Local
In ironic twist, anti-gay Md. lawmaker indicted
Del. Alston accused of using campaign funds to pay for wedding
Del. Tiffany Alston helped derail Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill last year. (Photo courtesy of Maryland House of Delegates website)
Maryland Del. Tiffany Alston (D-P.G. County) has been indicted on felony theft and other charges and is accused of using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including costs associated with her 2010 wedding.
LGBT activists in Maryland consider the development an ironic twist, given that Alston played a prominent role in the defeat of Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill earlier this year. Alston, an early co-sponsor of the bill, later changed her mind and voted against it.
State prosecutor Emmet Davitt announced a series of charges against Alston on Sept. 23, including: one count of felony theft; one count of misdemeanor theft; one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and two election law violations. The prosecutor alleges that Alston used campaign funds for personal uses, including $3,560 to cover wedding-related expenses. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
“There is simply no excuse for candidates or their responsible campaign finance officers to flagrantly and repeatedly violate the requirements of the law in the conduct of their campaign finances,” Davitt said in a statement. “We will, therefore, continue to vigorously investigate and, when warranted, prosecute, the candidates, officers and committees who flout these laws.”
Alston responded to the indictment in a brief statement she e-mailed to the news media.
“I emphatically deny any criminal wrongdoing and look forward to the appropriate opportunity to address the accusations lodged against me,” she said.
The investigation leading to Alston’s indictment was carried out by the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor, an independent office created to fight corruption in government.
James Cabezas, the lead investigator in the case, said the office decided not to place Alston under arrest but instead presented her with a criminal summons instructing her to appear in court in about 30 days, where she will be formally charged.
He said the indictment was handed down by a grand jury in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court because the alleged offenses fall under the jurisdiction of the state Board of Election in Annapolis, where campaign finance documents are filed.
“Del. Alston certainly deserves her day in court,” said Lisa Polyak, a member of the board of Equality Maryland, the statewide LGBT group that coordinated lobbying efforts for the same-sex marriage bill that died in the Maryland Legislature earlier this year.
“But our concern with Del. Alston always was and will continue to be that she made a promise to support equal rights for same-sex couples in Maryland and she’s reneged on that promise,” Polyak said. “We think it’s important that you keep your promises as an elected official and as somebody who represents a group of people who need those legal protections.”
Patrick Wojahn, president of the Equality Maryland Foundation board and an elected member of the College Park, Md., City Council, said that as a Prince George’s County resident he was saddened over Alston’s indictment.
“It doesn’t look well on our county and on our state when things like this happen,” he said. “But I don’t wish any ill will upon her…I hope that maybe someday she’ll come around and be more supportive of equal marriage rights.”
Polyak and Wojahn said they were uncertain over what, if any, impact Alston’s indictment might have on her re-election bid in 2014. A group of conservative black ministers in the majority-black Prince George’s County have taken credit for persuading Alston to drop her support for the same-sex marriage bill.
A coalition of LGBT organizations working with Equality Maryland on the marriage bill say they plan to bolster their efforts to persuade black residents in key legislative districts, including those in P.G. County and in Baltimore, to support the bill when it comes up again for a vote next year.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
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