6 challengers hope to knock off Ward 7 councilmember Vince Gray
Five of the seven candidates running for the Ward 7 DC Council seat during the Democratic primaries. Courtesy of the candidate's campaigns. Image by Courtesy of candidate’s campaign.
Incumbent Ward 7 councilmember, and former mayor, Vince Gray has a crowd of challengers vying for his seat, including ANC commissioners Anthony Lorenzo Green and Veda Rasheed. Green has vocally pushed for criminal-justice reform in the District, while some other candidates, including Kelvin Brown, break with Gray’s longtime efforts to reorient and boost healthcare services in the ward.
How we’re endorsing primary candidates
As part of GGWash’s endorsements for the 2020 DC Council elections, we’re introducing candidates in the June 2 Democratic primary. This includes contested races in Ward 4, Ward 7, Ward 8, and for the Democratic at-large seat currently held by Robert White.
We’ll deliver endorsements later this spring. As with our Ward 2 endorsement, we’ll be circulating questionnaires to see where the candidates stand on housing, transportation, and land use. (We’d also love to co-host forums in any or all of these races. If your organization is considering a forum and would like to partner, email abaca@ggwash.org.)
And, as always, our endorsements will rest on who we think is most likely to best represent our interests, which include frequent, reliable transportation; accessible, affordable housing; and the land-use policies needed to support and expand both.
A word on methodology: We emailed the address on file with the Board of Elections of each candidate who has filed to run in the Democratic primary in the Ward 4, Ward 7, Ward 8, and at-large race, asking for a two- to three-sentence bio, links to relevant social media, and a headshot; candidates had a week and a half to respond. (Keith Ivey’s excellent DC Geekery makes it easy to see who’s running for what.) We’ve noted the source of content for each candidate: If a campaign responded to us, we’ve reprinted the text here. If they didn’t, we’ve cobbled together what we can find based on a candidate’s websites and cursory Googling. If they neither responded to us nor have a clear online presence, we have nothing to share!
Today, meet the candidates in the at-large Democratic primary. (Note that we’re using “at-large Democratic primary” to distinguish between Democratic at-large candidates in the June 2 primary and the non-Democratic race, which is decided in the November general election. We’ll be endorsing for the latter in late summer.)
Ward 7 candidates
Image courtesy of candidate's website. 
Brown’s campaign wrote us, “Kelvin Brown has spent most of his adult life protecting our country from dangers overseas as a sergeant in the United States Army, being deployed on three different missions and honored with the US Army Achievement Medal, the US National Defense Medal, and the US Distinguished Service Award. After the military, Kevlin taught high school math—algebra and geometry—realizing the real frontline was in our classrooms. Currently, Kelvin manages a multimillion-dollar affordable housing portfolio at Fannie Mae, he’s active in the Hillcrest Civic Association, a member of East Washington Heights Baptist Church, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for EmpowerED.”
Last September, Brown, who lost a write-in campaign for an ANC seat, told DCist that he’d like to focus on “economic development and investment in the ward, reforming the education system to focus less on test scores and more on ‘producing variety individuals who have the life skills to be effective participants in society,’ and changing around healthcare goals and plans east of the river.” Per DCist, “In a stark departure from Councilmember Gray, who has fought for years to build a new hospital on the east end of the city, Brown says he doesn’t believe it will be effective to build ‘a big bureaucratic hospital’ on the St. Elizabeths campus in Ward 8. He instead wants to build ‘community care centers that focus on the prevention of disease instead of reaction to illness.’”
Brown is using fair elections financing and, per DC Geekery, has 319 contributions totaling $9,113.
Courtesy of candidate's campaign. Image used with permission.
Gray’s campaign wrote us, “Vincent C. Gray has tirelessly advocated for the residents of the District of Columbia for more than 30 years. His dedication to children and families is the hallmark of his service in the non-profit sector and city government. Vince was born and raised in D.C., attended public schools and is a graduate of George Washington University where he broke the color-barrier that had long existed among fraternities. Vince was first elected to the D.C. Council in 2004; in 2006 he was elected Council chair; in 2010 D.C. mayor, and; in 2016 he was again elected to represent Ward 7 on the Council.”
Gray, of course, is the incumbent councilmember and the former mayor of DC. His career includes many, many achievements, and some scandals; it would be impossible to summarize his full resume here. Given how crowded the field is, Gray’s nearly two decades in public office and emphasis on constituent services could allow him to easily coast to reelection. His campaign wrote, “When Vince launched his reelection bid, he punctuated the announcement with these words: ‘Our work is not finished.’ Among his many priorities are building a robust healthcare system on the East End of the city, including a new hospital; fully funding Birth-to-Three early childhood education, and ending the food deserts that exist in Wards 7 and 8.”
Gray launched his reelection bid in November 2019. Gray is not using fair elections financing and, per DC Geekery, has 296 contributions totaling $92,165.
Courtesy of candidate's campaign. Image used with permission.
Green’s campaign wrote us, “Commissioner Anthony Lorenzo Green (7C04), is a third-generation Washingtonian, born and raised in Ward 7 by his grandmother in the Deanwood community. Green has been serving D.C. residents in both Ward 7 & 8 for almost a decade and has been a fearless champion for low-income and working families. During his tenure as an Unemployment Compensation Adjudicator for D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES), Green noticed underfunding and lack of investment in critical programs needed in Ward 7. As a Commissioner, Green has worked with community members on negotiating benefits agreements totaling over $100M for development projects that prioritize affordable housing with replacement units for public housing residents and a quality grocery store in Far Northeast, Ward 7. More recently, Lorenzo successfully worked with small business owners converting an abandoned liquor store into an urgent and holistic wellness center that has employed and uplifted Ward 7 residents.”
Green, who launched his campaign in July 2019, has held his ANC seat since 2014. He is openly gay and has been endorsed by the Working Families Party (WFP), Black Lives Matter (BLMDC), and the Washington Teacher’s Union (WTU Local 6).
Green is using fair elections financing and, per DC Geekery, has 321 contributions totaling $92,780.
Tam Haye
We did not receive a response from Haye’s campaign.
James Jennings
We did not receive a response from Jennings’ campaign.
Courtesy of candidate's campaign. Image used with permission.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, text code “Rebecca2020” to 33-777
Morris wrote us, “I am Rebecca J. Morris and I was born in Washington, DC. I spent my early childhood years in Reston, Virginia and moved to Washington, DC during my teen and adult years. I am a graduate of Washington, Mathematics, Science, and Technology Public Charter High School in Washington, DC and the University of District of Columbia.” She added, “As a 15 year resident of Ward 7 my main focus for the area is to add more mental health programs as well as community counseling programs to reduce violence in the area, Food and health education, affordable housing, and more Entrepreneurship programs to help to expand upon the talents of the citizens.”
Morris is not using fair elections financing.
Courtesy of candidate's campaign. Image used with permission.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (other)
Rasheed’s campaign wrote to us, “Veda Rasheed is proud to be from Ward 7. She was raised in River Terrace and has spent a decade in community service as a fearless advocate, organizer and coalition builder for her neighbors. She’s paid forward the love and support she’s received from her community by serving in dozens of volunteer roles, including Chair of the Ward 7 Young Democrats, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 7E01, Ward 7 Parent Leader for My School DC Advisory Council, and as a Ward 7 Pave Parent Representative. A graduate of Bowie State and the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, Veda’s been a clerk to the Chief Judge of the DC Superior Court and most recently advanced the Community Engagement efforts of Attorney General Karl Racine at the DC Attorney General’s Office and Mayor Bowser appointed Veda to the Mayor’s Commission on African American Affairs. A mother, an advocate and a friend, no matter the challenge, Veda Rasheed will do what she’s always done-work skillfully and effectively to nurture, protect and defend the community that she loves.”
Per her campaign, her top priorities for Ward 7 are healthcare, education, and economic development. Shortly after filing to run, Rasheed told DCist, “I’m opposing prostitution because it exploits women. Women are becoming victims to violence,” and that “she would encourage Ward 7 residents not to sell their homes in order to slow or stop gentrification and displacement.”
Rasheed announced her campaign in September 2019. She is not using fair elections financing and, per DC Geekery, has 197 contributions totaling $30,377.
Urbanist issues in the Ward 7 race
Ward 7 falls mostly within Far Northeast & Southeast planning area, which has, per Office of Planning’s Housing Framework for Equity and Growth report, built 9,690 affordable-housing units. Mayor Bowser’s goal of 36,000 new units, including 12,000 affordable, is what OP calls a “critical first step toward a long-range goal proposed as a policy in the District’s ongoing Comprehensive Plan amendment process to achieve a minimum of 15 percent of affordable units within each planning area by 2050” (p. 4). To hit the mayor’s target and be on the right track for the 2050 goal, Far Northeast & Southeast will need to add 1,120 units of affordable housing by 2025.
Whether those affordable units get built, or whether market-rate units that would count toward the mayor’s overall housing target get built, rests on whether things get built in Ward 7 at all. The redevelopment of parcels like the Deanwood Metro parking lot and East River Park are opportunities to add more housing, as well as neighborhood-serving retail, particularly grocery stores. Redevelopment projects in DC are typically planned unit developments, which allow developers to build more densely in exchange for public benefits. Ward 7 has historically seen fewer monetary benefits from PUDs than other wards.
There’s plenty for a Ward 7 councilmember to tackle with regard to transportation and street safety. Neighborhoods east of the river, in wards 7 and 8, have a disproportionately high share of the city’s pedestrian deaths, which can be prevented by street redesigns that slow down drivers, improve sidewalks, and dedicate space to bus and bike lanes. The Benning Road streetcar extension is still being planned, and the council will ultimately decide whether or not it’s funded.
And, a Ward 7 councilmember may have the chance to vote on the Vision Zero omnibus bill, the parking cashout bill, and Charles Allen’s proposed $100-per-month subsidy for Metrorail and bus.