Local
Gray names new GLBT Affairs head
Stein Club’s Richardson lands job
Mayor Vincent Gray and new Office of GLBT Affairs director Jeffrey Richardson (Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray today named the president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Jeffrey Richardson, as his new director of the mayor’s Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Affairs.
At a news conference at the mayor’s office Friday morning, Gray called Richardson “a respected and credible voice for the GLBT community,” and noted that he played a key role in efforts, which Gray supported, to help pass the city’s same-sex marriage law.
“The District of Columbia has one of the largest and most diverse GLBT communities in the nation,” Gray said. “And in the spirit of one city, Mr. Richardson will lead collaborative efforts with these constituents, the community at-large, and the government.”
The City Council created the Office of GLBT Affairs through legislation signed by former Mayor Anthony Williams. The legislation established the office’s director as a cabinet-level position.
Richardson replaces Christopher Dyer, who served as director of the GLBT Affairs Office under Mayor Adrian Fenty.
The Stein Club is the city’s largest LGBT political organization. It endorsed Gray for mayor over Fenty last August following a club candidates’ forum in which Gray and Fenty talked about their plans for addressing LGBT issues.
Gray was asked at Friday’s news conference if he plans to meet from time to time with Richardson in light of the disclosure by Dyer in an interview with the Blade earlier this month that he never had a face-to-face, sit-down meeting with Fenty. Dyer said he communicated often with Fenty through a “chain of command” comprised of high-level mayoral assistants.
“I have spent a lot of time with the GLBT community in the city and have lots of folks I work closely with, lots of friends,” Gray said. “And Jeff is one of those people…So I don’t think there’s any question that I will spend a lot of time with Jeff. We know each other. We have a great relationship. And I want to be a part of helping to support his efforts.”
At the same news conference, Gray announced the appointment of two other high-level city officials – Victor Hoskins as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Phillip Lattimore III as director of the Office of Risk Management.
Richardson currently serves as director of national programs for the Center for Progressive Leadership, where he manages programs aimed at developing progressive leaders to work in national politics, policy-making, and advocacy roles, according to information released by the mayor’s office.
Richardson previously served as a program officer with the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, where he managed the awarding of grants to help fund anti-truancy, drop-out prevention, and family related initiatives.
He received a master’s degree in social work from Howard University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“The District is gaining a true public servant and the Stein Club is excited about Jeffrey’s ability to ensure that LGBT residents have a voice at the highest levels of city government,” said a statement released by the club.
“As a social worker, non-profit professional, and community activist, Jeffrey has experience working with all segments of the District’s population,” the club statement says. “His experience will enable him to bring diverse groups together and to effectively advocate for all constituencies within the LGBT community.”
“Jeff Richardson will make a great director of the mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs,” said gay Democratic activist and Stein Club member Peter Rosenstein. “His knowledge of D.C. and our issues, and the trust that Mayor Gray has in him, will allow him to work with the diverse segments of the LGBT community and make progress on the issues we care about.”
Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, characterized as “good news” Richardson’s appointment to the GLBT Affairs post.
“He has been a pleasure to work with in his capacity as president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic club, during which he was an excellent coalition partner in our community’s final push for civil marriage equality,” Rosendall said. “He continued a commendable trend among recent Stein Club presidents of amicable cooperation with GLAA on a range of LGBT issues.”
Virginia
Two gay candidates running in ‘firehouse’ Va. House of Delegates primary in Alexandria
Kirk McPike, Gregory Darrall hope to succeed delegate vying for Ebbin’s seat
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike and gay public school teacher Gregory Darrall, who serves as vice president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, are among four candidates running in a Jan. 20 “firehouse” Democratic primary for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
With less than a week’s notice, Democratic Party officials in Alexandria called the primary to select a Democratic nominee to run in a Feb. 10 special election to fill the 5th House District seat being vacated by state Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria).
Bennett-Parker won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who is resigning from the seat to take a position in the administration of Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who took office on Jan. 17.
Bennett-Parker won the nomination for the state Senate seat in yet another firehouse primary on Jan. 13 in which she defeated three other candidates, including gay former state Del. Mark Levine.
The Jan. 20 primary in which McPike and Darrall are competing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in two polling places in Alexandria: the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library at 5005 Duke St. and the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe St.
The other two candidates running are former Alexandria City School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and criminal law defense attorney Chris Leibig.
McPike, who first won election to the Alexandria City Council in 2021, served for 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) prior to winning election to the Alexandria City Council.
“Now, Kirk is ready to bring his experience to Richmond to keep improving the lives of all Virginians as our delegate for House District 5,” his campaign website says. His website writeup says he and his husband, Cantor Jason Kaufman, have lived in Alexandria’s Seminary Hill neighborhood for 15 years.
