Fenty Loses Nod from Gay D.C. Dems

Washington, D.C., city council chairman Vincent C. Gray won an upset mayoral endorsement from the city’s Gertrude Stein Democratic Club on Monday night with 63% of the vote, defeating Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who signed the city's marriage equality bill into law last year.

According to The Washington Post, the LGBT political club’s voters seemed to dislike Fenty’s heavy use of notes and briefing books compared to Gray, who spoke without the aids.

“The two candidates essentially agreed on most major issues of importance to the city's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community,” reports the Post. “But Fenty, appearing uncertain of his views and his record, spent much of the debate reading from various sheets of paper supplied by his staff.”

Fenty and Gray spoke before club members for more than one hour. The winner needed at least 60% of the votes, and with only 100 people appearing to vote, the contest was very close, according to the Post.

Elected in 2006, Fenty stoked the ire of gay groups in April when his office issued a certificate of appreciation to an "ex-gay" leader. The mayor attributed the incident to a staff-level error, and he apologized.