Local
Stein Club endorses Biddle
Former councilmember Orange makes strong showing in D.C. Council bid
Sekou Biddle (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, endorsed Democrat Sekou Biddle Monday night for an at-large seat on the D.C. City Council that’s up for grabs in an April 26 special election.
Biddle beat former Council member Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5) and four other Democratic candidates competing for the club’s endorsement in a second ballot vote, capturing 61.2 percent of the ballots cast. He needed at least 60 percent of the vote for the endorsement under the club’s election rules. Both candidates are straight.
The D.C. Democratic State Committee appointed Biddle, a former Ward 4 school board member, to the at-large Council seat on an interim basis in January under rules established for filling vacant Council seats. The seat became vacant when Council member Kwame Brown (D-At-Large) became Council Chair after winning election to that post in November.
Stein members voted on the endorsement following a candidates’ forum held at Town nightclub in which Biddle and each of the other five candidates appearing before the club expressed strong support for LGBT issues, including support for the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Biddle won the club’s endorsement in 2007 in his successful race for a school board seat and was considered the favorite for winning an endorsement again Monday.
But Orange, in a stronger showing than expected, received 16 votes, or 38.7 percent, of the 53 votes cast on the first ballot, preventing Biddle from capturing the needed 60 percent to win. Biddle received 30 votes, or 56 percent, on the first ballot.
Ward 8 Democratic Committee president Jacque Patterson received four votes in the first ballot voting. Joshua Lopez, an aide to former Mayor Adrian Fenty; Bryan Weaver, a former Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner; and Dorothy Douglas, a former Ward 7 school board member, received one vote each in the first ballot vote.
On the second ballot, which was limited to Biddle and Orange, Biddle received 30 votes compared to 19 votes received by Orange.
Three additional candidates running in the April 26 special election were ineligible to compete for the Stein Club’s endorsement because they are not Democrats. They include Patrick Mara, a Republican and longtime supporter of LGBT rights; Alan Page, a Statehood Green Party candidate; and independent candidate Arkan Haile.
Democratic candidate Tom Brown did not return a Stein Club questionnaire required for the club’s endorsement and for participation in the forum. Although he attended the forum, he was not allowed to speak. He has since promised to complete and return the questionnaire, and the club will post it on its website, according to club officials.
The questionnaire responses by the six candidates who attended the club’s endorsement meeting, which cover a wide range of LGBT issues, can be viewed at steindemocrats.org.
“It’s exciting to get the support of Gertrude Stein Democratic Club members,” Biddle said after the vote. “I think I’ve shown in the four years since I’ve been serving the city that I’ve made people proud and I’ve led and have really been a champion for the LGBT community.”
The Stein club’s interim president, Lateefah Williams, said the club’s officers and members would decide within the next week on the amount of a campaign contribution the club would make for the Biddle campaign. She said the club would also provide volunteers to help the campaign.
“We endorsed a candidate who’s very committed to LGBT issues,” Williams said. “We’re very fortunate that all of our at-large Council candidates are indeed supportive of our issues.”
Nearly all special elections in D.C. have been known for attracting a low voter turnout, making the outcome hard to predict, according to political observers.
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics issued a ruling on Tuesday disqualifying Patterson as a candidate in the April 26 election, saying it determined he failed to submit the required 3,000 petition signatures needed to be placed on the ballot for an at-large Council seat. In a separate ruling, the board confirmed that Mara obtained more than 3,000 signatures and qualifies for placement on the ballot. The board investigated Patterson, Mara and Weaver’s petitions in response to challenges filed by the Biddle and Lopez campaigns. A board spokesperson said the challenges against Weaver’s petitions were dropped.
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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