Local
Gay man running for mayor in Rehoboth
Challenger faces uphill fight against 21-year incumbent
A 48-year-old gay man who owns a financial services company is running for mayor in the popular Delaware resort town of Rehoboth Beach on a platform of government reform and improved relations with community-based businesses.
Tom McGlone, who has lived in Rehoboth with his domestic partner for the past five years, is challenging seven-term incumbent Samuel Cooper, who has been mayor since 1990.
Rehoboth has long been a favorite beach destination for gays and lesbians in the mid-Atlantic region, including D.C. and Baltimore. The town has a large number of LGBT residents as well as tourists and owners of vacation homes.
With the election set to take place Aug. 13, some of the town’s gay residents and gay business owners have complained that Cooper and his allies on the seven-member Rehoboth Board of Commissioners, which serves as the town’s legislative body, have unfairly targeted gay-owned businesses for regulatory enforcement action.
Tension over the enforcement action came to a head last September when police arrested the co-owner of the gay restaurant and bar Aqua Grill on a charge that the establishment was operating an outdoor patio later than a mandatory closing time of 11 p.m.
Police later acknowledged that the arrest was a mistake and dropped the charge. At the time of the arrest, the officers didn’t know that Aqua was among several businesses exempt from the patio restriction under rules that allow establishments to keep patios open if they had them before the 11 p.m. closing time was enacted into law.
Other small businesses, including non-gay bars and restaurants, cited the action against Aqua as one example of an out-of-control regulatory crackdown against businesses popular with visitors and residents, both gay and straight.
Cooper disputes those allegations, saying the city has enforced codes equally among all types of businesses. He said the codes are aimed at restricting excessive noise and use of outdoor spaces by bars and restaurants that can disturb nearby residents.
He acknowledged that police and city regulatory officials made a mistake in arresting Aqua co-owner Bill Shields, who was booked and finger printed before being released.
“What I’ve told everybody else is that the way that was handled was not the best – it was wrong, in fact,” Cooper told the Blade. “But the desire to keep Rehoboth from becoming a party town, a bar town is I think valid and is very much on my mind.”
McGlone told the Blade in an interview this week that he doesn’t believe gay businesses, such as bars and restaurants, are being targeted because they are gay owned. Instead, he said both gay and non-gay businesses have faced what he calls a poorly administered effort by the mayor and town officials to enforce regulations.
“The big issue right now is the fact that local government has lost its credibility with a segment of the population,” he said. “And as a result of that, as things are occurring, in many cases things are being misperceived because of this lack of credibility.”
He said strife among the mayor and members of the Board of Commissioners has grown in recent years, indicating to him and others that “new blood” is needed in the mayor’s office.
McGlone pointed to one of his campaign signs that says, “Change the tone, Vote McGlone.”
Cooper, who spoke to the Blade by phone on Tuesday, said his long record of accomplishment in running the city for more than 20 years belies such claims and shows that he has worked hard to retain Rehoboth’s reputation as a highly desirable place to live and visit.
He notes that Rehoboth was recognized recently by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental group, for having one of the nation’s cleanest beaches. He points to the National Geographic Society listing Rehoboth as having the sixth best boardwalk in the country.
“So that’s really kind of my message – that we seem to have a town that is a very popular place with a lot of people with different backgrounds,” Cooper said. “So I would like to think we’ve done something really good here. And why would you want to change that formula?”
D.C. gay activist Peter Rosenstein, who owns a condominium just outside the Rehoboth city limits, said a coalition of gay and non-gay residents, businesses and homeowners is backing McGlone as a reform candidate who reflects the concerns of many of the town’s newer residents.
Rosenstein said Rehoboth has changed from the “sleepy” beach side town it was 40 years ago to become a diverse destination for vacationers, permanent residents and retirees, most of whom favor a vibrant nightlife and the shops, restaurants and upscale bars that have opened within the past decade.
“These businesses make it possible for the residents to live there with some of the nation’s lowest property tax rates,” he said, adding that he pays more for a rented parking space in the town than most people pay in property taxes for an entire year.
Steve Elkins, president of Camp Rehoboth, an LGBT community group that operates a community center, said he and the group must remain neutral in elections under the group’s tax-exempt status.
However, Elkins said that during the past decade the town government, including the mayor, have been supportive of Camp Rehoboth and its role in fostering understanding and support for the LGBT community.
“We consider everyone running to be our friends,” he said.
