Political operatives with ties to D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray operated an unreported “shadow campaign” to bolster Gray’s insurgent campaign for the city’s top job in 2010, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

Vernon Hawkins, a former city official, allegedly ran a separate effort that went unreported to campaign finance regulators. Formal, coordinated political activities, even if they aren’t directly affiliated with a campaign, must be disclosed under District law, but The Post found no such records.