Top District officials will push for greater independence from federal oversight Thursday at a House hearing on the city’s budget that’s unprecedented in its timing and could have the city’s mayor and council chairman answering tough questions. “The balanced budget ought to be an example that we can make decisions for ourselves,” Mayor Vincent Gray said Wednesday when asked about Thursday’s hearing, where he, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown and Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi are scheduled to testify. The three officials are typically called to Capitol Hill to testify about the budget after it’s passed by the council and signed by the mayor.
“This is unprecedented, it never happens,” said Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, who will celebrate his 20th year on the council Friday. “Maybe he’s new,” Evans said of the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the District.
