Local
Fenty leads Gray by 6 points in Blade poll
Small sample hints at gay vote in D.C. mayor’s race
Mayor Adrian Fenty leads his primary opponent D.C. City Council Chair Vincent Gray in an unscientific straw poll of LGBT voters the Blade conducted during Capital Pride. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Participants in an unscientific straw poll conducted by the Washington Blade at the Capital Pride street festival June 13 said they would vote for D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty over his chief rival, City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, 40.7 percent to 33.8 percent.
The poll shows Fenty with a 6.9 percent lead among the 145 mostly LGBT festival attendees that participated in the poll.
But nearly 25 percent of the straw poll participants indicated they had yet to decide who would get their vote for mayor in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary. Because the overwhelming majority of D.C. voters are registered Democrats, the primary almost always predicts the winner in the November general election.
Mayoral contender Leo Alexander, a former TV news anchor who supports bringing the city’s same-sex marriage law before voters in a ballot initiative, received support from less than 1 percent of the straw poll respondents. Eight other, lesser-known mayoral candidates received no votes in the straw poll.
In the hotly contested race for City Council chairman, respondents in the Blade straw poll indicated they would vote for at-large City Council member Kwame Brown over his main rival, former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange, 37.2 percent to 8.3 percent. Slightly more than 43 percent said they were undecided in that contest.
Two lesser-known candidates in the race, Dorothy Douglas and Calvin Gurley, received 1.3 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
Orange came out against legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the District when he ran for mayor in 2006, and denounced his mayoral rivals, including Fenty, who supported gay marriage. He said this year that he’s changed his mind on the matter and now supports the same-sex marriage bill that the Council passed and Fenty signed.
In the race for at-large Council member, incumbent Phil Mendelson outscored gay challenger Clark Ray, 45.1 percent to 13.9 percent, among straw poll respondents. About 35 percent said they were undecided in the race. At-large candidate Donna Jean Alston received 2.8 percent of the straw poll vote, with candidates Kelvin Robinson and Will Ross receiving no votes.
The 145 respondents in the Blade’s D.C. election straw poll comprised a far smaller number than those who participated in a separate Blade presidential approval rating poll also conducted at the Capital Pride street festival.
The 145 respondents are too few to make the straw poll a statistically valid sample of the LGBT D.C. residents who attended the Capital Pride festival. But Blade editor Kevin Naff said the straw poll provides the only available glimpse so far into where LGBT voters stand in the race for mayor and City Council chair and the contest for an at-large Council seat in which an openly gay candidate is considered to have a shot at winning.
No city polls conducted to date, including those by the Washington Post, have included information about the LGBT vote, which is considered influential in D.C. elections.
A total of 560 people completed the Obama approval poll, which asked respondents to disclose whether they approve or disapprove of President Barack Obama’s handling of LGBT issues as well as all matters. The Blade is planning to release the results of that poll later this month.
The greater participation in the presidential approval poll suggests that a significantly larger percentage of people attending the Capital Pride street festival were from jurisdictions outside D.C., such as the Virginia and Maryland suburbs and other mid-Atlantic states.
Blade staff members invited Capital Pride attendees to participate in the poll as the attendees walked past the Blade booth at the festival. All attendees could complete the presidential approval poll, but only attendees additionally identifying themselves as D.C. residents were allowed to participate in the D.C. election poll.
Among the 145 respondents in the Blade D.C. election straw poll, about 73 percent identified as being gay male, 13 percent were lesbian, about 5 percent were bisexual, 0.7 percent were transgender, 1.4 percent identified as queer, about 8 percent were straight, and 0.7 percent identified as other.
By race and ethnicity, about 77 percent of respondents identified as white, 17 percent were black, about 7 percent were Latino, 1.4 percent were Asian-Pacific Islander, and 2.7 percent identified as other.
In a breakdown by age, about 21 percent of respondents identified as being between 17 and 29; about 52 percent were between 30 and 49; about 24 percent were between 50 and 64; and 0.38 percent were 65 or older.
