WaPo half-heartedly endorses Alexander; the record supports Gray

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The Washington Post has endorsed Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander based on the five-year campaign against Vince Gray by the U.S. Attorney that came up empty. Indeed, the Post concedes, “Mr. Gray is right about Ms. Alexander’s disappointing performance and about his own deep experience.” The supposed endorsement of Alexander hardly mentions her.

As usual, I held back from expressing my personal preferences until after GLAA finished its evaluation of candidates. That was done two weeks ago. Here is my personal view: Vince Gray is head and shoulders above the competition. That being said, GLAA gave due credit to Councilmember Alexander for her good work, including her improvement during the past four years, as can be seen in GLAA’s news release on our primary ratings.

Former Mayor Gray earned a +10 rating from GLAA (compared to Alexander’s +5.5), as well as the endorsement of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club (with 70 percent of the vote on the first ballot). Gray’s GLAA questionnaire response sets the standard in this election cycle for thoroughness and understanding stemming from his experience and commitment on LGBT issues.

Here is my 2014 citation for GLAA’s special Distinguished Service Award to then-Mayor Gray. The list of accomplishments is a long one.

To be clear, GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan races. I am just giving you my personal opinion when I encourage Ward 7 voters to support this experienced and effective public servant, Vincent C. Gray. Personally I like Yvette Alexander, and I appreciate her growth in office. But on the range of issues that are my focus, Vince Gray is simply the best candidate in the race.

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