Local
Stonewall Dems leader to step down
Departure comes as group faces financial woes
Michael Mitchell, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, announced today he will be stepping down. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The National Stonewall Democrats announced today that its executive director, Michael Mitchell, will leave the organization at the end of this month when his two-year contract expires.
Mitchell’s departure comes at a time when financial problems forced the organization earlier this year to lay off at least one staff member, leaving the group with just one part-time and two full-time employees as it gears up for the 2012 elections.
The announcement that Mitchell will be stepping down also comes amid reports by knowledgeable sources that at least three of the group’s board members resigned in March over a heated dispute over whether the board should retain Mitchell as director. At the time, a majority of the board backed Mitchell, according to sources familiar with the group.
Mitchell told the Blade his decision to step down was due to his own assessment of what is best for NSD and himself at this time and it had nothing to do with the board’s deliberations earlier this year.
“That was months ago,” he said in referring to the board resignations. “Those board members left actually for a variety of reasons. I don’t think they all left because of my leadership,” he said. “That’s not what I got from several of the board members who left.”
Two board members who resigned, Melissa Sklarz of New York and Chris Massicotte of D.C., declined to comment on their reason for resigning when contacted by the Blade.
Mitchell discussed further his decision to step down in an NSD statement released Tuesday.
“The decision to leave NSD was a difficult one for me, especially with a critical election coming up next year that will define us as a nation, but it was made easier knowing that our affiliates, staff and board are fully engaged in fulfilling the mission of National Stonewall Democrats,” Mitchell said in the statement.
“It’s been my privilege to work for NSD the past two years and a distinct honor to have been able to work with our affiliates around the country who are doing the on-the-ground, necessary work of getting pro-equality Democrats elected,” he said in his statement. “It has been a particular point of privilege to work with such a dedicated and hard-working staff.”
In mentioning NSD’s affiliates Mitchell was referring to the more than 80 LGBT Democratic Party clubs from across the country, including D.C.’s Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, that are members of NSD’s grass roots network.
“Michael has accomplished many great things while serving as our executive director,” said Craig Roberts, NSD’s board chair. “During his tenure, he has represented the organization incredibly well and built and solidified relationships that are integral to the work of NSD,” he said.
“To know Michael is to know that he is incredibly committed to our organization and to electing pro-equality Democrats. I’ll miss working with him, but I know that he will continue to do good work in the next phase of his life,” Roberts said.
In its announcement on Tuesday, NSD said the board has named Jerame Davis, the organization’s current Affiliate Services Director, as interim executive director while the board conducts a search for a permanent director.
Roberts said he didn’t know whether Davis would apply for the permanent director’s position but he would welcome him, as he would other applicants, as a candidate to be considered for the post.
Sources familiar with NSD said board members who called for replacing Mitchell earlier this year praised his overall work but believed he lacked fundraising skills needed to sustain the organization at a time when a sagging U.S. economy made it more difficult for all non-profit groups to raise money.
When asked this week why NSD was encountering financial problems, both Roberts and Mitchell cited a decline in contributions from donors based largely on the economy.
In addition, the two said the widely reported support by the national Democratic Party for LGBT equality has played some role in prompting NSD donors of the past to give money directly to the Democratic National Committee or LGBT supportive Democratic candidates rather than to NSD.
“This is partially due to our success in helping to build a strong, pro-LGBT equality Democratic Party,” Roberts said.
Roberts said NSD continues to fulfill its role since its founding in 1993 by gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as an advocate for pushing the Democratic Party to go further in its support for LGBT rights. He disputed claims by some critics that NSD has become a “puppet” of the DNC.
He and Mitchell said a decrease in the number of board members from eleven to six this year also made it more difficult for NSD to raise money. Roberts said rules established for board members require that they contribute or raise at least $10,000 a year as a condition for serving on the board. He said the group’s bylaws allow the board to expand to 15 members.
“We’re looking for new board members at this time,” Roberts said. “We invite anyone interesting in serving at this very important time leading up to the elections to contact us.”