Just 119 of the 145 respondents answered a question asking them to identify the ward in which they live. By ward, the breakdown was 20 from Ward 1; 36 from Ward 2; 12 from Ward 3; 10 from Ward 4; 14 from Ward 5; 23 from Ward 6; three from Ward 7; and one from Ward 8.
The small representation of respondents from Wards 7 and 8 suggests that Gray might have received more support in the Blade poll had more people from those two wards participated in the poll. Other public opinion polls have shown Gray leading Fenty by a wide margin in wards 7 and 8, and gay activists living in the two wards have said they believe gays in the two wards also back Gray by a significant margin.
But with some political pundits predicting voters will be nearly evenly divided citywide between Fenty and Gray as the September primary approaches, the gay vote could be a key factor in the outcome of the election.
Although Gray won the endorsement last month of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, many believe LGBT voters are closely divided over the mayoral contest. A significant number of LGBT activists have yet to take sides in the mayoral race, a development backed up by the Blade poll showing that 24.8 percent of respondents are undecided in the race.
The Blade poll finding that Ray, a gay Democratic activist and former D.C. Department of Parks & Recreation Director, is trailing Mendelson by more than 30 points could mean any of several factors are at play.
Mendelson supporters have predicted LGBT voters will back Mendelson because of his strong support for LGBT rights, including his leadership in shepherding the gay marriage bill through the Council last year in his role as chair of the committee with jurisdiction over the bill.
Ray’s poor showing in the Blade poll could also be due to his lack of name recognition compared to Mendelson, who has sat on the Council for nearly 12 years.
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, a campaign adviser for Ray, said the sample was too small to be an accurate predictor in the election.
Rosenstein said the only aspect of the poll that could be a factor is its high number of undecided voters in the mayoral and at-large Council races.
“That’s not a good sign for an incumbent like Mendelson, who has been in office for 12 years,” he said.
Gay activist Bob Summersgill, a Mendelson supporter, said that while the number of participants in the Blade poll is small, its composition of mostly white gay men is a demographic for which Ray should have made a stronger showing as a gay candidate.
“Phil beat Ray three to one in what should be Clark Ray’s best demographic,” Summersgill said. “And Ray even lost to undecided, two to one. I think that’s pretty significant and shows the lack of name recognition and lack of seriousness which the community is generally giving him.”
Yet Summersgill and Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Stein Club, noted that the large number of respondents to the Blade poll saying they were undecided in the Council chair and at-large Council races also indicates those two races have received far less media coverage and voter attention than the widely publicized mayoral race between Fenty and Gray.
“The reality is Phil Mendelson is the incumbent with higher name recognition,” Richardson said. “And even though Clark Ray was a director of the Department of Parks & Recreation, because Phil is the incumbent and has done so much legislatively and has been vocal on so many different issues, even marriage equality, people know and recognize what he has done.
“So Clark Ray has a lot of ground to gain in trying to overcome the name-recognition battle,” Richardson said. “But in regards to where people really would be with one over the other, I’m not so certain.”
The Stein Club is scheduled to hold its endorsement meeting and vote on the at-large Council and Council chair races on Monday at Town nightclub in D.C.
Gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson, a volunteer in Gray’s mayoral campaign, said the Blade poll shows strong potential for Gray, even though it reveals him to be trailing Fenty among the sample of Pride festival goers.
“I think the results show that there’s a wide opening for Vince Gray to win a significant majority of the LGBT vote if he can show that he is empathetic to the issues that are important to our community, such as a strong response from the mayor’s office on hate crimes, a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, and LGBT youth and schools,” Hudson said.
Hudson and other Gray supporters have said Fenty’s record is weak on those issues.
“It’s significant because those are people who are not necessarily the most active. If you look at the most active in our community — the Stein Club — Vince got 63 percent,” he said. “So as the gay community learns more about candidates in the race, I think Vince Gray’s numbers will go up significantly.”
Deacon Maccubbin, former owner of D.C.’s Lambda Rising bookstore and a Fenty supporter, said he wasn’t surprised at the Blade poll’s finding that a large number of respondents are undecided in the mayoral race.
“But I have seen movement toward Fenty and I think he’ll do fine,” he said. “I think the gay vote is going to go the same way the city vote goes.
