As term ends, Gray reflects on success and struggles

“The entirety of Vincent Gray’s four years in the mayor’s office has been overshadowed by a cloud of illegitimacy,” said Tony Bullock, press secretary under former mayor Anthony Williams (D). “Gray knows the District and the government better than any other mayor. He is undoubtedly capable, smart and hardworking. But it doesn’t matter if you did a great job flying the plane if you didn’t have the right to be in the cockpit in the first place.”

The mayor, when told of Bullock’s remarks, responded in the near-monotone that is his trademark. “I had the right to be there,” he said. “I had the right to be there not only because I won, but the job was being done in a way that created the right to be there.”