It’s likely that D.C. Mayor Vince Gray’s wisest political move since being sworn was getting himself arrested.
Gray’s young administration has been mired in scandal since mid-February, but since his Monday arrest the daily duel between mayor and reporters has nearly been squashed. With no new scandal material to throw at the mayor, those in the news media are left to raise the issue of Gray’s poor start in the context of his arrest. And when reporters do, Gray slaps them down.
Take the Washington City Paper’s Alan Suderman’s question to the mayor on Tuesday following a news conference outside a Planned Parenthood.
“What do you say to the cynics who say you got arrested to start a new conversation about your rough start?” Suderman asked.
“That’s very cynical, that’s a very cynical thing to say,” Gray fired back in a somewhat angry tone. “There’s a legitimate issue here, and I’d invite them to address the legitimate issues.”
Gray then pushed through the reporters to leave the scene, pausing only to answer a question about future protest plans.
He quickly brushed aside a similar question during Wednesday morning’s news conference, where he was more at ease and jovial than he has been in weeks.
The slate, it appears, has been cleared. At least for now.