“As delegate, we can count on Kirk to keep delivering for us — helping Virginia maintain our commitments to our schools, our first responders, and our efforts to address climate change, housing affordability, and infrastructure,” the website statement says.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter and advocate, has been endorsed by Ebbin and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Beyer said in a statement that McPike “has a proven track record of delivering results for Alexandrians.” The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which raises money for LGBTQ candidates running for public office, has also endorsed McPike.
Darrall’s campaign website says he is a “proud progressive, lifelong educator, and labor leader running to put people first.” It says he is a political newcomer “with more than 20 years in the classroom” as a teacher who played a key role in the successful unionization of Fairfax Public Schools.
“He is a proud member and staunch supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community,” his website statement says. It says he met his husband Jose while living in Miami and the two operated a small business in South Florida for a decade before moving to Alexandria in 2015. It adds that Darrall is “fluent in Spanish, loves walking Alexandria’s neighborhoods, and is driven by a deep belief in fairness, equality, and strengthening our democracy from the ground up.”
The Alexandria Republican City Committee nominated local business executive Mason Butler as the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates seat in the Feb. 10 special election after he emerged as the only GOP candidate running for the seat, according to the Alexandria Brief publication. He will face the Democratic winner in the Jan. 20 firehouse primary.
The Washington Blade is seeking to determine GOP candidate Butler’s and Democratic candidates Leibig’s and Rivera’s positions on LGBTQ-related issues and will update this story if their positions on those issues can be determined.
Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th governor of Virginia at a ceremony on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol on Saturday. Thousands of spectators watched the swearing-in ceremony and parade, despite the rain and temperatures in the low 40s.
Spanberger, a member of the Democratic Party and an LGBTQ ally, became the first woman to be Virginia’s governor.
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Newly-elected Attorney General Jay Jones, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Spanberger were each administered the oath of office in the public ceremony.
Republican former Gov. Glenn Youngkin left the ceremony shortly after the oath of office was administered to Spanberger and before the inaugural address.
In her speech, the new governor made an appeal to bipartisanship and looking past division in our current moment.
“To my friends in the General Assembly — on both sides of the aisle — I look forward to working with you,” said Spanberger. “I know what it means to represent your constituents, to work hard for your district, and to pursue policies you believe in. We will not agree on everything, but I speak from personal experience when I say that we do not have to see eye-to-eye on every issue in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on others.”
Spanberger acknowledged Virginians’ frustrations with federal layoffs and governmental policy.
“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington. You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities — cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals, and driving up costs,” said Spanberger. “You are worried about Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service.”
Spanberger alluded to the Trump-Vance administration, though never mentioned President Donald Trump’s name in her remarks.
Spanberger said, “you are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking the social safety net, and sowing fear across our communities, betraying the values of who we are as Americans, the very values we celebrate here on these steps.”
The new governor then spoke of her priorities in office, pledging to tackle housing affordability by working to “cut red tape” and increase housing supply. Spanberger also spoke of forestalling an impending healthcare crisis by protecting access and cracking down on “middlemen who are driving up drug prices.”
Spanberger spoke of investments in education at every level, standing up for workers (including the large number of federal workers in Virginia), and taking action on gun violence.
Virginia married couple Mary Townley and Carol Schall witnessed the inauguration ceremony from the stands set up on the grounds of the Capitol. Schall and Townley are one of the plaintiff couples in the case that challenged the Virginia constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Virginia in 2014.
“We are delighted with the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as governor of Virginia,” Schall told the Washington Blade. “The celebration of her inauguration was full of the beautiful diversity that is Virginia. The Virginia Pride contingent was included as a part of what makes Virginia a great place to live.”
“Such an honor to attend such a wonderful event in Virginia history,” Townley told the Blade. “The weather before the Inauguration was cold and rainy, but I believe it represented the end of a dreary time and it ushered in the dry and sunny weather by the end of the inaugural parade. Madam Governor brought us to the light!”
The inaugural parade following the governor’s remarks included a contingent from Diversity Richmond and Virginia Pride. Marchers in the LGBTQ contingent carried a giant Progress Pride flag and were met with loud cheers from the gathered spectators.
Spanberger after her inauguration signed 10 executive orders. One of them bans discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of
Virginia, I hereby declare that it is the firm and unwavering policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure equal opportunity in all facets of state government,” reads the executive order. “The foundational tenet of this executive order is premised upon a steadfast commitment to foster a culture of inclusion, diversity, and mutual respect for all Virginians.”
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.
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