D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray says he wants to hear from residents, and he’ll even feed them lunch, if they give up a Saturday to tell him what’s on their minds — a gathering that Gray’s office said will likely cost about $600,000.
Promising “a frank and open conversation,” Gray has scheduled a daylong One City Summit for Feb. 11 at the Washington Convention Center. The meeting of about 1,000 D.C. residents, Gray expects, will help make Washington “a more livable, vibrant and inclusive city,” and the District is actively publicizing the event.
Gray’s office said that it was seeking private funds to offset the cost of the event.
“We are looking at a combination of public and private funding,” Doxie McCoy said in an email to The Washington Examiner. “Citizen summits typically run about $600,000, and we anticipate a similar figure.” Gray ran for mayor on an agenda based off the notion of “One City.” In a recent open letter to D.C. residents, Gray touted plans for small group discussions and votes to help determine District priorities for 2012, and McCoy said participants will be able to give feedback using individual keypads.
| To register |
| > Visit www.onecitysummit.dc.gov or call (202) 709-5132. Registration is free. |
“There will be a big screen [so] that the entire room will be able to see responses before the end of the summit,” McCoy said. “The mayor will be there the whole time and is very excited about all this and the opportunity to hear from hundreds of residents about where the city and his administration should be headed to address their needs.”
In his message, Gray said the meeting would be vital to improving the city.
“The One City Summit will offer residents from all parts of the District the chance to talk together, learn from each other and help find solutions to the challenges we face,” Gray wrote. “Regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ward or neighborhood, we all want a vibrant, sustainable city.”
