Local
Stein Club spurns Barry, Alexander in D.C. primary endorsement vote
Council members voted against same-sex marriage law
Members of the Stein Club cast votes on endorsements in several key races. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club last week broke from its longstanding tradition of endorsing incumbent City Council members for re-election when it turned down endorsements for Council members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Yvette Alexander (Ward 7).
Club members who spoke at a Feb. 23 endorsement meeting held at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters cited the two Council members’ December 2009 vote against the city’s same-sex marriage law as the reason the two should not be endorsed. The Council passed the same-sex marriage law by a vote of 11-2.
The club endorsed the two Council members in the 2008 Democratic primary and the November 2008 general election.
Barry and Alexander are running now in the city’s April 3 Democratic Primary, with political pundits saying Barry is the favorite to win his party’s nomination and the general election in November. Observers say the outcome of the Ward 7 race is uncertain.
Barry, who attended the meeting, told Stein Club members he has a long record of support on LGBT issues since 1978, when he won election as D.C. mayor, and throughout his tenure as mayor and Ward 8 Council member. He said the club should not judge him solely on his vote on the marriage issue.
Marion Barry addresses the Stein Club. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Some club members, including Ward 8 gay activist Phil Pannell, pointed to Barry’s decision to participate and speak at a 2009 rally at Freedom Plaza against the same-sex marriage bill that was organized by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage.
Neither Alexander nor a representative of her campaign attended the meeting. In a club questionnaire she completed and turned in prior to the meeting, Alexander did not discuss her vote against the marriage bill but said, “I will not support efforts to undo marriage rights secured for D.C.’s LGBT community.”
Three of the four candidates running against Barry for the Ward 8 Council seat – Darrell Danny Gaston, Jacque Patterson, and S.S. Sandra Seegars – attended the meeting to compete for the club’s endorsement. But none of them were able to obtain a 60 percent majority vote required for a club endorsement, resulting in a Stein Club ‘no-endorsement’ for the Ward 8 race.
In the Ward 7 contest, community activist Tom Brown won the endorsement with a 62 percent vote on a second ballot. Brown did not return a club questionnaire, but Stein President Lateefah Williams said Brown expressed support for LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage, during his appearance at the Feb. 23 meeting.
“Our bylaws don’t require people to submit a questionnaire to get an endorsement,” Williams said.
She noted Barry also did not return the questionnaire.
Each of the other four candidates running against Alexander for the Council seat, in addition to Brown, attended the meeting and urged the club to back their candidacies, expressing general support for LGBT related issues. They included Kevin Chavous, Dorothy Douglas, Monica Johnson, and Rev. William Bennett II.
Bennett was among a few of the candidates seeking the club’s endorsement who acknowledged they would not have voted for the same-sex marriage bill if they were on the Council at the time it came up, citing religious grounds for their opposition.
On Feb. 16 the club endorsed the re-election bids of D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser, and D.C. shadow representative candidate Nate Bennett-Fleming.
The Stein Club, the city’s largest LGBT political organizations, is scheduled to hold its final endorsement meeting for the upcoming primary on March 1 for the at-large and Ward 2 Council races. The meeting will be held at the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill.
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.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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