Gray: Fenty offered jobs for votes in mayor race

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said Thursday that he will ask authorities to investigate allegations that his opponent, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, offered jobs to some people if they cast ballots for him in early voting.

Mr. Fenty’s campaign questioned the credibility of the allegations.

At a press conference outside his campaign headquarters, Mr. Gray said the allegations should be investigated quickly and objectively before Tuesday’s Democratic primary election. He said this follows other claims over the weekend that Mr. Fenty offered to pay voters for casting their ballots.

“We’re obviously deeply concerned about this,” Mr. Gray said. “There are very few things that are more sacrosanct … than the voting process.”

Lloyd Jordan, Mr. Gray’s campaign attorney, said that any purported vote-buying if confirmed would violate city and federal laws. Mr. Jordan said he intended to file letters to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics and to the FBI later Thursday requesting an investigation.

Residents have been able to cast their votes since Aug. 30 during early voting. The primary will decide who becomes mayor because no Republican is seeking the seat. Despite being the incumbent, Mr. Fenty has called himself the underdog in the tight race.

Rudolph Williams, 19, said vans from Mr. Fenty’s campaign came to his Northwest apartment building last Thursday and that workers said he and others could get temporary jobs with the campaign if they voted for Mr. Fenty. Mr. Williams said they filled out paperwork and were taken to a polling station.

After registering to vote, Mr. Williams said he cast his ballot for Mr. Fenty. He said he became upset because the campaign later failed to follow up and they involved him in something possibly unlawful.

“I want to take my vote back,” Mr. Williams said. “It’s disappointing. It’s a lot of youth out here that are trying not to do illegal things to make money.”

WJLA-TV, which first reported Mr. Williams‘ account, said at least three other people told the station they were offered a similar deal.

Fenty spokesman Sean Madigan said the campaign has found no evidence to support the allegations and that officials want to ensure a fair process and maintain the integrity of the election.

“This is something we would absolutely never do. This is not what our campaign is about,” he said. “We’ve asked if people have more specific claims and more specific information, we’d like to see the evidence as well.”

Mr. Madigan said volunteers are told that giving rides to the polls and offering jobs on the campaign are completely separate. The campaign couldn’t find records related to Mr. Williams, he said.

Messages left for the city elections board were not immediately returned.

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