Roberts said the group’s small staff and shortage of resources, along with an “oversight,” were responsible for NSD’s not filing its 990 IRS financial statements for the 2009 and 2010, which all non-profit, tax-exempt organizations are required to file.
“We’ll be doing that in the next few weeks,” Roberts said. Mitchell said he expected to have the two forms filed with the IRS, at which time they become public documents, by the end of this month.
Roberts declined to disclose what NSD’s current operating budget is, saying jokingly, “It’s somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million.”
The NSD 990 reporting statement for 2008, the last one the group filed as of this week, shows it raised $465,391 in revenue and had $435,946 in expenses. The 2008 revenue figure represented just over $101,000 more than the $363,947 in revenue NSD reported for 2007.
Mitchell said the 2008 income came in the midst of an exciting U.S. presidential election that prompted many supporters to make a contribution to the group and just before the recession hit.
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
Delaware
Delaware school district remains supportive after Trump attacks on trans students
Cape Henlopen has gender identity nondiscrimination policy
The Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, one of five school districts in several states where the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month rescinded agreements protecting the rights of transgender students, says it will continue to provide a “safe and supportive learning environment” for all students.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Cape Henlopen district sent the Washington Blade a short statement on its response to the federal Education Department’s action under orders from the Trump administration that ended what were called school district “resolution agreements” put in place under the administration of President Joe Biden.
Among other things, the federally initiated agreements required schools to train faculty on responding to a student’s preferred name and pronouns and to implement policies that allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
“The Cape Henlopen School District has received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding the resolution agreement entered in March 2024,” the Cape Henlopen School District’s statement says. “As always, we are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment where all students can succeed,” it says.
“We will continue to work collaboratively to ensure our practices and programs support the well-being, growth, and achievement of every student in our District,” the statement concludes.
Although it did not respond specifically to the Trump-initiated action ending federal protections for trans students, a statement on the Cape Henlopen School District’s website says the district has a policy of non-discrimination based on a wide range of categories, including race, religion, creed, gender, and “sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The Trump administration’s latest action does not take away nondiscrimination policies put in place by school districts on their own.
The Cape Henlopen district is in Sussex County, a short distance from Rehoboth Beach, a Delaware resort town with many LGBTQ residents and summer visitors.
The other school districts for which the U.S. education department ended the trans nondiscrimination agreements include the Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, Sacramento City Unified School District in California, Fife School District in Washington State, and La Mesa Spring Valley School District also in California.
Kimberly Richey, the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, said in a statement that the decision to terminate the school agreements highlighted the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent trans students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.
“Today, the Trump administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” she said in her statement.
Shiwali Patel, an official with the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement that the action removing protections for trans students would negatively impact all students.
“There is absolutely no basis for what the Department of Education is doing, and it is unimaginably cruel,” she said. “Parents, teachers, and students need the Department to focus on addressing real harms on campuses instead of rolling back policies that keep all students safe.”
Virginia
Va. voters approve HRC-backed redistricting plan
10 of state’s 11 congressional districts now favor Democrats
Virginia voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a congressional redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The referendum passed by a 51-48 vote margin.
Virginia’s last Census happened in 2020. The next time maps would have been redrawn was intended for 2030, but the referendum results allow for redistricting to happen this year, while allowing the standard district procedures to resume after the 2030 Census.
Many congressional maps have been redrawn since the Trump-Vance administration took office, adding seats for both Republicans and Democrats. Ten of 11 of Virginia’s congressional districts will now favor Democrats.
The Human Rights Campaign PAC supported the referendum.
“Virginians made their voices heard today, rebuking Republicans’ attempts to stack the deck in their favor in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond,” said Human Rights Campaign PAC President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “This year, we’re going to take Congress back from the fringe extremists who have bent the knee to President Trump’s historically unpopular agenda at every turn.”
“Virginians just put anti-equality, anti-democracy, and anti-freedom lawmakers on notice — together, we are fighting for a future where every single American’s vote matters and where every elected official must earn their constituents’ trust,” she added.
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Delaware school district remains supportive after Trump attacks on trans students
Va. voters approve HRC-backed redistricting plan
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