Local
Activists denounce changes to gay police unit
Four local LGBT organizations have issued a joint statement calling D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s plan to overhaul the department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit “ill-conceived” and a “severe disappointment” to the community.
“Today a broad coalition of D.C.’s LGBT community groups stand together to express our severe disappointment with the Metropolitan Police Department’s ill-conceived plan to restructure the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit,” says the Dec. 9 statement.
“An award-winning unit has been effectively dismantled without meaningful input from the very community that unit serves,” it says. “Lanier is quick to point out that she and her staff have held meetings with community members to discuss their plans, but she fails to mention that not one critique of her plan was accepted.”
Groups that signed the statement include the D.C. Trans Coalition, Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence, and Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
Lanier has insisted her reorganization plan would strengthen the GLLU and three other special liaison units serving the Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and deaf and hard of hearing communities.
She has said that by decentralizing the units to each of the seven police districts and assigning more officers to each unit, the units would be far more responsive and effective than under the old system, where the units worked out of a central headquarters.
But representatives of the four groups that issued the statement said Lanier has effectively dismantled the central GLLU by reducing its staff through attrition from seven to one full-time officer and one part-time sergeant. At the same time, they argue that Lanier only this month began to train new officers to staff the decentralized structure, and no GLLU officers have been assigned to any of the seven districts.
The two-page statement, published on the GLAA web site, cites 10 specific deficiencies in the GLLU’s reorganization plan, including what it calls an inadequate training program for GLLU or GLLU affiliated officers. The statement says the training, among other things, doesn’t devote enough attention to transgender-related issues and gay-related domestic violence cases, which have comprised 82 percent of the GLLU’s caseload.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Local gay chamber of commerce hires director
The Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has named a gay businessman as its first executive director.
Mark Guenther, the Washington Blade’s former sales and marketing director, is leaving his current job as operations director at GSI Specialties to work full time for the chamber. His new job — the chamber’s first paid position — begins in January.
“This is a dream position for me,” he told DC Agenda. “I want to fulfill the vision that we put out there, the objectives that we feel are obtainable.”
The Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce works to advocate, promote and facilitate the success of LGBT businesses and their allies in the metro D.C. region. It’s known for hosting Network Thursday socials and other professional development sessions. The organization was previously known as the Potomac Executive Network or PEN.
Guenther, who has served on the chamber’s board for four years, said he helped develop a plan for the organization “to earn and spend money over the next 12 months” that included the executive director position. He declined to comment on his slated pay as executive director.
“You can look at this as an expense or as an investment,” he said. “I think the board all looks at this as an investment for the future, for what we can achieve for the community.”
Ken White, the chamber’s president, agreed. He said the board’s vote Dec. 8 to establish the executive director position and hire Guenther was “a leap of faith” for the previously all-volunteer organization.
“This has been a really great year for the chamber with our name change and increased excitement about our activities and programs and services,” White said. “We came to a point where we were thinking that we could take this chamber to the next level if we brought aboard someone dedicated to this on a full-time basis.”
White said Guenther will focus on increasing chamber membership and corporate partnerships, and work to “add value” to the organization’s members and supporters.
Guenther said he’s planning to work from his home office as executive director, but the chamber “would love to have a real address” and is evaluating an office space option.
JOSHUA LYNSEN
Cheatam elected to D.C. Democratic Party committee
Veteran lesbian activist Carlene Cheatam was one of two openly LGBT people elected this month to fill vacant seats on the D.C. Democratic State Committee, which serves as the governing body of the city’s Democratic Party.
The committee on Dec. 3 elected Cheatam and D.C. gay Democratic activist Ed Potillo, both from Ward 7, to at-large seats on the 82-member committee. Gay Democratic activist David Meadow, a member and spokesperson for the D.C. Democratic State Committee, said the election of Cheatam and Potillo brings the total number of open gays on the panel to 11.
Earlier this year, the committee passed a resolution endorsing legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. Cheatam has been among the lead local advocates for same-sex marriage.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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