D.C. Council member Vince Gray endorses Wendell Felder in Ward 7 race

“Wendell Felder’s journey in public service demonstrates his dedication to uplifting Ward 7 residents and advocating for their interests,” Gray, the former mayor and council chairman, said in an email provided to The Post by his spokesman, Chuck Thies. “His diverse experience in both local government and the private sector uniquely positions him to tackle complex challenges and unite varied interests toward a common goal. I have complete confidence that Wendell will be ready on day one.”

Gray’s decision not to run for reelection amid health challenges turned the Ward 7 campaign into a crowded affair and a hotbed of 2024 election energy, as voters choose among 10 Democrats jockeying for their support. Political observers long anticipated a blessing from Gray as one endorsement that might cut through the noise. Felder has been running in the front of the pack thanks to his political leadership roles in the ward and his work as a former community relations representative for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D). Gray’s endorsement is likely to help keep him there ahead of the June 4 Democratic primary — which in this deep-blue city is often tantamount to the general election.

“It’s very humbling that the council member has placed his confidence in me to lead our great ward and build on his legacy while taking our ward to newer heights,” Felder, the director of regional affairs at Howard University, said of the endorsement. “As someone who has watched the council member not only represent Ward 7 but other parts of the District as a whole, it’s quite the honor, and I look forward to keeping his legacy going.”

Felder, 33, said that if elected he would aim to build on Gray’s work to create a robust health-care network in the ward and the city’s broader east side as significant health disparities linger — a commitment that Gray, who chairs the council’s committee on hospital and health equity, said was essential in winning his support. “Healthcare, of course, is an issue of utmost importance to me,” Gray wrote, noting how health equity fueled his desire to return to the council in 2016. “A lot remains to be done before we’ve achieved equity, and Wendell assures me that he will carry the torch.”

Felder also said he would continue or build on Gray’s support for mayoral control of schools and expanding the streetcar into a network. And he said he would ensure that major development projects such as the Capitol Gateway project — which will bring a new grocer to the ward — and Fletcher-Johnson campus, a mixed development expected to include housing and retail and recreation, stay on track. Felder, in addition to his work in the mayor’s office, also worked on project management in the office of the deputy mayor for planning and economic development.

Gray’s support did not come without reservations. Felder had raised eyebrows among Democrats after telling the ACLU in a questionnaire last month that, if the council passed a bill with which he disagreed, he would advocate for Congress to block it. “When I read Wendell’s answer on the ACLU questionnaire, quite frankly I was shocked,” Gray wrote.

Felder said he discussed the comments with Gray before the endorsement and said he assured Gray that in “no way, shape or form do I support congressional interference.” “It was a misstep in our campaign, and we got it wrong,” Felder said, adding he “takes ownership” for the mistake. “I’ll do everything humanly possible to make sure that I continue to advocate for statehood and protect home rule.”

Gray said he was satisfied after hearing from Felder and encouraged to see Felder “unambiguously stating his objections” to the House of Representatives vote Wednesday on a bill that would permanently restrict D.C. from changing its sentencing laws. “Every candidate has said or written something they later regret,” Gray added. “We all make mistakes. Wendell did the right thing; he owned it and then arrived in the right place.”

Along with Felder, Ebony Payne, Eboni-Rose Thompson and Veda Rasheed are leading the pack in fundraising from D.C. residents, one indicator of a candidate’s ground support from donors, though Thompson has yet to file a May 10 fundraising report.

Thompson, the Ward 7 representative and president of the State Board of Education, and Rasheed, an attorney, have battled for some influential endorsements in the education space, with Thompson picking up support from the Washington Teachers’ Union and Rasheed netting Democrats for Education Reform, which has started distributing fliers for her.

Payne, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Kingman Park who has captured attention with one of the more aggressive ad campaigns, has taken a bit of a different tack with endorsements, touting support from 15 federal House lawmakers — a more unusual national flavor for a local race. Her fiancé, national Democratic political consultant Chuck Rocha, founded a consulting firm that has done campaign work for some of her endorsers, including Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Gallego on Wednesday voted with Republicans for the bill permanently blocking the D.C. Council from changing sentencing laws. So did two other endorsers, Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.).

Asked what she thought of their votes, Payne said in an email that she was “extremely disappointed by all of Congress, but especially the Democrats who voted for this bill.”

“I have been clear and on the record about my opposition to any Congressional interference in DCs ability to govern ourselves and make our own laws,” Payne said, before pointing out Felder’s ACLU questionnaire response. “Crime is out of control in our city and, as a survivor of violent crime, I have prioritized this issue from day one.”

Rivaling union support for Thompson, who also has backing from the local firefighters and government employees, Felder has also picked up endorsements from the local Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters Local 639 — plus backing from the Ward 7 Democrats after winning its straw poll, ruffling feathers in the race given his prior leadership.

Additional candidates include Kelvin Brown, a housing professional who benefits from name recognition as a neighborhood commissioner who also ran against Gray in 2022; Nathan Fleming, a law professor who served as D.C.’s former shadow representative in the U.S. House; Villareal Johnson, known for his work as the Hillcrest Community Civic Association president and a former five-term neighborhood commissioner; Denise Reed, who is familiar with the inner workings of the Wilson Building after working for three former council chairmen; Ebbon Allen, an educator; and Roscoe Grant, a small-business advocate.