The exemption measure, which passed on a 10 to 3 vote last week, put Fenty in a political quandary. As a council member, he championed the District's smoking ban. But the waiver was backed by Evans, a close ally who is a member of the Friendly Sons, a group that draws national figures such as House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to its celebration of Irish-American culture at the Capital Hilton. The bill was opposed by the mayor's potential Democratic primary challenger, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D).