Most DC dwellers want Mayor Vincent C. Gray out, poll

A recent Washington Post poll has revealed that most D.C. dwellers want Mayor Vincent C. Gray to step down, reflecting how intensely the ongoing campaign corruption has shattered dwellers' trust on their mayor.

According to the poll, 48 percent of African-Americans want Gray to resign, signifying his diminishing support among his political base after leaks that an illegal shadow campaign helped elect him in 2010. Moreover, around 4 of 10 of those who voted for him in 2010 think that he should resign.

Overall, 54 percent respondents want Gray to step down, whereas 37 percent want him to continue as the mayor of D.C. Nine percent respondents of the poll have no opinion.

Meanwhile, supporters of the tormented Gray held a rally in front of the city hall on Wednesday. The rally participants raised their voices in songs and prayers and vowed their support for the mayor besides saying that he should not resign.

"We cannot continue to be people who rush to judgment," Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ said at the rally outside the John A. Wilson Building, according to the Washington Examiner. "We believe that the mayor deserves due process. The mayor deserves respect. The mayor deserves fairness."

According to Gray, the federal probe into his campaign has had no impact over the performance of his administration. However, the Washington Post poll revealed that only 3 out of 10 people think that his job performance as a mayor is good.

The poll suggested that 44 percent people believe that the city would be better off without Gray as the mayor. Only 22 percent of D.C dwellers surveyed see Gray as honest and trustworthy.

“Thirty-seven percent said in May 2011 that Gray was honest and trustworthy compared with 6 percent today. Among black women, his job approval has plummeted 18 points, to 32 percent, in the same period,” according to the Washington Post.

It is pertinent to mention here that Mr. Gray has not yet commented about major parts of the continued probe into his attempt to remove Mayor Adrian M. Fenty from office, while he has defended the honesty of his administration and campaign.