Local
Fenty vs. Gray presents tough choice for LGBT voters
Both seen as gay allies; race triggers shakeup in Council contests
D.C. City Council Chairman Vincent Gray announced this week he will challenge Mayor Adrian Fenty this fall. A third candidate, millionaire developer R. Donahue Peebles, is expected to join the race. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
D.C. City Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s announcement this week that he will challenge Mayor Adrian Fenty in the mayoral race will force many LGBT activists to choose between two strong allies, local activists said.
But as of this week, many of the city’s top gay Democratic activists said they were not ready to take sides in the race, a development that some viewed as a sign that activists have concerns about Fenty.
Gray’s entry in the mayoral contest also opens the way for at least three gay-supportive Council members, whose names have surfaced as possible candidates for Council chair, to enter that race, creating another difficult choice for LGBT voters.
“One way to look at this is it’s a good thing,” said Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance. “It’s a luxury to be able to choose among friends.”
Rosendall and other activists have noted that in many parts of the country, the LGBT community still faces elections where most candidates capable of winning are hostile to their interests.
Some City Hall observers are predicting that Gray’s entry into the mayoral race will also prove to be a major benefit to gay Council candidate Clark Ray, who is challenging Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) in the September Democratic primary.
Mendelson reportedly is seriously considering running for the Council chairman post now that Gray is vacating the seat. Should Mendelson run for that position rather than for re-election to his current at-large seat, Ray would be in a far stronger position to win that contest.
Ray has been campaigning for the seat for nearly a year and has lined up support among many LGBT activists. But Mendelson’s strong record on LGBT rights and his leading role in pushing the city’s same-sex marriage bill to a successful 11-2 vote in December prompted large numbers of LGBT activists and rank and file gay voters to remain loyal to him, according to Mendelson supporters.
Ray told DC Agenda earlier this week that he’s heard rumors that Mendelson might be considering running for the Council chairman position now being vacated by Gray.
“I am focused on my race and running my campaign on the issues that I talked about all along — like education reform and reducing crime,” he said. “So that’s where my focus is.”
Ray said he doesn’t plan to make an immediate endorsement in the mayor’s race.
“I think it’s great for the residents of the District of Columbia to have choices,” he said. “It makes for a better process. So I will be just like the rest of the Washingtonians. I will sit back and watch whomever is in the mayor’s race and I will make my decision on whom I think is the best to lead the city in the next four years.”
A Ray-Mendelson race was expected to divide the gay vote, with many political pundits predicting that Mendelson would win the election due to his strong, citywide support.
Mendelson spokesperson Jason Shedlock said Tuesday that Mendelson would have no immediate comment on speculation that he was considering running for Council chairman.
Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), another longtime supporter of LGBT rights, is also strongly considering entering the Council chairman race, according to Ward 2 political insiders. Others have said that Council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large), an LGBT rights supporter who, like Evans and Mendelson, voted for the same-sex marriage bill, is yet another possible candidate for the Council chairman seat.
Gay Democratic activist Kurt Vondran, a former president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest gay political group, said political insiders are predicting Fenty and Evans would run as a team for mayor and Council chairman. The two have been longtime political allies.
Lining up against them in a rival slate would most likely be Gray and Mendelson, who are not only allies on the Council but longtime Fenty adversaries.
With this as a backdrop, the Stein Club and other LGBT organizations will be forced to walk a fine line to avoid alienating longtime political friends in the city government, who likely would be needed for future LGBT-related initiatives.
Stein Club President Jeffrey Richardson said the club and its officers won’t take sides in the mayoral race until it holds a mayoral candidates forum scheduled for June 14. He said the club will vote on an endorsement at the conclusion of the forum.
Ashley Smith, vice president of the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Men & Women, said his group has no immediate plans to endorse a mayoral candidate and would assess whether to make an endorsement at a later date.
“At this point in time, it’s an open bag,” he said. “People will need to look at the candidates, including other candidates who may enter the race.”
Rosendall noted that his non-partisan group rates candidates rather than endorses them. He said the GLAA will carefully rate all mayoral and Council candidates based on their known records on LGBT issues and their responses to a questionnaire asking their positions on the issues.
