WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Court documents filed in D.C. Superior Court reveal new information about Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray’s health.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered a guardian and conservator to oversee his best interests.
This ruling comes after Gray’s two children petitioned the court to take power away from his wife, who they said has engaged in fraud with Gray’s assets and kept them from seeing their father.
On Thursday, Gray announced he had dementia and would no longer vote on council legislation for the rest of his term.
Gray, 81, has had a distinguished career both on the D.C. Council and as mayor of D.C. But his two children said his wife of five years, Dawn Kum, who’s nearly 25 years younger than the councilmember, is taking advantage of him.
Their attorney Doug Gansler said following Gray’s first two strokes, “She actually refinanced his house without his knowledge and took out $475,000, in that manner. She then took another $77,000 from the home.”
In a petition filed in August, Gansler said Gray’s wife “is squandering [his] money on frequent high-end vacations and luxury shopping sprees.”
He said Kum isolated Gray from his children, not allowing them to visit him in the hospital and at home.
“She blocked his phone. She wouldn’t let them visit their own home. The house that Jonice and Carlos [Gray’s children] actually grew up in,” Gansler said.
He said she also withheld information about Gray’s health condition.
“On certain occasions when Petitioners have been able to see their father outside the presence of DK, VG has told Petitioners, with tears in his eyes, that he is happy to see them and that he did not know they were unaware of his strokes, his health complications, or his whereabouts,” court documents said.
In or about mid-December 2021, Gray could not count backward from 20 and could not recite the months of the year backward, according to court documents.
Gansler said it’s been a gradual decline since then, after four total strokes.
He also said Kum injected herself into a leadership role in Gray’s job as Councilmember, forcing the hiring of her daughter’s long-time live-in boyfriend to essentially be Gray’s healthcare aide.
“It’s very sad that someone would try and take advantage of him like this,” Gansler said.
Gansler said Wednesday’s decision by a judge to grant a conservatorship is important for Gray, his children and his legacy.
“Going forward, he will have a guardian that’s exercising his or her judgment in the best interests of Mayor Gray and making sure that his assets are protected so that he has, access to quality health care going forward,” Gansler said.
DC News Now reached out to Kum and her attorney several ways for comment but they have not responded.
Gray’s Communications Director Chuck Thies said the petition represents and advocates “for the interests of one side of a complicated legal matter.” He said the proceedings are a private family matter, not council business.
