Ray stated: “There are artists, collectors, and gallery owners in every ward of this city, and it’s important that the city council take immediate action to protect this part of the economy. The recent Creative Economy report released by the District of Columbia showed how important creatives of all types — including chefs, media workers, and fine artists — are to the local economy.

When I am on the City Council, I will work to support the creative economy. I support passage of The Artist B18-451, the Artists Protection Act, because it will ensure that artists’ work doesn’t fall victim to the economy. I ask that the Council take quick action on this important bill.”

Tags: B18-451, Clark Ray, Creative Economy, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, The Artists Protection Act

Arrington Dixon, past Chairman of the DC City Council announced his support today for Clark Ray’s campaign in the At-Large Council race.

“Clark brings a refreshing new leadership to the District with his on-going committed support to Ward 8, and our East of the River issues and communities,” said Dixon. “This makes him my choice for At-Large to the City Council in the 2010 Election.”

“Mr. Dixon as well as anyone today knows what this city has been through and needs,” said Ray in reaction to Dixon’s endorsement. “Currently a resident in Ward 8, Mr. Dixon knows we need to end the divides that exist in this city, between black and white, rich and poor. Having his support mirrors what my campaign is all about.”

Dixon’s endorsement follows similar support late this week from former acting Director of Parks and Recreation Ximena Hartsock.

“Clark had the courage to stand with me when others wouldn’t,” said Hartsock. “That is why I am proud to stand with him in his race for Council. This election will be about choices. My friends, please give Clark the consideration that I wasn’t afforded.”

Ray said he views Hartsock’s support as another example of emphasizing residents’ needs over politics. “Ximena replaced me at the Department of Parks and Recreation,” Ray said. “She knows the strong foundation I laid at the Department – for meeting the needs of children, families, adults and seniors in all parts of the city. Her vote of confidence in me is yet another indicator that folks are tired of talk but want tangible results that make a real difference.”

Ray’s opponent, longtime incumbent Phil Mendelson, joined in what the Washington Post called “grudge voting” last October against confirming Hartsock as a permanent Director of Parks and Recreation. “Mendelson (D-At Large) acknowledged the outpouring of support for her and then voted against her,” the Post reported.

###

Tags: Arrington Dixon, Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Phil Mendelson, Ward 8, Ximena Hartsock

The following statement was released by Ms. Ximena Hartsock following the DC Latino Caucasus meeting on Thursday, June 24:

“I wish that I could join you on this important night. Unfortunately, time wouldn’t allow me. I want you to know that Clark is and always will be a friend of our community. Clark had the courage to stand with me when others wouldn’t. That is why I am proud to stand with him in his race for Council. This election will be about choices. My friends, please give Clark the consideration that I wasn’t afforded.”

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, DC Latino Caucasus, Ximena Hartsock

June 19, 2010

Challenger Clark Ray, showing growing momentum, handily won the Ward 8 Democratic Straw Poll over longtime incumbent Phil Mendelson with a vote of 46 to 28.

“I want to thank all of my supporters,” Ray said, “We were told time and again it can’t be done, but we are proving this is a campaign on the move–to change how the Wilson Building responds to the families, small businesses, and neighborhoods which are calling out for change. This campaign is all about change and bringing it to the streets in every part of town.”

Ray is a former Director of Parks and Recreation, was a Constituent Services official under both mayors Williams and Fenty, served as a Reserve Police Officer, and was a high-ranking aide in the Clinton/Gore campaign and administration.

“I’ve built strong ties with neighborhoods across the city, building bridges across DC,” Ray said. “I’m honored to have Ward 8’s show of support, because Ward 8 knows I can and will bring people together to focus on the city’s needs.”

Ray’s campaign has placed over 1,000 signs in yards citywide, knocked on thousands of doors, and has received endorsements from key leaders, from Georgetown to Anacostia.

“I am so honored by the straw poll results of the Ward 8 Democrats,” Ray said. “They are leading this campaign’s way to victory across this city on Sept. 14th.”

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Phil Mendelson, Ward 8, Ward 8 DEMS, Ward 8 Straw Poll

June 18, 2010

Statement by Reverend Willie F. Wilson
Re: His Endorsement of Clark Ray For City Council At-Large

“I have enjoyed both getting to know and working with Clark. He knows that I support full civil equality for all residents of the District of Columbia – including those who comprise the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (GLBTQ) Community. I admire his willingness to reach out to all segments of this diverse city, to listen and to engage in discussions that are not always easy. This display of character and leadership is why I am supporting his bid for DC City Council At-Large.”

Statement by Clark Ray
Re: Reverend Willie F. Wilson Endorsement

“I have enjoyed working with Reverend Wilson over the past two years. As an openly gay man, I’ve always been treated with respect and dignity by Rev. Wilson and his family. But more importantly, he has been willing to have discussions with me – not always comfortable or easy – on a wide range of issues, including those that affect the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (GLBTQ) community. On three separate occasions, I have addressed the congregation of Union Temple Baptist Church. It is through friendships and alliances such as the one that I have been able to foster with Reverend Wilson that we, as a city, begin to build bridges, develop an understanding and respect for one another, and discover common ground. This is the type of leadership that I pledge to bring to the DC City Council.”

###

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate

Washington, DC – Rev. Willie F. Wilson, pastor at DC’s Union Temple Baptist Church, has endorsed Clark Ray for DC City Council At-Large.

Rev. Wilson is a highly influential pastor, with a decades-long track record of activism for social justice at the local, national and international levels. Rev. Wilson’s Union Temple Baptist Church, located in Anacostia, hosts a congregation of over 2,000, and operates over forty ministries. Rev. Wilson has also served as a counselor and spiritual adviser to international heads of state and local and national government leaders.

For the past two years, Clark Ray and Rev. Wilson have collaborated and worked together to provide services for DC’s senior citizens, expand youth education and job opportunities, and to create strategies for productive alternatives to stiffer jail sentences for youth offenders.

“We’re a city of many walks of life, faiths and opinions, and it says something that Clark Ray and I have built a bridge together,” said Rev. Wilson in making his endorsement.

“Clark’s a man of faith,” Wilson continued. “Clark has been a tireless advocate for this city’s most vulnerable residents, a man of compassion and empathetic understanding, someone who knows how the city works and has demonstrated an ability not to just complain about problems, but to solve them.

“Clark is an outgoing individual with a unique ability to bring together divergent–and what some would write off as irreconcilable–groups. I am proud to endorse Clark and I will vigorously work for his election and personally canvass my community on his behalf.”

Ray said, “I look forward to working in partnership with Rev. Wilson to build bridges throughout all communities and neighborhoods as we heal and solve the problems of our City. I’m gratified that Rev. Wilson and others who toil daily in our neighborhoods, who are connected with people and their problems, have embraced my push for real transparency in education reform, more community policing and outreach programs, and solutions that will make our neighborhoods stronger, safer, better places to live.”

###

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Willie F. Wilson

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Eugene Kinlow, Jonetta Rose Barras, WPFW

Challenger Clark Ray has out raised incumbent City Councilmember Phil Mendelson for the third straight filing period. Ray reported raising over $34,000 for this period, while the incumbent raised approximately $28,000. The reports also show that while Mendelson’s donations came primarily from special interests and long-time insiders, Ray garnered broad support, including from people new to DC politics.

“When I walk door to door every day, I find so many voters who don’t know the incumbent — have never met him or seen him,” Ray said. “They are responding to my message of working with neighborhoods to make real, transparent progress, my experience and track record of making DC government work, and the energy and new ideas I bring to a Council that sorely needs them. Voters are tired of political talk from the Wilson Building and constant bickering. We deserve better.”

Yesterday, At-Large candidate Kelvin Robinson stated he would drop out of the race. Ray noted, “Voters in the city now have a clear choice: the same old ideas and pointless in-fighting that have given us too little education, too much crime and not enough progress, or my vision of a new, energized Council that will work on behalf of the residents of DC. The donations to my campaign, the spread of Clark Ray yard signs in all wards across the city, and the countless volunteers who walk door to door with me every week all show that this campaign is headed to victory on Sept. 14th. This city is headed in a new and better direction.”

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Kelvin Robinson, Phil Mendelson

Washington, DC — Clark Ray, candidate for DC City Council, At-Large, made the following statement in reaction to news that Kelvin Robinson intended to drop his bid for DC City Council, At-Large. Robinson, former Chief of Staff to former Mayor Anthony Williams, announced on WPFW’s “DC Politics Hour with Jonetta Rose Barras” that he intended to shift his candidacy to a challenge against Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells.

“Kelvin Robinson’s withdrawal from the At-Large contest sharpens the choice for this seat between myself and the longtime incumbent, Phil Mendelson.

“As we’ve knocked on thousands of doors, attended hundreds of community events, and gained momentum daily, we’ve articulated a choice that’s now clearer than ever: between new ideas and action, or a longtime incumbent who prides himself on the label ‘nitpicker.’

“DC’s challenges deserve more than the politics of squabbling, or being kicked to the curb by nitpicking. I’ll be bringing the contrast between yesterday and the future, between new ideas and stale obstructionism, to more residents of DC.”

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, DC Politics Hour, Jonetta Rose Barras, Kelvin Robinson, Mayor Anthony Williams, Phil Mendelson, Tommy Wells, Ward 6, WPFW

WASHINGTON, DC — Clark Ray, candidate for DC City Council, At-Large, made the following statement regarding the resignation of Dr. Shannon Hader as Director of DC’s Office of HIV/AIDS Administration:

“Filling this vacancy is a nomination emergency, because the HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a crisis in the District of Columbia.

“Dr. Hader was a stabilizing force, and brought her office further along in its struggle to reform and improve operations, but that job is by no means finished.

“In the neighborhoods where I have spent a majority of my time, HIV/AIDS continues to shatter lives and families with a pace usually seen in far less prosperous nations.

“The issues here are complex–everything from housing to mental health services and much more, they’re all integral to people knowing their HIV status, getting access to treatment, and staying on their treatment regimens.

“This is a nomination emergency. The Mayor will have to apply the most rigorous search and nomination discipline possible. This position, above all, mandates collaboration with City Council and impacted communities. There’s been a lot of tension and distrust in our city government, especially in this election year: now’s the time for everyone to put all of that aside.”

Tags: Clark Ray, DC Council, DC Council At-Large, DC Council At-Large Candidate, Dr. Hader, HIV/AIDS, Mayor Fenty