But some LGBT activists point to what they perceive to be a strong feeling of dissatisfaction with Fenty — just as public opinion polls have shown is the case among residents in many parts of the city. A Washington Post poll released in late January showed Fenty’s popularity dropping in all parts of the city over the previous two years.
Blacks changed from a 68 percent approval for Fenty in his first year in office to a 65 percent disapproval in the Post’s January 2010 poll. Overall, the Post poll showed 42 percent of D.C. residents approved of the job Fenty was doing compared to 49 percent who expressed disapproval.
The Post poll did not break down its sample to show the sentiment of LGBT voters.
But gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell, a member of the executive committee of the Ward 8 Democratic Committee, said gay and straight residents east of the Anacostia River, which includes wards 7 and 8, appear to be in agreement in their dissatisfaction with Fenty.
“People east of the river are almost 100 percent against Fenty,” he said. “And I don’t see much of a difference between LGBT people and the community as a whole. It’s mostly because of his personality, but also because folks don’t see any real change in their community.”
Pannell said he won’t back a candidate in the race until the Ward 8 Democratic Committee votes on an endorsement later this spring.
Gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson said this week he is supporting Gray for mayor, becoming one of the few LGBT activists so far to take sides in the race.
“My impression is that the LGBT community is very frustrated with Adrian Fenty for never showing up [at community events] except for the high-heel race, never doing anything to really get down to addressing the problems that our community has to deal with,” he said.
Hudson was referring to a concern raised by some LGBT activists that Fenty has declined to attend most LGBT community events, including meetings of LGBT groups. The mayor has attended an annual Halloween high-heel race on 17th Street, N.W., each year since he took office and has also marched in the Capital Pride Parade each year since becoming mayor. The parade, which draws tens of thousands of participants, is part of the city’s annual LGBT Pride events.
While acknowledging that Fenty takes strong pro-LGBT positions on virtually all issues of importance to the community, many activists have complained that he has declined to take a more visible role in speaking out on issues, especially anti-LGBT violence and hate crimes.
The local group Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence has complained that Fenty has ignored their longstanding calls for him to deliver a speech addressing the high number of anti-LGBT hate crimes in the city or appear in a public service announcement addressing the hate crimes issues.
‘A very tough call’
Gay D.C. Council members Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and David Catania (I-At Large), like many activists, haven’t taken sides yet on the mayoral race. Both are running for re-election this year, with political observers saying each appears to have a good shot at winning.
Brian DeBose, Graham’s press spokesperson, said Graham is “going to make a formal announcement about [the mayor’s race] in the near future but he’s not prepared right now to make a statement.”
Graham has been a long-time political ally of Fenty, and some City Hall insiders believe he’s leaning toward Fenty.
Catania this week had praise for both Fenty and Gray in their respective roles in advancing the same-sex marriage bill that Catania wrote and introduced last year.
Asked how he feels about having to choose between Fenty and Gray, Catania said, “That’s a predicament I’m facing as a person and as a voter myself because I happen to like both of them as individuals and as public officials.”
“So it’s going to be a very tough call,” he said. “Both have excellent scores as far as I’m concerned on LGBT issues. Both were very early and strong supporters of marriage equality. Both support me in the work we’re trying to do to overhaul the HIV/AIDS Administration.”
While praising Fenty’s actions, both on LGBT and other issues, such as overhauling the city’s public school system, Catania acknowledged that the mayor has “injured himself” on how people perceive him in connection with his personality.
“He’s picked some fights that people don’t understand and they’re hard to explain at times,” Catania told DC Agenda. “I think that’s hurt him in the eyes of some voters, who want in a chief executive, who want in a mayor a different demeanor at times than what we’ve seen demonstrated by Adrian.”
Gay activist and attorney Edward Grandis, executive director of the local business association Dupont Circle Merchants & Professionals, said he does not perceive strong dissatisfaction toward Fenty from Dupont Circle area residents and businesses, where large numbers of gays live.
“In my business circles, I don’t see a large anti-Fenty sentiment,” he said. “And in Ward 2 in general, I don’t feel people are down on Fenty.”
Grandis said he agrees with activists who feel Fenty should have been more outspoken on LGBT issues such as hate crimes, “but I don’t feel most rank and file gays are dissatisfied with Fenty.”
