Like most people, a trip to Rosslyn makes Mayor Vince Gray slightly irritable. Witness his performance this morning on Newstalk with Bruce DePuyt (which is filmed across the Potomac River) in which Gray takes strong issue with Ward 4 Councilmember and mayoral candidate Muriel Bowser‘s assertions that his administration moves too slowly.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about. I think it’s ridiculous,” said Gray. “First of all, energy? Who has more energy than me? Bruce, I work 16 hours every day so if she wants to talk about energy I’d be happy to talk about that.”

“Bring it on, you’re saying,” DePuyt asked.

“Yeah, exactly, bring it on,” said Gray. “If she wants to work until one or two o’clock in the morning as I do everyday, and bring some energy to that, I’d be happy to discuss that with her.”

Gray then touted what he sees as his strong record of accomplishment, which seemed particularly heavy on large-scale private developments that are being driven much, much more by D.C.’s hot economy rather than anything the District government is doing. As usual, Gray wouldn’t say whether he’s going to run for another term or when he would announce his decision. (The all-important Democratic primary is a year away.) But his strong defense of his administration’s “sterling” record is yet another clue that Gray’s likely to run, U.S. Attorney Ron Machen be damned.

As for Bowser, she was game to mix it up, telling LL that she stands by her message that the citizenry are displeased with the pace at which the Gray administration moves.

“Perhaps he’s not in tune with what the residents of the District of Columbia are saying,” says Bowser, which, for those paying attention marks the first official dust up of the 2014 mayoral contest!

This isn’t the first time Gray’s gotten feisty on DePuyt’s show. Last summer unloaded on three councilmembers (including Bowser) after they called on Gray to resign for allegedly benefiting from what federal prosecutors say was an illegal “shadow campaign.” Gray took particular aim at Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, his erstwhile ally who’d broken up with him via voicemail.

There’s just something about Rosslyn.