Dennis Barbour, one of two openly gay members of the Rehoboth Board of Commissioners, agrees with Elkins that Cooper and the city government have been generally supportive of the LGBT community.
But Barbour startled gay and non-gay residents alike last week when he announced during a commissioners’ meeting that he was withdrawing as a candidate for re-election because of irreconcilable disagreements with Cooper and most of his fellow commissioners. He said much of his disagreement with Cooper and the commission has been over the city’s relations with the business community.
“While I have never turned away from challenges, it is now evident to me that my goals for Rehoboth Beach can no longer be realized with the City Commission as it is now constituted,” he said in an open letter to his constituents. “Those who serve as mayor and as commissioners must embrace greater openness, transparency in decision-making, inclusiveness, candid debate, and visionary thinking,” he said. “In short, from my vantage point as a commissioner for the past six years, it is time for new leadership.”
In addition to the mayor’s race, voters in the town’s Aug. 13 election will vote for candidates running for Barbour’s seat and the seat held by incumbent Lorraine Zellers.
Two other gay candidates are running for the two seats, with one certain to win the one now being vacated by Barbour. The two are Mark Hunker, co-owner of Eden Restaurant located on the same street as Aqua Grill, and Richard Kirchhoff, co-owner of the Canal Side Inn, a bed and breakfast business at the edge of the town on the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal.
When asked whether his status as a gay candidate could hurt him in the election among some voters, McGlone said, “This is not a gay or straight issue. This is about getting a qualified person in office who is going to do his best job for the city and balancing all of this – gay and straight, tourists, residents, businesses – the whole community.”
Cooper said he, too, doesn’t see the election as a contest over gay-related issues.
“Again, my main message is that for 21 years I’ve been doing this job and I think we’ve moved forward in many, many fronts,” he said. “And relations between gays and straights are one of those and I think we’ve come to a very good place.”
When asked about McGlone’s position that city government has lost credibility over the regulatory disputes and other issues, Cooper said, “Mr. McGlone hasn’t served on any board or run for commissioner. He’s kind of like a blank slate to me. I mean would you really want to turn the town over to somebody who you really don’t know when you’ve got somebody who you know and he’s done it pretty well? That’s my message.”
Said McGlone: “It’s not a matter of trying to slag off the mayor as not having done anything — he’s done a pretty good job. He’s just been in office for a long time and he’s a bit stale in his ideas. They aren’t real fresh as a result of just being in office so long,” he said. “So I think there’s an opportunity to bring some fresh ideas and some new blood to a position that’s been held by the same person for 21 years. That’s a long time.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride set for Memorial Day Weekend
Dozens of events to reflect theme of ‘New Black Renaissance’
D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Black Pride celebration is scheduled to take place May 22-25 as it has since its founding 35 years ago on Memorial Day Weekend with several dozen events in locations across the city.
Like recent years, most of the official events are scheduled to take place at the Westin D.C. Downtown Hotel, including the Opening Reception on Friday, May 22, when Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was scheduled to be among the performers.
“This high-energy reception brings together community leaders, creatives, tastemakers, and visitors from across the globe for a night rooted in connection, joy, and celebration,” according to a statement on the Black Pride website.
Also, like past years, the second day of official Black Pride events set for Saturday, May 23, will include a dozen workshop sessions on a wide range of issues and topics. The workshop sessions will take place at the Westin Hotel.
On that same day, Black Trans Pride is scheduled to take place at the hotel from 1- 6 p.m., according to the official schedule of events.
“The goal is and always has been to make sure we have events for everybody, regardless of their financial situation, regardless of their agenda,” said Kenya Hutton, president and CEO of the Center For Black Equity, the D.C. LGBTQ group that organizes D.C. Black Pride.
Hutton said this year for the first time there will be a D.C. Black Pride Fun Run. The Black Pride website says the 5k run will take place Saturday, May 23, from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. starting at the Frederick Douglass Bride near the D.C. Navy Yard.
He said another first will be a film screening of the documentary film “Not Your Average Girl,” about the life of trans woman, author, and advocate Hope Giselle, scheduled for May 22 at the nearby Eaton Hotel.
Also, like in past years, this year’s Black Pride will feature a Rainbow Row organization and vendor expo at the Westin from 5-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday that includes information tables set up by organizations and vendors.
The annual Pride In The Park event will take place Monday, May 25, from 12-7 p.m. at Fort Dupont Park located at 3600 F St., S.E. And the seventh annual “Brunch & Babes” drag event was scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at Hook Hall nightclub at 3400 Georgia Ave., N.W.
