Local
Gay candidate loses Rehoboth mayor’s race
‘Lack of experience’ cited by longtime incumbent
Gay businessman Tom McGlone lost his bid to become mayor of the resort city of Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Saturday, finishing behind seven-term incumbent Mayor Sam Cooper by a vote of 665 to 483.
Gay restaurant owner Mark Hunker won his bid for a seat on the Rehoboth City Commission, the town’s legislative body. His election leaves two open gays on the six-member commission. Commissioner Pat Colluzzi, a lesbian, was not up for re-election this year.
McGlone’s status as an openly gay candidate did not emerge as an issue in a town that has long been a popular vacation destination for LGBT people in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Washington and Baltimore.
But he did emerge as an advocate for the town’s tourist oriented businesses, including bars and restaurants, which have complained that the Cooper-led town government was harming them through overly restrictive regulations.
Among McGlone’s supporters were the owners of the popular gay restaurant and bar Aqua Grill. One of its two owners was arrested last year for allegedly keeping the establishment’s outdoor patio open beyond a required 11 p.m. closing time.
Police later dropped the charge after discovering that Aqua Grill was exempt from the closing time restriction. Aqua Grill’s owners and customers, however, became outraged earlier this year when a town code enforcement officer informed the place that it was in violation of another ordinance for flying a flag over the sidewalk in front of the restaurant two inches lower that the code requirement.
Rehoboth gay activist Peter Schott said he’s concerned that Cooper’s re-election will be viewed as a signal for continuing a regulatory enforcement program that some view as targeting gay establishments.
Cooper has strongly disputed claims that the enforcement action was targeting any particular group or type of business. He said the enforcement effort targeted everyone found to be in violation of the town’s rules and laws pertaining to excessive noise or other ‘quality of life’ issues such as trash disposal.
In a phone interview with the Blade last month, Cooper said he welcomes the town’s diverse array of residents and visitors, including LGBT people. He said he was proud to have helped to build and maintain a town infrastructure that has resulted in a beautiful beach and boardwalk that attracts everyone to Rehoboth Beach.
Observers familiar with Rehoboth said Cooper appears to have succeeded in portraying McGlone as someone who lacked sufficient experience to become mayor because he never served in an elective post in the town or on a town board or committee.
McGlone argued that his experience as the owner of a successful financial planning business, a masters in business administration degree, and his commitment to improving the town’s relations with small businesses, among other skills, made him qualified for the job.
His supporters say he was well qualified to be mayor but note that the majority of the town’s voters consist of longtime residents and homeowners who tend to support Cooper and agree with Cooper’s position on regulating bars and other nightlife businesses. Although McGlone had the support of some longtime residents, observers say his base of support came largely from the growing but minority faction of voters who own homes in the town but don’t live there full-time. This group is eligible to vote under the Rehoboth election law, even though most live in D.C., Baltimore and other areas outside Delaware. They don’t turn out to vote as often as the permanent, full-time residents, according to observers familiar with the town.
“Well obviously I’m disappointed,” McGlone said after the election results were announced. “But I think that as a result of my running we lifted the bar. And I hope the current government has their ears open in terms of the issues that came up during the course of the campaign because I think those are still valid issues even though I didn’t get elected.”
Schott, who supported McGlone even though he lives just outside the Rehoboth town limits, said he and other McGlone backers were hopeful that a larger than usual turnout of voters, including new residents who tend to support entertainment businesses, would carry McGlone to victory.
But the results indicate that didn’t happen. The turnout of 1,148 people who voted for mayor in the Saturday, Aug. 13, election was slightly less than the 1,209 ballots cast for mayor in the August 2008 election. In that election, Cooper defeated challenger Paul Kuhns by a margin of 675 to 534 votes.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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