In a related development, the Washington Post reported that millionaire developer R. Donahue Peebles said Monday that he is “planning to run” for mayor, adding a third candidate with the resources to compete with Fenty and Gray.
A Peebles spokesperson told DC Agenda two weeks ago that Peebles supports the city’s same-sex marriage law. But the spokesperson could not confirm whether Peebles supports or opposes a voter initiative, which, if approved, would repeal the gay marriage law. Peebles’ business office did not respond to a DC Agenda request for an interview.
Catania, however, said Peebles expressed to him a commitment to LGBT equality when the two spoke earlier this year.
“We didn’t talk about a referendum or an initiative. That subject didn’t come up,” Catania said. “But unprompted, he did tell me how delighted he was about marriage equality and how much he supported it, how he finds that all of our rights are interconnected. And he doesn’t feel it’s appropriate to deny one group of rights because that same strategy was used against the community that he belongs to.”
Peebles, who is black, has sometimes referred to his admiration of the black civil rights movement.
District of Columbia
Gay ANC commissioner sues D.C. over police ‘failure’ to pay reward money
Lawsuit says information led to conviction in murder, armed robbery cases
Gay D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Tom Donohue on Aug. 11 filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court charging that D.C. police acted improperly and violated a local law by not paying him $30,000 in reward money for his role in helping police identify and arrest — and obtain the subsequent conviction — of one man charged with murder and another man charged with armed robbery in separate cases.
Although the lawsuit alleges improper action by D.C. police in carrying out the city’s Crime Solvers reward program, it names as defendants the District of Columbia and the Office of the Attorney General for D.C., which, among other things, defends the city against lawsuits.
Donohue, who is a member of the city’s ANC Rainbow Caucus consisting of LGBTQ elected ANC members, held a news conference outside the D.C. Superior Court building on Aug. 11 to talk about the lawsuit before entering the courthouse to officially file it.
The lawsuit states that Donohue “provided key video evidence that led to the arrest and conviction” of a man initially charged with first degree murder for allegedly running over a bicyclist with his car after the two got into an argument.
The lawsuit states that police had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the defendant in that case, but police “arbitrarily slashed the payment to $5,000 without prior notice or policy justification.”
Court records show that D.C. resident Eric Beasley was charged with first degree murder for killing David Farewell, 45, by hitting him with his car on Sept. 4, 2020, on the 2100 block of Young Street, S.E. The records show the evidence for the case was based in large part on video camera footage of the incident obtained by police. Donohoe has said he provided that video camera evidence.
The records show that during Beasley’s October 2023 trial a jury was unable to reach the required unanimous verdict, and the judge declared a mistrial.
According to the records, Beasley later agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced in September 2024 to eight years in prison, a development that angered the victim’s family members who called it a “slap on the wrist,” according to a Fox 5 News report.
Donohue’s lawsuit says the second case in which he provided police with pivotal information involved a series of armed robberies known as the Fairlawn Serial Armed Robbery Spree that occurred in the Fairlawn neighborhood in Southeast D.C. in 2023 near where Donohue lives.
The lawsuit says evidence consisting of video surveillance footage provided by Donohue to police enabled police to determine they initially wrongfully arrested an 18-year-old male for the robberies. “Using Plaintiff’s security video, MPD identified, arrested, and convicted the actual robber, David Crocker, who was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison,” the lawsuit states.
It says one of the detectives investigating the case recommended a $10,000 reward for Donohue’s help in the case based on the police Crime Solvers reward program. The detective’s recommendation was approved by then-Assistant D.C. Police Chief Kyle Ramey on Aug. 4, 2025, according to the lawsuit.
But it adds, “Nevertheless, MPD improperly withheld payment.”
When contacted by the Washington Blade for comment on Donohue’s lawsuit allegations, a D.C. police spokesperson said “MPD does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.”
Gabriel Shoglow-Rubenstein, who serves as press secretary for the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, which will be defending the city against the Donohue lawsuit, said he would look into obtaining a possible comment but said the office has a similar longstanding policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
“This action arises from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department’s arbitrary, bad-faith, and legally unsupportable failure to honor its public reward promises and administrative obligations to Plaintiff,” the lawsuit states.
