Local
Mara enters race for D.C. City Council
Patrick Mara (Photo courtesy of Mara)
Pro-gay Republican Patrick Mara, who won election last year to the D.C. school board from Ward 1, announced Wednesday he is entering the race for the at-large City Council seat up for grabs in a special election set for April 26.
Mara is among at least 17 candidates running for the seat, which became vacant Jan. 2 when Council member Kwame Brown (D-At-Large) was sworn in as the new City Council Chair.
The special election is open to candidates of all parties as well as independents who obtain 3,000 valid petition signatures from registered D.C. voters.
Many of the city’s LGBT activists have already lined up behind former Ward 4 school board member Sekou Biddle, a Democrat who won an interim appointment to fill the Council seat by the D.C. Democratic State Committee, which approved the interim appointment earlier this month.
Some political observers believe the interim appointment gives Biddle, a strong supporter of LGBT rights, the advantage of incumbency. But other observers note that less than 10 percent of the city’s registered voters usually turn out for special elections, making it possible for a lesser known candidate like Mara to win, especially in a race with as many as 17 candidates.
Another lesser-known candidate vying for an upset win is 26-year-old Joshua Lopez, who served as a political adviser to former Mayor Adrian Fenty and organized a Fenty write-in campaign after Fenty lost the Democratic primary last September to City Council Chair Vincent Gray. Gray won election as mayor in November and took office Jan. 2.
Gray has so far remained officially neutral in the special Council election, but some of his key political operatives are backing Biddle.
Among the other candidates considered viable in the race is Vincent Orange (D), the former Ward 5 Council member. Others running for the seat are Leo Alexander (D), an unsuccessful mayoral candidate last year; Arkan Haile (I), an attorney and political newcomer; Jacque Patterson (D), a Ward 8 political activist; and Kelvin Robinson (D), an unsuccessful candidate last year for the Ward 6 Council seat held by incumbent Tommy Wells (D).
The Blade will provide information on all of the candidates and their positions on LGBT issues in the coming weeks. The final number of candidates to be placed on the ballot won’t be determined until late February, when the election board confirms which ones have obtained the required number of petition signatures.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert
A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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