
Mayor Vincent Gray said that approval of the referendum would send a signal that we are sick and tired of the special burdens imposed on the District. (The Washington Times)

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray. (The Washington Times)

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray, center, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, center right, and members of the D.C. Council the Washington, D.C., walk in the Emancipation Day parade, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, April 16, 2013. President Abraham Lincoln freed approximately 3,100 slaves in the District of Colombia on April 16, 1862, nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Mayor Vincent Gray said that approval of the referendum would send a signal that we are sick and tired of the special burdens imposed on the District. (The Washington Times)

** FILE ** Councilman David Catania questions a witness during a hearing held by the D.C. Council Monday, March 28, 2011, in Washington, D.C., about the hiring processes in Mayor Vincent Gray’s administration. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

** FILE ** Councilman David Catania questions a witness during a hearing held by the D.C. Council Monday, March 28, 2011, in Washington, D.C., about the hiring processes in Mayor Vincent Gray’s administration. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan testifies in front of the D.C. Board of Elections on his opposition to a proposed ballot referendum already passed by the D.C. City Council and signed by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray that could give the city more budget freedom from congress, Washington, D.C., Monday, January 7, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan testifies in front of the D.C. Board of Elections on his opposition to a proposed ballot referendum already passed by the D.C. City Council and signed by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray that could give the city more budget freedom from congress, Washington, D.C., Monday, January 7, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

James Brinkley with D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray