Local
Activists skeptical about Hunter’s marriage views
Rival candidate in Ward 5 race embraces LGBT rights
Gay activists in Ward 5 have expressed skepticism over a candidate for the ward’s Council seat who says he no longer opposes the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Council candidate Delano Hunter, a Democrat, told the Blade last week that he no longer believes the marriage equality law should be subjected to a voter referendum, reversing his position from 2010 when he unsuccessfully ran for the Ward 5 seat against incumbent Harry Thomas (D).
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics officially declared the Ward 5 seat vacant on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Thomas resigned shortly before pleading guilty to embezzling more than $300,000 in city funds. The board scheduled a special election on May 15 to fill the seat.
Meanwhile, since Hunter told the Blade he’s changed his position on the marriage bill, rival Ward 5 candidate Kenyan McDuffie, also a Democrat, joined gay activists in the ward to question Hunter’s sincerity, noting that Hunter stressed strong support for “traditional marriage” during his campaign for the Council seat in 2010.
McDuffie sent a statement to the Blade pointing out that he declared his full support for same-sex marriage when he, too, ran for the Ward 5 Council seat against Hunter and Thomas in the September 2010 Democratic primary.
“Undeniably, Mr. Hunter’s position on gay marriage today runs counter to the views he espoused on the campaign trail merely 15 months ago,” McDuffie said in his statement. “This is a classic case of a candidate analyzing voter returns and making a calculated decision to appeal to a constituency that he previously had written off.”
McDuffie added, “On the other hand, my record demonstrates my unwavering support for the LGBT community as well as my firm belief that tolerance and open-mindedness must pervade even where differing opinions collide.”
Political observers say both candidates have impressive credentials that could make them attractive to Ward 5 voters. Hunter, a native D.C. resident, worked as a company diversity specialist with the Nike Corporation in Oregon before returning to D.C. to become a Ward 5 community organizer. McDuffie, an attorney, worked in the Justice Department’s civil rights division as a trial lawyer.
In its candidate ratings for the 2010 Democratic primary, the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance gave Hunter a score of -2 on a scale of +10 to -10. GLAA gave McDuffie a score of “0.” The group said the two were given low ratings because neither of them returned a GLAA questionnaire that asks candidates about their positions on a wide range of LGBT-related issues.
Failure to return the questionnaire results in an automatic “0” rating unless the group has information about a candidate’s record on LGBT issues, GLAA officials have said. In this case, the group only knew of Hunter’s call for a referendum to overturn the marriage bill and of support he received from anti-gay groups, information considered hostile to LGBT rights.
Hunter told the Blade his campaign’s failure to return the GLAA questionnaire was an “oversight.” A McDuffie campaign spokesperson noted that McDuffie returned a questionnaire to the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, and expressed strong support for LGBT rights in his answers. He sent a copy of his answers to the Blade.
In an interview with the Blade last week, Hunter disputed claims by critics that his call for a referendum on the gay marriage bill was the focus of his 2010 campaign. He acknowledged that anti-gay groups opposed to the marriage equality bill endorsed him and spent large sums of money attacking incumbent Thomas, who voted for the same-sex marriage bill.
But Hunter noted that the anti-gay groups released ads attacking Thomas through an independent expenditure campaign over which he had no control.
He declined to say whether he would have voted for or against the marriage equality bill if he had been on the Council in 2009 when the Council approved the measure.
“I would like him to not only say he won’t overturn it but to say he supports it,” said gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein. “He should also state that he will not seek or take support from homophobic groups like the National Organization for Marriage if we are truly to believe this conversion in his beliefs.”
Ward 5 gay Democratic activist Barrie Daneker said Hunter would have to put forward specific proposals for supporting and advancing LGBT rights in the city before he can count on support from the LGBT community.
“Taking a new position at the 11th hour in order to appeal to a wider base of Ward 5 voters will do nothing for his campaign,” Daneker said. “We need concrete accomplishments and plans prior to giving support to a so-called ‘reformed anti-gay’ candidate,” he said.
Ward 5 political observers have said as many as seven or eight other candidates were considering entering the Ward 5 special election contest. Among them are Anita Bonds, the LGBT supportive chair of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, and Tim Day, the gay Republican who ran and lost against Thomas in the November 2010 general election.
According to Washington Post political analyst Mike DeBonis, Day made a comment likely to startle the city’s gay Republican leaders when responding to DeBonis’s question of whether he planned to run for the Ward 5 seat as a Republican in the May special election. “That’s an interesting question,” DeBonis quoted him as saying.
Many political observers have praised Day, an accountant, as a highly qualified candidate who would have little or no chance of winning election as a Republican in a Ward with an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters. Day lost to Thomas by a lopsided margin in 2010. But should Day change party affiliation to become a Democrat or an independent, his chances of becoming the Council’s third out gay member would increase in the eyes of some political observers.
District of Columbia
Judge rescinds stay-away order in Capital Pride anti-stalking case
Evidence hearing to determine if order should be reinstated against Darren Pasha
A D.C. Superior Court judge on April 17 rescinded an anti-stalking order he approved in February at the request of Capital Pride Alliance against local LGBTQ activist Darren Pasha.
In a ruling at a court status hearing, Judge Robert D. Okum agreed with defendant Darren Pasha’s stated concern that the initial order was too broad and did not specify who specifically he must stay at least 100 feet away from, as called for in the order.
Okum ruled on April 17 that the initial order, which he noted was oral rather than written, would be suspended until an evidentiary hearing takes place in which Capital Pride will need to present evidence justifying the need for such an order.
“I’m fine with scheduling a hearing at which the plaintiff can present evidence, and the defendant can present evidence,” Okum said. “But I’m not fine with just continuing this oral TRO [Temporary Restraining Order] that Mr. Pasha really doesn’t even have notice of. That seems unfair,” he said.
After asking both Pasha and Capital Pride Alliance Attorney Nick Harrison when they would be available for the evidence hearing, Okum set the date for April 27 at 11 a.m. in Superior Court.
The case began when Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based LGBTQ group that organizes the city’s annual Pride events, filed a Civil Complaint on Oct. 27, 2025, against Pasha, accusing him of engaging in a year-long effort to harass, intimidate, and stalk Capital Pride’s staff, board members, and volunteers.
The complaint was accompanied by a separate motion seeking a restraining order, preliminary injunction, and anti-stalking order prohibiting Pasha from “any further contact, harassment, intimidation, or interference with the Plaintiff, its staff, board members, volunteers, and affiliates.”
In his initial ruling in February, Okum issued an order requiring Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride staff, board members, and volunteers until the April 17 status hearing. He reduced the stay-away distance from the 200 yards requested by Capital Pride.
Pasha, who has so far represented himself in court without an attorney, has argued in multiple court filings and motions that the Capital Pride stalking allegations are untrue. In his initial 16-page response to the complaint, Pasha said it appears to be a form of retaliation against him for a dispute he has had with Capital Pride and its former board president, Ashley Smith, who has since resigned from the board.
“It is evident that the document is replete with false, misleading, and unsubstantiated assertions,” Pasha’s court response states.
At the April 17 hearing, Okum also ruled that, as standard procedure for civil complaints such as this one, he has ordered both parties to enter into court-supervised mediation to attempt to reach a settlement rather than go to trial.
In an earlier ruling Okum denied Pasha’s request for a jury trial, stating that civil cases such as this must undergo a trial with the judge determining the verdict under existing civil court statutes.
The April 17 court hearing was held in a courtroom at the courthouse, but as allowed under current court rules, Capital Pride attorney Harrison and Capital Pride official June Crenshaw participated virtually through a video connection. Pasha attended the hearing in the courtroom.
“This matter is proceeding through the court in the normal course,” Capital Pride released in a statement. “We look forward to presenting the relevant evidence at the scheduled hearing. Capital Pride Alliance remains committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for our staff, volunteers, and community, and to addressing concerns through appropriate channels.”
“This is clearly a case of retaliation,” Pasha told the Blade after the hearing. “Today the judge removed the stay-away order and asked Capital Pride Alliance to present enough evidence and examples to see if a stay-away order should be granted,” he said. “Because Pride is coming up in June, we need to see where this is going.”
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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