia public libraries, and the Deanwood Recreation Center. Those projects were started or completed in the administrations of either Mayor Anthony A. Williams or Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Neither Alexander nor Gray attended the ribbon-cutting for Deanwood, according to published reports. Not unlike Gray, Alexander promises to find a new anchor business for Skyland Shopping Center, push for extension of the streetcar to downtown Ward 7, and redevelop Penn Branch. “Now Gray is talking about doing something there, when he passed Penn Branch everyday for four years as mayor and did nothing,” one of her supporters observed wryly.
tHe long sHadow oF 2010 There is clearly no love lost between the former mentor and mentee; or among their supporters. A DC Superior Court judge recently released court documents offering more details in the $630,000 “shadow campaign”of 2010 that played a major role in securing Gray’s mayoral win. Alexander’s campaign combed through the news accounts and shared information thought to be of interest to Ward 7 voters. One communication to residents sought to highlight allegations, contained in court documents, that Gray’s son used $10,000 in secret funds to pay Howard University students who had worked for the 2010 campaign. “You need to think about what sort of man puts his own son in a position that his son could go to jail for being in-
volved in his shadow campaign,” Alexander’s campaign said. The communication launched a Twitter war between the opposing camps. An earlier email from Alexander’s campaign quoted from a Washington Post column written by Colbert King that stated, “In 2010 Gray sat at the helm of a campaign team willing to cheat to win.” Not all of Alexander’s supporters were happy with the emails she distributed, however. “Yvette doesn’t need to be quoting anything from the Post; half the people out here don’t even read the Post. She needs to talk about what she wants to continue doing for the ward,”says Rice. Besides, Alexander opened an area of attack in which she may be slightly vulnerable. There may not have been any criminal investigations of her prior campaigns, but the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) hit her with a $4,000 fine in 2010 for commingling campaign and constituent services funds. Last month, OCF fined her for late filings. In particular, Treasurer Derek Ford was required to pay $300 while her constituent services fund was charged $1,450. “I take responsibility for not cracking the whip [on Ford],” Alexander told the Washington City Paper. To be fair, none of the mistakes in Alexander’s campaigns compares to those of the 2010 Gray mayoral effort, much less the $630,000 secret shadow operation. The nearly five-year probe of Gray’s official campaign remains open even though the criminal investigation has been shuttered. Alexander’s supporters remain outraged over those shenanigans of 2010. Gray “doesn’t deserve to be elected,” says Hightower, growing animated. “He lost his values; he lost his principles and his ethics. He knew better.” The sun breaks through the clouds near the end of Alexander’s campaign event. The team, wearing red, white, and blue shirts, takes group pictures, unfazed by the magnitude of the upcoming battle. On May 21 a debate, sponsored by the Federation of Civic Associations, at the East Washington Heights Baptist Church will bring the two sides together. “I’m going to fight for Yvette,” says Rice, vowing to stand and “speak the truth” about the opponent. “It’s time for these old people to stop holding young people down. It’s not right what Vincent Gray is doing. It’s a selfish act.” “I’m not alone in my thoughts,” continues Rice. “And, I’m talking to my neighbors.” u
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East of the River Magazine May 2016
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