Among the other events taking place at other locations is a Sunday, May 24 “G-Spot Day Party” organized by local gay activist Geno Dunnington to be held at Bravo Bravo nightclub at 1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W. from 3-9 p.m. Dunnington told the Washington Blade the event will include the playing of house music, which he says played a role in local D.C. Black LGBTQ culture and in the first Black Pride celebration in 1991. The Black Pride website includes a write up of how that came about.
“From 1976 until1990, the ClubHouse in Washington, D.C. was a remarkable nightclub founded by Black members of D.C.’s LGBTQ community, widely known for its signature event – the Children’s Hour,” the write-up says. “This event was a true celebration and took place annually during Memorial Day weekend,” it says.
“When the ClubHouse closed in 1990, many feared the Memorial Day tradition would be lost,” the write-up continues. “However, three men – Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins – envisioned creating an event that would continue the tradition of the Children’s Hour while also bringing awareness to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in their community.”
The write-up adds, “Their vision and hard work gave life to the first Black Gay and Lesbian Pride event on May 25, 1991, on the grounds of Banneker Field,” which is located near Howard University. “This first event drew 800 people, who were centered around the theme of ‘Let’s All Come Together.’”
It says organizers expanded the scope of the Black Pride events over the next several years as it evolved and prompted Black Pride events in other cities and the formation of the International Federation of Black Prides, which later became the Center for Black Equity.
“D.C. Black Pride was the catalyst for what is now regarded as the Black Pride Movement,” the writeup says. “Since its birth, more than 50 other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world, many using D.C. Black Pride as its model.”
It adds, “Today, more than 500,000 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community of African descent and their allies come to Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the beauty of a shared community and raise awareness and funding for HIV/AIDS in the name and spirit of Black Pride.”
Hutton said D.C. Black Pride has grown to a point where organizers cannot keep track of all the unofficial events taking place.
“There are a number of events that are not even on our website,” he said. “They’re parties. People are having cookouts. There are all kinds of things that are happening over the weekend, that are official listed events, partner events, and non-partner events.”
As she has in recent past years, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser this year issued an official mayoral proclamation declaring May 22-25, 2026 as “DC BLACK PRIDE WEEKEND.”
A list of the official 2026 D.C. Black Pride and partner events and their locations can be accessed at dcblackpride.org.
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Congratulations to Jamie Leeds, chef extraordinaire, and owner of Hank’s Oyster Bars, as she ventures into some new areas. Leeds is an award-winning Washington, D.C.–area chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience shaping the region’s dining scene.
Her first new venture is a restaurant opening in Alexandria this week. It will be called Hank’s Pasta Bar, bringing a personalized twist to classic Italian dining with a hiddenrestaurant-inside-a-restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria. The new trattoria is above Hank’s Oyster Bar, and will feature a build-your-own menu, marking a new direction for Leeds in partnership with chef Darren Norris. Norris brings more than three decades of experience to Hank’s Pasta Bar, with a foundation grounded in Italian cooking. The grand opening was scheduled for May 14. The elevated casual eatery blends an inventive chef-driven menu with an easy-going, sit-down dining experience that puts guests in charge. Hank’s Pasta Bar bridges the gap between elevated fast casual, like Norris’s Shibuya, and full-service dining, like Leeds’s Hank’s Oyster Bar. Diners order electronically at the table, but unlike fast casuals, food and beverages are delivered on plate ware, and a server is on site at all times.
The restaurant-inside-a-restaurant, welcomes guests to dine in with a full bar, including Italian wines and craft cocktails, maintaining its focus on traditional Italian fare with contemporary touches, including a build-your-own pasta bowl experience starting at $16. Create your own pasta bowl from seven artisanal pastas (including gluten-free), nine made-in-house sauces, proteins, vegetables, and toppings. Leeds said, “It’s the kind of place you’d find down a side street in a Tuscan hill town, after being tipped off by a friend who says, ‘trust me.’ If you know, you know.”
The restaurant will continue Hank’s community partnerships, including with Real Food for Kids, supporting programs that improve school food and nutrition equity.
In addition to this you should try Jaimie’s other new venture. Back Door Taco at Hank’s in Dupont Circle. You walk down the alley from 17th Street to the back door of Hank’s, and enter a small patio to partake of great tacos and interesting cocktails.
District of Columbia
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
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