The speech making, music and hand dancing are over. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, fresh from inaugural festivities Sunday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, now has to prove he can actually govern. Many people are optimistic. Ward 3 D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh said, “The District will be very well served while he is in office.” She and five other incumbent legislators began new terms. At-large Councilman Kwame Brown ascended to the chairmanship. But there have been serious questions about Gray’s commitment to an open, inclusive government and his molasseslike approach to building his administration. The new mayor clearly is not a farther-faster kind of executive, as was his predecessor. Even as he took the oath of office, Gray’s Cabinet remained incomplete.

Then-mayor Adrian M. Fenty, as is tradition, requested in November the resignation of his entire Cabinet, including agency directors and his personal staff. Technically, if new, acting or interim directors have not already been named, agencies are now without leadership.