“I think that between the two candidates, there’s not a whole lot of difference on gay-specific issues and consequently Adrian Fenty has come through and done what he promised he was going to do. And as a result, I think he’s earned the support of the community.”
District of Columbia
Nearly 6,000 turn out for Pride Night Out at the Nationals
Gay Men’s Chorus sings National Anthem
“Just shy of” 6,000 people purchased tickets for the Wednesday, June 24, 21st annual Pride Night Out at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, which the Nationals said is the longest running LGBTQ Pride event in Major League Baseball, according to a Nationals spokesperson.
The event was organized with the Nationals by Team D.C., the local LGBTQ sports group that organizes similar Pride Nights for other professional D.C. area sports teams.
“It was a good time had by all as the Nationals celebrated the LGBTQ+ community during the Nationals 21st Pride Night Out, presented by Team D.C.” the Nationals said in a statement.
Nationals spokesperson Erica George said the overall game attendance was 27,200.
Similar to recent past years, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington sung the National Anthem at the start of the game, drawing loud cheers from people throughout the stadium.
The Nationals lost the game to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-4. Although most of the LGBTQ attendees of the event, held in the right-field mezzanine section of the stadium, were cheering for the Nationals, a sizeable number also cheered for the Phillies.
Miguel Ayala, one of Team D.C.’s lead organizers, said he noticed fans displaying Pride flags and recognized LGBTQ people in all parts of the stadium, indicating significantly more LGBTQ people and their supporters attended the game beyond the close to 6,000 or more who purchased the specific Pride Night Out tickets.
“It was a great excitement last night,” he told the Washington Blade on the day following the event. “I saw a lot of big crowds of our people, I saw everybody I can think of in the community. And it was really great to see the turnout.”
Also, like in previous years, Team D.C. along with the Nationals helped to organize a pre-game show on the large concourse platform area next to the stadium seating area involving a drag show led by local drag performer Shi-Queeta Lee.
“During pregame ceremonies, the Nationals Pride employee resource group was recognized on the field,” the statement released by the Nationals says. “Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a physician and public health leader who has had a profound impact on the LGBTQ+ community and those living with or vulnerable to HIV, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the guest of Team D.C.,” the statement says.
It adds that Team D.C.’s scholarship recipient Spencer Doll made the ceremonial call to “Play Ball.”
As if all that were not enough, a Nationals employee who entertains during the Nationals pre-game shows on the field dressed as a giant eagle named “Screech” wearing an eagle’s head mask appeared in the seating area where the Pride Night Out crowd was seated and mingled with the LGBTQ fans, many of whom posed for photos with Screech.
District of Columbia
Washington Blade names new publisher
Longtime ad exec Brian Pitts to assume role from Lynne Brown
The Washington Blade announced this week that its longtime publisher, Lynne Brown, who has worked at the publication for nearly 40 years, is retiring from her day-to-day duties.
Blade co-owner and longtime advertising executive Brian Pitts will assume the role of publisher effective June 26.
Pitts, 46, is a native of Fredericksburg, Va. In 2004, he moved to Washington, D.C., from Rehoboth Beach, Del., to work at the Blade as a 24-year-old sales executive. Pitts, along with Brown and Blade Editor Kevin Naff have owned the Blade since 2009. Pitts has served as the Blade’s lead sales executive since then.
“We’ve been through a lot over the last 17 years, including a recession and a pandemic,” said Pitts. “Lynne has been a steady hand throughout and I’m excited to take the reins and help steer the Blade into its next chapter.”
Brown will assume the title of publisher emerita and remain a part owner of the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade and contribute to the business via special projects.
As for what’s next, she said, “I will take the summer to regroup. I have one more LGBTQ community project in mind, and a few personal goals to check off the list. I am a Washingtonian. I will continue to live, work, and love here in D.C. Of course every Friday morning, I will grab a cup of coffee and read the Blade.”
Asked what advice she has for Pitts as he takes over the publisher’s job, Brown replied, “Brian is going to be great. He has all the skills needed to run this business. He also has a deep, silent passion for the Blade. My only advice: Slow and steady wins the race.”
Pitts said his primary goal as publisher is to ensure the Blade continues its mission as America’s LGBTQ news source.
