Local
Gray nominates gay former D.C. attorney general as head of ethics board
Robert Spagnoletti served as defense attorney for gay defendants in Wone murder case
Robert Spagnoletti (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has nominated openly gay former D.C. attorney general Robert Spagnoletti to serve as chair of the city’s newly created Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, which is charged with investigating allegations of ethics violations by public officials and city employees.
Gray announced his decision to nominate Spagnoletti and two others to the three-member board at a news conference on Tuesday.
The nominations came nearly six months after the D.C. Council passed legislation in December creating the board following a public outcry over several widely reported allegations of ethical breaches by city officials, including officials with Gray’s 2010 election campaign.
“These nominees have extensive experience in law, public service and ethics as well as sterling professional and personal reputations in our city,” Gray said in a statement. “I have faith that they will serve the people of the District well in safeguarding the trust that our residents place in their elected representatives.”
The board’s responsibilities include investigating allegations of violations of ethics laws by D.C. government employees and public officials. The board is also responsible for issuing new rules and regulations concerning the ethical conduct of city employees and public officials and for conducting mandatory training on the city government’s code of conduct.
Spagnoletti served as the city’s attorney general under the administration of former Mayor Anthony Williams, who appointed him to the post. Prior to his term as attorney general, Spagnoletti served from 1990 to 2003 as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he became known as a skilled prosecutor.
After leaving office as D.C. Attorney General in 2006, Spagnoletti became a partner in the D.C. law firm Schertler & Onorato LLP, with a practice in both criminal law and civil litigation. He also served as president of the D.C. Bar.
Spagnoletti, 49, lives in the city’s Shepherd Park neighborhood with his partner and their two sons.
Gray nominated to the ethics board Republican attorney Laura Richards who recently retired as deputy general counsel and staff attorney for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and Deborah Lathen, a consultant, corporate lawyer and former official with the Federal Communications Commission.
All three nominees must be confirmed by the Council.
The legislation creating the board requires that no more than two of the board’s member can come from the same political party.
Bob Kabel, the openly gay chair of the D.C. Republican Party, called Richards, a Republican, “an excellent choice” for the position.
“The board is best served with a diversity of opinions and Mrs. Richards would bring just that,” Kabel said in a statement. “The mayor made a strong choice by nominating Mrs. Richards and we are thankful that he was inclusive of the District’s Republican Party when making his selection.”
In creating the board last December, the Council acted in response to calls from community activists and government watchdog groups for a re-writing and strengthening of the city’s existing ethics in government rules, which critics said were too weak.
Some of the same activist and groups criticized Gray for taking too long to nominate the members of the ethics board. Gray said he wanted to seek out the best possible nominees for the panel.
The nominations come shortly after a federal judge sentenced former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) to prison after he pleaded guilty to embezzling city funds. Last month, two former officials who worked on Gray’s mayoral election campaign pleaded guilty to election law violations. The two were accused of arranging for campaign funds to be used to clandestinely pay a mayoral candidate with no chance of winning to denounce and heckle former Mayor Adrian Fenty during campaign debates. Fenty was Gray’s main rival in the campaign for mayor.
D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown (D-At-Large) is also under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office for alleged campaign finance violations.
Spagnoletti surfaced in the news in 2011 when he served on the defense team in a civil case in which three gay men were named in a wrongful death lawsuit by the wife of slain attorney Robert Wone. The civil trial took place after the three men – Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward – were acquitted on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges related to Wone’s death.
Wone was found stabbed to death in the men’s Dupont Circle area townhouse in August 2006. No one has been charged with the murder.
The two parties reached an out-of-court settlement in which the defendants agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to Cathy Wone. Spagnoletti and the other attorneys declined to disclose the amount of the settlement.
Delaware
New LGBTQ visitor center slated for Wilmington, Del.
The Collective to feature gift shop, queer museum, more
During Pride month this year, the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective (DSGC) announced plans for “The Collective,” the first LGBTQ+ visitor center in Wilmington in nearly 40 years.
“We’ve been talking about the concept of a brick-and-mortar space for a long time,” said Noah Duckett, co-founder of the DSGC.
A licensed clinical social worker, Duckett co-founded DSGC with his mother, Julissa Corianno, in 2018. Established under Sussex Pride, the DSGC serves as a hub for leaders and organizations working directly with LGBTQ+ communities throughout Delaware.
“Our vision for The Collective is a place where our community can come to learn, create, work, and be inspired,” said Corianno.
The Collective will feature a visitor center and gift shop highlighting LGBTQ-owned businesses in Delaware.
“I think that this is something that’s going to benefit our community so much,” said Duckett.