It says the MPD violated the city’s Freedom of Information Act or FOIA law by not responding to Donohue’s request for information and documents related to the decision not to pay him the full reward money.
“MPD’s reduction of Plaintiff’s homicide reward from $25,000 to $5,000, and its withholding of his approved $10,00 robbery reward, were undertaken completely devoid of written standards, making such decisions inherently arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of administrative discretion,” it says.
It calls for Donohue to be awarded $30,000 in compensatory damages consisting of the $20,000 “unpaid balance” for the homicide case reward and $10,000 for the robbery case reward. It also calls for reimbursement for “reasonable” litigation costs and attorney’s fees. Donohue told the Washington Blade that at this time he is representing himself without an attorney.
Donohue told the Blade that the refusal by D.C. police to pay him the full reward money also limited his plans to donate some of that money to the family of murder victim David Farewell to help pay for a burial stone. He said that due to the family’s limited resources Farewell is buried in an unmarked grave
Delaware
New LGBTQ visitor center slated for Wilmington, Del.
The Collective to feature gift shop, queer museum, more
During Pride month this year, the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective (DSGC) announced plans for The Collective, which will become Delaware’s first LGBTQIA+ visitor center and Wilmington’s first dedicated LGBTQIA+ space in nearly 40 years.
“We’ve been talking about the concept of a brick-and-mortar space for a long time,” said Noah Duckett, co-founder of DSGC.
A licensed clinical social worker, Duckett co-founded DSGC with his mother, Julissa Coriano, in 2018. DSGC is an independent nonprofit organization that provides vital clinical and educational support, social programming and direct-need support to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Some of the programs DSGC offers include a free clothing closet for the trans community, meal support for people recovering from gender-affirming surgery, connections to pro bono legal services, a biannual Pride Market featuring over 100 LGBTQIA+-owned small businesses, and more.
“Our vision for The Collective is a place where our community can come to learn, create, work and be inspired,” said Coriano.
The Collective will feature a visitor center and gift shop highlighting LGBTQIA+-owned businesses in Delaware.
“I think that this is something that’s going to benefit our community so much,” said Duckett.
Some of the LGBTQIA+-owned businesses that DSGC has already partnered with include Stress Induced Art Attack, Moonbeam Art Collaborative, Voce Coffee, Groovy Gemini Co., Scout Cafe, Macaron Social and Huxley and Hiro.
“Specifically in Wilmington, we haven’t had an LGBTQIA+-dedicated space in almost 40 years,” said Duckett.
The Griffin Community Center, which operated from 1986 to 1990, was Delaware’s first LGBTQ+ community center. The Griffin was founded by Ivo Dominguez Jr. and James C. Welch and provided a range of community services during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, including AIDS hotlines, organizational offices and meeting space. The center ultimately closed because of a lack of financial support.
Duckett said DSGC hopes The Collective will carry on The Griffin’s legacy while building a sustainable space for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I think now more than ever, there’s more and more spaces closing their doors. More and more spaces are losing funding, seeing reduced funding and reduced access, especially LGBTQ+ organizations and communities,” said Duckett.
The Collective will also feature Delaware’s first LGBTQ+ history museum, curated by LGBTQ+ historian Carolanne Deal.
“We don’t have any permanent displays in the state about Delaware’s queer history, and we want people to be able to access that history any day of the year, not just during Pride Month,” said Deal.
With a master’s degree in art history for museum professionals, Deal has more than seven years of experience in curatorial work and hands-on collections care.
“It’s mainly going to be a graphic display with photographs, articles and accessible text that draws people in and creates a story for the community,” said Deal.
Although the museum will not initially have an object collection, Deal said she hopes to add physical archival pieces in the future.
“Delaware has been at the forefront of a lot of queer civil rights, and it’ll be really amazing to have that enshrined in a permanent display that’s not only up for Pride Month,” said Deal.
Duckett said DSGC is currently raising funds with the goal of beginning construction this summer and opening by the end of the year.
Duckett told the Blade that fundraising efforts have reached just under $29,000 and that the organization is awaiting several major donations from community partner organizations.
However, he said DSGC continues to be denied many grants tied to federal or state funding because of restrictions on those funds being used for LGBTQ+-serving organizations.
