This is rich…

From The Caroline Progress (print edition, August 15, 2007) [emphasis mine]:

To the Editor:

This is to inform the public that the debate held on Monday for candidates seeking election to the Board of Supervisors will not be attended by Damon Gray, Sr. because of prior commitments. Also I feel it would be a conflict of interest because of my being a contractor in the county.

I have been asked by a member of the Caroline Democratic Committee to attend a meeting on Sat., Aug. 18, at 10 a.m., being held at Aunt Sarah’s Pancake House. The purpose is to ask for support from the Democratic Party since I am a registered Democrat.

Thanks for the support you, the public, have shown me. I can be reached at (804) 633-4200 anytime for anyone who may wish to contact me.

-Damon L. Gray, Sr.

If he’s a registered Democrat, why didn’t he run as a Democrat, instead of running as an independent? Do you see Jeff Sili or Bobby Popowicz running as independents?

Of course, honesty doesn’t appear to be one of Mr. Gray’s strong suits, from The Caroline Progress, Almost every supervisor seat contested [emphasis mine]:

Election newcomer Damon Gray, who is seeking the Bowling Green District seat left vacant by retiring incumbent Bob Farmer, recently answered questions about two prior misdemeanor convictions.

Gray, 55, is running as an independent candidate against Republican Jeff Sili and Independent George Spaulding. Gray said he decided to seek election because he wants to make a change.

He said that the people who know him know that he’s a trustworthy person.

“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I’m an upstanding member of the community.”

The conviction for possession of marijuana came in December 2001, after allegations were made that Gray brought illegal substances onto Fort A.P. Hill, where his contractor’s company was doing work for the 2001 Boy Scout Jamboree. A concurrent felony charge of possession of controlled substance was nolle prosequi.

Gray, who was also convicted in January of this year of misdemeanor spotlighting a deer by firearm, said that he does not think the convictions should have any impact on the campaign.

“I’d rather it stay in the past, but the people who know me will support me,” he said.

Yeah, I bet, a 55 year-old caught with marijuana and who likes to spotlight deer. I guess some people never grow up.