The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation Tuesday that allows Vince Gray and Kwame Brown to raise private funds to cover the costs they’ll likely face as Gray transitions to mayor and Brown to D.C. Council chairman.
The bill, introduced at Mayor Adrian Fenty’s request, effectively relieves taxpayers of paying for the costly transition at a time when the city is facing a $175 million budget shortfall. The last time around, taxpayers footed a $250,000 bill for the mayor’s transition and $150,000 for the council chairman. The cash covers wages and supplies.
The bill has a “worthy purpose to make sure the taxpayers don’t have to pay,” Gray said.
The private funding of transition costs is nothing new — governors and even the president raise funds for transition costs.
But it is is new to D.C.local government and the bill doesn’t establish regulations to monitor and limit those donations. It’s unclear whether campaign finance regulations that require donation limits and require those funds be reported would apply to the transition funds here.
Calls to the Board of Elections and Ethics were not immediately returned.
When asked about the lack of regulations monitoring the transition donations, Gray said they will be dealt with if they arise.
“You propose the questions that you think are problematic and we’ll address those,” Gray told reporters.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who heads a committee that oversees election issues, said she trusts Gray to do the right thing.
“I am confident whatever he does will be done with integrity,” she said.
