Local
Mendelson elected interim Council Chair
Pro-gay Councilman will run in November special election
Phil Mendelson (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Members of the D.C. City Council on Wednesday elected fellow Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) as interim chair of the Council until a special election to fill the chairperson’s seat on a permanent basis is held in November.
Mendelson, who played a lead role in the Council’s 2009 approval of the city’s same-sex marriage law, has said he will run in the special election to become the Council’s permanent chair.
The Council’s selection of Mendelson for the interim post came after Council member Kwame Brown (D-At-Large) resigned as the chairman last week, one day after pleading guilty to felony bank fraud.
At its special meeting Wednesday, the Council also voted to elect Council member Michael Brown (I-At-Large) as interim Council President Pro Tempore, a mostly ceremonial position that places Brown third in line to become mayor in the event that Mayor Vincent Gray should resign.
As interim Council Chair, Mendelson is second in line to become mayor.
Michael Brown, like Mendelson, has been a longtime strong supporter of LGBT rights.
The Council picked Michael Brown over Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), who entered the race for the President Prop Tempore post, by a vote of 8 to 4. Orange initially said he would challenge Mendelson for the interim Council chair position, but on Wednesday he chose to compete for the President Prop Tempore position instead.
Mendelson, meanwhile, will remain as chair of the Council’s Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and which has monitored the police response to anti-LGBT hate crimes. He will also assume the chairmanship of the Council’s Committee of the Whole, which traditionally is headed by the Council chair.
LGBT political activists have joined others in the community in watching with great interest whether an ongoing federal investigation into alleged illegal campaign practices in Gray’s 2010 mayor election campaign will implicate Gray, who has denied any wrong-doing. Two high-level officials in the Gray campaign have pleaded guilty in recent weeks to campaign related violations.
City Hall observers expect other Council member and non-Council members to run in the special election for the Council chair post, most of whom are likely to be supporters of the LGBT community.
Similar to past elections, LGBT advocates may be forced to choose among friends in determining who to endorse in the special election. The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, and Log Cabin Republicans of D.C., a gay GOP group, are expected to become engaged in the special election.
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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