Two candidates for the Ward 3 D.C. Council seat endorsed Vincent Gray on Monday for council chair — in the backyard of Gray’s opponent, Ward 3 Council Member Kathy Patterson.
Robert Gordon and Eric Goulet, two of the nine Democrats campaigning for the nomination in Ward 3, decided to announce their support for Gray, the Ward 7 council member, 14 hours before the polls were to open.
“I’ve seen him build consensus, and I’ve seen him work with people, and that’s what a good council chair does,” said Gordon, who is vying to defeat front-runner Mary Cheh in today’s primary.
One Patterson campaign staffer called the Gordon endorsement of Gray “political suicide” in Ward 3, where Patterson, the three-term council member, is very popular.
“Maybe it wasn’t politically smart to say it … but I say what I believe,” Goulet said.
Patterson still expects to win Ward 3. And she said her support in Ward 7 is strong.
“I have an awful lot of voter support in Ward 7,” the three-term council member said. “I can tell you that from the door-to-door.”
