The Washington City Paper declared Mayor Vincent Gray a lame duck this week. So what? Notwithstanding the low influence of the Washington City Paper, Mayor Gray should recognize this as a chance to implement the Rahm Emanuel philosophy: every crisis is an opportunity.
As Rahm Emanuel urges, even a bad situation is a chance to capitalize, to do something bold. Gray is in such a spot. For starters, he could get indicted. However, the overall issue is, his chances of getting re-elected are almost nil. He has squandered the mandate he had (it was fleeting anyway) and his own colleagues have lost faith in him. But Gray can act on this decisively in the spirit of Rahm of Chi-town (considering he doesn’t get indicted and forced out) and still impact city politics and do something good for the people.
Here’s a Rahm future for Vince:
1. Hold a news conference, announce that you have no intention of running again for mayor. You just want to finish the term and get things done in the interest of the citizens of the city
2. Bring in some folks from other camps to run a few things as evidence of your desire to just finish strong;
3. Isolate those who have betrayed you like Mary Cheh, David Catania, and Muriel Bowser; play the real new players close like Phil Mendleson, Michael Brown, and even Marion Barry. You might even want to secretly reach out to Adrian Fenty to see if you can alter that relationship. Lunch or a chance citing in the city with former Mayor Anthony Williams would not hurt either. Bring him in to consult maybe?
4. Denounce Congress and their colonial power over the city. Call the Republicans out for what they are: two bit tyrannical politicians holding the city hostage to their stupid social agenda; and
5. Most importantly, stay in touch with your lawyer. This won’t work if you get indicted.
So dear Vince Gray; chances of you being mayor after this term are probably nil. But you can depart with a great legacy and you can influence the city’s future by forging an alliance with the city’s next set of power players and by doing good things for the next two years. Then turn power over to the right people.