Sunday, January 10, 2010

Millionaire Peebles says he won't run for mayor of D.C.

By Paul Schwartzman Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 6, 2010

R. Donahue Peebles, a millionaire real estate tycoon who had boasted that he was prepared to spend up to $8 million to become Washington's next mayor, announced late Tuesday that he would not challenge Adrian M. Fenty in this year's election.

Peebles's statement came a day after he had said in an interview that it was a "high probability" he would run against the incumbent and that he was considering funding his campaign entirely from a personal fortune that Forbes magazine has estimated at $350 million.

But Peebles said Tuesday that he cannot run "at this time" because his mother-in-law has a "terminal illness" and his "vow as a husband to support my wife and children during the rough path ahead must supersede my desire to be mayor."

"As much as it disappoints me and the many friends and supporters who have encouraged me to run for mayor, I cannot enter the race at this time," Peebles said.

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