Toward the end of his speech Sunday night, Vincent Orange asked the roughly 200 people in the room to stand. He had something big to announce: He’s running for mayor.

No kidding! Orange’s campaign hasn’t been a secret since a surrogate picked up nominating petitions for him in November. Aside from some lamppost signs, though, Orange has been less prominent in the race than his rivals.

Orange aimed to change that with his black-tie gala announcement at Gallaudet University’s Kellogg Conference Hotel, unveiling twin themes for his campaign: “Leaving No One Behind” and “Taking No One for Granted.”

After that, Orange hit incumbent Vince Gray where it hurts—-in the cranes. While Gray likes to tout the construction cranes in the skyline as evidence of his economic success, Orange says they’re due to the work of another mayor and D.C. Council chair. “Those cranes belong to the [Anthony] Williams/[Linda] Cropp administration,” Orange said.

As for whether his announcement portends a more visible campaign schedule, Orange was characteristically cryptic, telling LL to “stay tuned.”

Photo by Darrow Montgomery