Mayor-elect Vincent Gray has announced the 16-member transition team that will be vital in helping him develop the framework to tackle some of the city’s most pressing concerns – including ongoing education reform and balancing the budget.
Rounding out a list of local and national leaders who will offer insight and guidance for smoothing over Gray’s passage from City Council chairman to Mayor Adrian Fenty’s replacement are: former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Lang and public education advocate Katherine Bradley.
The team will also include a key figure from the Marion Barry administration, former city administrator Thomas Downs. Reuben Charles, a fundraiser from Illinois–also rumored to be Gray’s next chief of staff—has been tapped to lead the team.
While Gray has yet to name a chief of staff and city administrator, he said in a Nov. 3 interview that his plans surrounding interim schools chancellor, Kai Henderson, remain to be seen.
“We really haven’t talked about whether she will be the permanent selection or not,” Gray said. “I think that she would have to indicatate whether she’s interested or not and then see how things unfold in the months ahead.”