“Private and corporate donations are absolutely vital,” said Duckett.
Anyone interested in supporting the construction and renovation of The Collective can donate online or contact [email protected] for more information.ose funds being used for LGBTQ-serving organizations.
“Private and corporate donations are absolutely vital,” said Duckett.
Anyone interested in supporting the construction of The Collective can donate online or contact [email protected] for more information.
Rehoboth Beach
HISTORIC: Susan Stewart elected Rehoboth’s first out mayor
Thanks LGBTQ supporters and vows to protect city’s small town charm
Residents of Rehoboth Beach elected City Commissioner Susan Stewart with 61% of the vote on Aug. 8, making her the city’s first openly gay mayor.
Stewart beat fellow commissioners Craig Their and Suzanne Goode in the race, as well as newcomer Jake Raak.
The final mayoral vote results were:
- Susan Stewart: 632
- Craig Their: 203
- Suzanne Goode: 177
- William “Jake” Raak: 23
“I’m very grateful because the LGBTQ+ community not only voted for me, but also supported me,” said Stewart.
Stewart said that she is particularly grateful for the support she received on social media from members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’ve had incredible support,” said Stewart.
Stewart said that her campaign showed her just how much residents of Rehoboth are engaged and care about the city.
“They really want to see what’s best for the community,” said Stewart.
Stewart spoke about the master planning initiative she has been working on as a commissioner, which she plans to continue as mayor.
“We’ve undertaken rewriting the commercial zoning code, and that’s foundational to the next step of the initiative,” said Stewart.
She said that she was proud of the results of charette week that was held last month where residents and business owners had the opportunity to speak with hired urban planners to give feedback for a zoning code update.
Stewart said that Rehoboth is at a tipping point as the city must find a way to balance the growth of the commercial district while improving the quality of life for residents.
“I don’t believe there needs to be tension between the business community and the residential experience,” said Stewart.
“I’m excited about a new master plan because we have a couple hotels coming, and we also have Clear Space Theatre looking for a new home, and we’re working with them,” said Stewart. “We want businesses to stay here.”
Stewart also said that she aims to embrace the concept of a ‘15-minute city,’ making the city much more accessible in terms of transportation in the downtown area for residents.
“The goal is to protect the small town charm and natural beauty of Rehoboth,” said Stewart. “I want to keep the momentum going.”
The Blade asked Stewart about any concerns she might have working with Commissioner Goode, whom she has criticized for sending inappropriate and offensive emails to city staff. Goode finished a distant third in the mayoral race and her husband fell short in his bid for a Commissioner’s seat. In that race, Jeffrey Goode received 239 votes; Patrick Gossett, who’s gay, received 813 votes and Mark Saunders 852. Saunders and Gossett will be sworn in next month.
“I’m really eager to move past this issue with Commissioner Goode,” said Stewart.
She said that she’s heard ‘loud and clear’ from the city that they want to move past this situation as best as they can while Goode remains in her seat as commissioner.
“There are no mechanisms for us to remove a sitting commissioner. Our laws don’t allow it,” said Stewart.
Stewart clarified that she has always focused on Goode’s behavior toward city staff.
“One thing I feel really passionate about is that the city employees have to know that they are heard. They are real people with real jobs, real professional reputations, and they’ve been harmed,” said Stewart.
The Blade also asked if Stewart had made a final decision on whom she plans to nominate to fill her Commissioner seat.
“I’m considering who to appoint and I have not made any final decisions,” said Stewart.
She noted that, as mayor, she only has the power to nominate a candidate and that the board of commissioners will have the final vote on whom to appoint to the board.
Stewart shared that she has received interest from a number of people and finds that to be a good sign.
“I think that’s a great sign because people want to serve. I’m eager to have someone in that seat who’s smart and has the best interests of the city,” said Stewart.
Stewart will be sworn in during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 18.
Flanagan beats Craig in Minn. Senate primary after winning key LGBTQ endorsements
Gay ANC commissioner sues D.C. over police ‘failure’ to pay reward money
New LGBTQ visitor center slated for Wilmington, Del.
Jason DePuy on coping with homophobia in ‘Big Brother’ house