Some of the LGBTQ-owned businesses that DSGC has already partnered with include Stressed Induced Art Attack, Moonbeam Art Collaborative, Voce Coffee, Groovy Gemini Co., Scout Cafe, Macaron Social, and Huxley and Hiro.
“Specifically in Wilmington, we haven’t had an LGBTQ-dedicated space in almost 40 years,” said Duckett.
The last LGBTQ community center in Wilmington was The Griffin Community Center, which was open for only a few years in the 1990s.
“The Griffin was a community space in the ’90s, founded by our friends James and Evo, who are so incredible and have been so supportive throughout this process,” said Duckett.
Duckett said the DSGC hopes to carry on The Griffin’s legacy.
“I think now more than ever, there’s more and more spaces closing their doors. More and more spaces are losing funding, seeing reduced funding and reduced access, especially LGBTQ+ organizations and communities,” said Duckett.
The Collective will also feature Delaware’s first LGBTQ history museum, curated by queer historian Carolanne Deal.
“We don’t have any permanent displays in the state about Delaware’s queer history, and we want people to be able to access that history any day of the year, not just during Pride month,” said Deal.
With a master’s degree in art history for museum professionals, Deal has more than seven years of experience in curatorial work and hands-on collections care.
“It’s mainly going to be a graphic display with photographs, articles, and accessible text that draws people in and creates a story for the community,” said Deal.
Although the museum will not initially have an object collection, Deal said she hopes to add physical archival pieces in the future.
“Delaware has been at the forefront of a lot of queer civil rights, and it’ll be really amazing to have that enshrined in a permanent display that’s not only up for Pride month,” said Deal.
Duckett said DSGC is currently raising funds with the goal of breaking ground this summer and opening by the end of the year.
“We would love to have rent paid for, like, multiple years up front,” said Duckett.
Duckett told the Blade that fundraising efforts have reached just under $29,000 and that the organization is awaiting several major donations from community partner organizations.
However, he said DSGC continues to be denied many grants tied to federal or state funding because of restrictions on those funds being used for LGBTQ-serving organizations.
“Private and corporate donations are absolutely vital,” said Duckett.
Anyone interested in supporting the construction of The Collective can donate online or contact [email protected] for more information.
District of Columbia
D.C.’s Mary’s House For Older Adults names new executive director
Charlene Leach to succeed Imani Woody as leader of LGBTQ-supportive seniors home
The board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, the D.C.-based home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, has announced it has named longtime nonprofit organization leader A. Charlene Leach as its new executive director.
Leach, who is now serving in the executive director’s position, is succeeding Dr. Imani Woody, the Mary’s House founding president and CEO, who announced her retirement from her official leadership role at Mary’s House on July 7.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing the lead role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort DuPont neighborhood.
“With over three decades of nonprofit experience and 15 years serving as an executive director, Charlene brings a wealth of knowledge in organizational leadership, program development, and community engagement,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Her proven track record of building impactful programs and leading mission-driven organizations makes her uniquely suited to guide Mary’s House into its next phase of growth,” the statement continues. “Charlene is deeply aligned with the mission of Mary’s House and is committed to advancing its work to provide safe, inclusive housing and supportive services for LGBTQ+ older adults,” it says. “Under her leadership, the organization will continue to expand its impact while remaining grounded in the values that define our community.”
Leach’s LinkedIn page shows she has most recently served since 2022 as executive director of the African American AIDS Task Force in Minneapolis. Prior to that, it shows she served as executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Health and Support Services organization in Fredericksburg, Va., and before that as director of development for the D.C.-Baltimore area Women’s Collective.
Her LinkedIn page says she has been involved with Mary’s House as a volunteer and grant writer since 2016.
The newly built and enlarged Mary’s House, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025 attended by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, includes 15 single-occupancy residential apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
An earlier statement released by the Mary’s House board announcing Woody’s retirement said Woody would continue to be involved with the organization as a member of the board. The earlier statement and board’s more recent statement on July 29 announcing Leach’s appointment as executive director did not say whether the board plans to name someone else as president and CEO, the title that Woody held before her retirement. But the latest statement says Leach will be running Mary’s House’s day-to-day operations as Woody did.
Virginia
Doug Ollivant to face Eugene Vindman in Va. 7th Congressional District
Republican defeated challengers in Tuesday’s primary
Republican Doug Ollivant will face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
Ollivant defeated his Republican opponents in Tuesday’s primary. Vindman ran unopposed.
Vindman in 2024 ran to succeed then-Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in the U.S. House of Representatives after she ran for governor. Spanberger succeeded Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2025.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Tuesday easily won his primary. All other Democratic incumbent members of Congress from Northern Virginia also won their respective primaries.
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