John L. Ray is a lawyer and Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 He was an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia

Council of the District of Columbia

The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...

 from 1979 to 1997. Ray is a partner and member of the board of directors at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is a Los Angeles-based law firm of more than 400 attorneys and other professionals founded in 1965. The firm earned revenues of nearly $260 million in 2010...

.

Political career

On January 8, 1979, Ray was appointed by the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee

District of Columbia Democratic State Committee

The District of Columbia Democratic State Committee is the local branch of the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C.Democrats make up 75 percent of the registered voters in the District of Columbia, while 7 percent are registered with the Republican Party , 1 percent with the D.C...

 to the at-large council seat vacated by Marion Barry

Marion Barry

Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...

, who had been sworn in as mayor a few days earlier. He was Barry's chosen successor. Ray went on to win the May 1 special election handily and then to be reelected in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992.

When council chairman John A. Wilson

John A. Wilson

John A. Wilson was an American politician.Wilson served in 1974 as the chairman of the drive to approve the referendum to adopt the Home Rule Charter for the District of Columbia...

 killed himself in May 1993, the council chose Ray to be acting chairman. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly

Sharon Pratt Kelly

Sharon Pratt Kelly , formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon and now known as Sharon Pratt, was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. Pratt was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city...

 had backed another at-large council member, Linda Cropp, for the appointment and thought she had lined up the votes on the council, but Charlene Drew Jarvis

Charlene Drew Jarvis

Charlene Drew Jarvis is an American educator and former scientific researcher and politician who served as the president of Southeastern University until March 31, 2009...

 switched her vote to Ray because she intended to run for chairman in the special election and viewed Cropp as a threat. Ray served as acting chairman until the special election on September 14, which was won by former chairman David A. Clarke

David A. Clarke

David Allen "Dave" Clarke was a civil rights worker, lawyer, and Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. He was elected as one of the original members of the Council of the District of Columbia in 1974 when D.C. gained home rule, and he later served as the council's chairman from 1983 to 1991...

. Ray finished his term as at-large member but did not run for reelection in 1996.