D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s administration has spent nearly $1 million in outreach efforts to hold summits, town halls, and other local gatherings since 2011, The Washington Post reported. Gray has held 25 major city-sponsored events over the past year. The majority of the money reportedly went to no-bid contracts with America Speaks, which is a nonprofit group that specializes in large-scale meetings.
Pedro Ribeiro, Gray’s director of communications, reported the contracts were advertised. America Speaks is one of the few nonprofit groups in the country that can manage such large-scale events, Ribeiro reported. The city also reportedly spent $5,000 on a speech writer for the mayor and $14,430 for a teleprompter.
