District Firefighters and Police Unions to Endorse Gray

Photo courtesy of
‘Nacho #19’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Some more 2010 campaign news today, mayoral candidate Vincent Gray is expected to receive the endorsement of the District’s firefighter and police unions. This isn’t exactly shocking news, given the often contentious relationship between these unions, management and Mayor Adrian Fenty. Both DC Fire and EMS and the Metropolitan Police Department have seen their share of controversies during Fenty’s tenure. Kristopher Baumann, the head of the DC Fraternal Order of Police has been a vocal critic of MPD Chief Cathy Lanier.

What impact will this have on the campaign? Hard to say at this point. Fenty will surely be touting the recent decrease in homicides and violent crime, this move may work to muddle that message a bit. However, Fenty’s campaign will likely emphasize that it was the leadership from MPD brass that has led to the recent decreases, and that it’s unwise to change management at this point.

In any event, Gray will likely have a larger base of volunteers to call upon, but again it’s quite early and it’ll be a very long summer.

Dave has been following DC news and politics for nearly eight years and previous authored the blog “Why I Hate DC.” Dave tries to give a voice to those frustrated by the “politics as usual” in the area. By day he works in the technology department of a non-profit, by night he writes about news and politics and works at a local hardware store. Dave is also a contributor for Greater Greater Washington. You can follow him on Twitter or read his personal blog.

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