Local
Graham, Thomas win Stein Club endorsements
Announcements come as Orange enters Council chairman race
D.C. City Council members Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who is gay, and Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) won endorsements Monday from the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group.
The two incumbents, both of whom voted for legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, are running for re-election in the city’s Sept. 14 Democratic primary.
Club members voted by lopsided margins to endorse the two men during a club candidate forum and endorsement meeting for the wards 1 and 5 races, held at the Thurgood Marshall Building at 12th and T streets, N.W., in Ward 1.
The meeting took place less than a week after former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange, a Democrat, announced his candidacy for the Council chairman’s seat being vacated by incumbent Vincent Gray, who is running for mayor.
Orange’s chief opponent in this year’s Council chair race, Council member Kwame Brown (D-At Large), voted for the same-sex marriage law and has been a strong supporter of LGBT-related issues during his Council tenure.
In 2006, when Orange ran for mayor, he expressed strong opposition to proposals to legalize same-sex marriage in the city, calling his opponents who backed same-sex marriage “morally unfit to run this city.” Mayor Adrian Fenty, an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage, defeated Orange and other candidates by a wide margin.
It thus surprised some activists that shortly after announcing his candidacy for Council chair, Orange issued a statement saying he now supports same-sex marriage.
He noted that as a member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, he voted for a committee resolution endorsing the bill introduced by gay Council member David Catania (I-At Large) that legalized same-sex marriage in the District. The Council passed the bill in December, 11-2, and Fenty signed the measure that same month.
“In 2006, I did say that I believed that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Orange said in his statement released last week. “We have come a long way in the journey of life. Today, I stand on the right side of history.”
Gay activist Bob Summersgill, who helped coordinate the lobbying campaign in support of the D.C. same-sex marriage bill last year, said he was pleased that Orange has changed his position on the issue. But he was skeptical that Orange would win support from many LGBT voters.
“He wasn’t with us when this was a tough issue,” said Summersgill. “Now he’s with us when it’s a safe issue.”
At the Stein Club meeting Monday, Graham and Thomas pledged to work hard to ensure that the same-sex marriage law remains on the books by opposing efforts to hold a voter initiative to overturn it.
The main challengers to Graham and Thomas told club members that they, too, support the same-sex marriage law and would work to oppose efforts to place a voter initiative on the ballot to overturn the law. The opponents who spoke at the meeting were Ward 1 Democratic candidates Jeff Smith and Bryan Weaver, and Ward 5 candidate Kenyan McDuffie.
Each of the candidates, including Graham and Thomas, outlined their records and positions on LGBT issues in their responses to a Stein Club questionnaire. The documents can be viewed on the club’s web site, steindemocrats.org.
The club is scheduled to hold candidate endorsement forums for the wards 3 and 6 Council races May 24; the mayoral and D.C. delegate to Congress races June 14; and the Council chairman and at-large Council member contests July 12.
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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