D.C. Council Chairman Vince Gray says if elected mayor he would restore the office of religious affairs that Mayor Adrian Fenty closed, highlighting a division between the two candidates’ approach to the District’s religious community.
Mayoral candidates traditionally spend the Sunday before the Democratic primary moving from church to church as they court voters.
But this Sunday, with the primary set for Tuesday and early voting already underway, only Gray made those appearances.
The council chairman stopped at three churches, including one late in the day where residents prayed for him and a Gray victory.
Fenty, on the other hand, raced in the Nation’s Triathlon Sunday morning, then spent the afternoon at the Adams Morgan Day Festival before going to a premiere of a documentary featuring schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. He was scheduled to attend the Redskins night game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“[Fenty] hasn’t supported churches while in office,” Gray said. He added that Fenty’s not going to churches on Sunday “symbolizes how [the mayor] has behaved the last four years,” once again raising the criticism that Fenty has been aloof since being elected mayor in 2006.
The council chairman said he would not only re-open the office of religious affairs, but also create an interfaith committee to keep religious leaders of all faiths involved in decisions that affect them most.
Fenty has always leaned towards the secular and doesn’t have a church he calls his own.
On Sunday Fenty said he cut funding to the office of religious affairs and moved its responsibilities to the community affairs office because of the city’s tight budget.
“In tough financial times, mayors make tough decisions,” Fenty said.
If re-elected, Fenty said he’d like to put more resources behind the entire community affairs office, budget permitting, but would not re-open the religious affairs office as a separate entity charged with specifically reaching out to the religious community.
“As we go forward,” Fenty said, “I’d like to make sure all of [our outreach offices] have the proper resources.”
