D.C. Council Chairman Vince Gray’s mayoral campaign is expected to release a schedule this week of town hall meetings designed to unify the District’s racially divided electorate. But the uncertainty surrounding the future of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee might make it difficult for Gray to assuage the fear of many white, affluent voters that his election means school reform will be dialed back.
During a news conference following his first meeting with Rhee as the city’s presumptive next mayor, Gray made it clear he won’t make any decisions on Rhee’s future until after the November general election. As he rolls out his town hall schedule that will bring him to each of the city’s eight wards, Gray will also be preparing the message he’ll have to send to both the white residents who voted for Mayor Adrian Fenty his primarily black base, which wants Rhee gone.
Gray “will look them in the eye and say ‘I want to continue with school reform,'” Gray political strategist Mo Elleithee told The Washington Examiner. “He’ll tell them, ‘It’s on me that I don’t let you down on school reform and it’s on you that you don’t let me down on collaborating with me to keep it going.’ ”
Elleithee said that message will say “to those who feel disenfranchised, you are no longer. And to those who fear being disenfranchised, I need you to stay involved.”
Part of Gray’s task will be to inform residents on his education plan, which he released during his campaign to win the Democratic mayoral primary. The package reiterates his often stated message that school reform “has to be about more than one person.” It also goes into detail on the chairman’s plan to expand early childhood education and ensure there are opportunities for adults to expand their skills so they’re marketable to an ever-changing work force. Gray supports charter schools, but not vouchers. He says he wants a strong, independent chancellor, no matter who it is.
But he won’t just spread his message during the town hall meetings.
“He’s going on a listening tour,” said Fenty’s former campaign chairman, Bill Lightfoot. “It’s very smart politics.”
“His primary goal will be to listen to people’s concerns and incorporate them into his new administration,” Lightfoot said. “He’s using his time in an efficient and expeditious manner. That’s a good sign for everyone.”