“Another goal is to reach a younger audience and to include an educational component,” he added. “Some younger community members may be newer to the Blade and less familiar with LGBTQ history. Recently, we published a special commemorative magazine to coincide with America 250, chronicling LGBTQ history and contributions to U.S. culture. It’s so important not to let our history get erased and to remember where we came from and to work toward where we want to go.”
He described the biggest challenge to queer media as the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI.
“We have companies that have advertised with us for years who are now afraid of the potential consequences,” he said.
Brown joined the Blade in 1987. She was named publisher in 2007 by previous owner Window Media. In 2009, Window Media filed for bankruptcy; shortly after, Brown, Naff, and Pitts acquired the Blade’s assets from the bankruptcy court and relaunched the brand with Brown as publisher.
She said the period after the bankruptcy became her biggest challenge as publisher.
“The crisis that birthed Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia kept me overly focused on millions of details,” she recalls. “My greatest personal challenge was delegating and letting go of details. Trusting staff with their strengths and skills to do their jobs was slow to come. It has proved to be most rewarding. Building the right team — knowing the people you work with are committed, professional, and honest — is a great thing.”
Pitts described the bankruptcy and rebirth of the Blade in 2009 as his proudest moment with the company.
“Working at the paper has been great, but becoming a co-owner was a dream come true,” he said.
Naff praised both of his colleagues.
“Lynne has been a rock, helping us navigate financial crises and a pandemic. The Blade wouldn’t have survived without her dedication,” he said. “She is the publisher every editor would want. Brian has terrific instincts, a passion for the Blade’s important mission, and an eye on growth. I am proud to call both of them friends and mentors and look forward to the next chapter.”
Asked why LGBTQ media are still relevant, Brown cited the recent erosion of queer rights as evidence that the Blade’s work remains important.
“The Blade helps fight invisibility and isolation,” she said. “We may have rights today, but we have seen rights eroded or erased. The Blade reports on those rights authentically and accurately and serves as a communication tool and a historian for the community.”
Pitts added, “While mainstream media may cover LGBTQ+ issues, no one covers them quite like us. These are our community’s stories and voices and this is your news source.”
The Blade will host a happy hour event later this summer where the community can meet Pitts and thank Brown for her decades of service.
Delaware
Vote to enshrine same-sex marriage in state constitution fails in Delaware
‘General Assembly turned its back on the people of this state’
The Delaware General Assembly on Tuesday failed to pass Senate Bill 100 (SB-100), an amendment that would add protections for same-sex and interracial marriage to the Delaware Constitution.
In order for the bill to pass, 28 out of 41 members needed to vote ‘yes,’ meaning all 27 Democrats and one Republican needed to vote in favor of the bill.
Rep. Eric Morrison (D-27) told the Blade that an anonymous Republican member agreed to vote in favor prior to the vote but ultimately did not follow through on that promise.
“It’s a shame,” said Rep. Morrison, who’s gay. He explained the difficult nature of passing this amendment with only three legislative days remaining in this session.
The bill needs to receive a two-thirds majority vote in two different sessions and the current two-year long session ends on July 1. Thus, if the bill does not pass before July 1, it will take a minimum of three years to pass the amendment.
The bill was introduced by State Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-07) on June 5, 2025.
Rep. Josue Ortega (D-03) was one of two Democrats to not vote in favor of the bill, voting ‘no.’ Rep. Ortega has not responded to the Blade’s request for comment.
Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-27) was the other Democrat missing from the ‘yes’ votes. She did not vote on the bill.
Sponsor of the measure, Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-14), made a technical decision to reverse her vote from a ‘yes’ to a ‘no’ last-minute in order to keep the bill alive.
In a Facebook post, Rep. Snyder-Hall said that, “The General Assembly turned its back on the people of this state.”
“When we had the chance to add an extra layer of protection from attempts to turn back the clock and strip our constituents of the rights that Democrats fought for decades to secure, we failed,” said Snyder-Hall.
However, Snyder-Hall said that the failure to pass this bill is not the end. “There are still three legislative days left in the 153rd General Assembly and I am hopeful that we will be able to get the votes required to pass this incredibly basic — but important — bill.”
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