Local
Money race underway in Maryland
Up to $7 million needed for marriage fight; O’Malley to host beach fundraiser
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and House Speaker Michael E. Busch are scheduled to co-host a June 26 fundraiser in Ocean City for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. Tickets for the event start at $1,000. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Marylanders for Marriage Equality is confident it can run a “winning campaign” to defeat a voter referendum seeking to kill Maryland’s same-sex marriage law on a budget of between $5 million and $7 million, according to the organization’s campaign manager, Josh Levin.
“We feel good about that budget,” Levin told the Blade last week. “We feel like we’ll be able to do the things we need to do thanks to the effort of our coalition and our partners who are going to be talking to voters, who are going to be helping us in ways that I’m not sure are always the case in other campaigns.”
Levin’s comments came at a time when virtually all of the state’s political observers believe opponents of the marriage equality law will obtain far more than the number of petition signatures they need to place the referendum on the ballot in the Nov. 6 election.
The referendum language, which the Maryland State Board of Elections won’t draft until August, is expected to ask voters to approve or overturn a law passed earlier this year by the Maryland General Assembly legalizing same-sex marriage. The law also allows churches and religious organizations to refuse to perform such marriages.
Both sides have begun raising and spending money to wage their respective campaigns for and against the same-sex marriage law. But Maryland’s election law doesn’t require the campaigns to publicly disclose the amount of money they have raised or spent until Oct. 12, when the first of three campaign finance reports for a state referendum is due to be filed, according to Jared DeMarinis, a spokesperson for the election board.
He said the second campaign finance report must be filed on Oct. 26 and the third on Nov. 27, 21 days after the election.
DeMarinis said the election law requires organizations seeking to place the marriage equality law on the ballot in a referendum to file finance reports during the petition gathering process, which began earlier this year and continues through June 30. Those groups were required to disclose the receipt and expenditure of funds linked solely to the petition process during the past several months.
In what may come as a surprise to advocates of campaign finance disclosure laws, Marylanders for Marriage Equality isn’t required to disclose the amount of money it raises and spends and the names of its first round of donors until Oct. 12. The identity of its donors that contribute money between Oct. 26 and Election Day on Nov. 6 won’t have to be disclosed until 21 days after the election.
When asked last week by the Blade how much the campaign has raised so far, Levin said, “I don’t think I’m going to comment on that one.”
Some LGBT rights advocates in Maryland and elsewhere have expressed concern that Marylanders for Marriage Equality will need as much as $10 million to $12 million to wage an effective campaign to defeat the referendum and allow the same-sex marriage law to take effect.
These advocates, most of whom spoke to the Blade on condition that they not be identified, said Maryland’s marriage equality campaign will be competing for big donors and other contributors with the marriage equality campaigns in Maine, Minnesota and Washington State, where similar marriage referendums will be on the ballot in November.
The big donors, both gay and LGBT-supportive allies, are also being lobbied heavily to make large contributions to President Obama’s re-election campaign, placing further strain on the pool of funds needed by the pro-same-sex marriage campaigns.
“I don’t see Maryland having a very easy time pulling $10 million out to run this,” said Andy Szekeres, a professional fundraiser from Denver, who’s gay.
Szekeres is the former partner in a Denver-based fundraising company that raised more than $37 million for various political campaigns over the past several years.
“I think they’re grossly underestimating the resources that they’re going to need,” he said of Marylanders for Marriage Equality.
According to Szekeres, who was hired last year to help the statewide LGBT group Equality Maryland boost its fundraising efforts, the marriage equality side in Maryland must purchase TV ads in the expensive Washington, D.C. and Baltimore media markets.
He said he sees no evidence so far that the campaign has begun to buy and reserve TV ad time now, when the cost is lower than it will be in September and October, when the referendum campaign heats up and the Obama campaign and Maryland congressional candidates flood the airways with TV commercials.
Evan Wolfson, executive director of the national marriage equality advocacy group Freedom to Marry, said his group is “deeply embedded” in the marriage referendum campaigns in Maine, Minnesota, and Washington State and is helping those campaigns raise money. He told the Blade that the money needed to win marriage equality in those three states “will well exceed $25 million.”
He said Maryland’s marriage equality campaign will need “$10 million plus” to successfully fend off the referendum seeking to kill the state’s same-sex marriage law.
Wolfson has declined to comment on why Freedom to Marry has not joined the coalition of groups that that formed Marylanders for Marriage Equality. Campaign finance reports filed in Maine, Minnesota, and Washington show that Freedom to Marry has contributed thousands of dollars to the marriage equality campaigns in those states.
Levin and other officials with Marylanders for Marriage Equality dispute Szekeres’ and Wolfson’s assessment of the campaign’s fundraising needs, saying they believe they will have the resources to run an aggressive and effective grassroots campaign throughout the state.
“I’m not worried,” said Levin. “We’ve got a lot of folks around the country who are working on this issue and we’ve got four states where it’s on the ballot. And I think that supporters around the country are going to look at all four states. Hopefully they’ll support all four.”
Levin pointed to a poll last month commissioned by the campaign and conducted by the firm Public Policy Polling showing support for the same-sex marriage law leading among likely voters in Maryland by a margin of 57 percent to 37 percent. The same poll showed the marriage equality side leading among black voters in the state by a margin of 55 percent to 36 percent.
The poll findings, released on May 24, showed a dramatic increase in support of same-sex marriage by black voters following President Obama’s announcement that he and first lady Michelle Obama believe gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to legally marry.
Although the Public Policy Polling poll was commissioned by Marylanders for Marriage Equality, officials with the group note that a separate ABC News-Washington Post poll released around the same time found that 59 percent of blacks across the country expressed support for same-sex marriage.
“I think we’ve opened some eyes and changed some minds about Maryland here in the last couple of months,” Levin said. “Our poll numbers are probably the best in the country of the states where we are looking at this issue on the ballot right now.”
He added, “I know that I’m learning from my fellow campaign managers in the other states about what’s working there. We’re talking. We’re trying to work together. It’s not a rivalry. It’s a partnership. We all want to move this forward.”
Marylanders for Marriage Equality spokesperson Kevin Nix also points out that the group’s coalition partners are especially influential and knowledgeable on Maryland politics. They include the NAACP of Maryland, the ACLU of Maryland, Equality Maryland, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of Maryland, among other organizations.
LGBT advocates say the marriage equality side is likely to benefit from Maryland’s status as a solid Democratic state expected to vote strongly for Obama in the presidential election taking place at the same time as the marriage referendum. With polls showing that Democratic voters in general and Obama voters in particular tend to support same-sex marriage rights at higher levels than other voters, the presidential election will likely be a major boost to the campaign in favor of Maryland’s marriage equality law.
Polls conducted earlier this year also showed that as many as 30 percent of Maryland voters saying they plan to vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also support same-sex marriage.
LGBT advocates in Maryland are also hopeful that Gov. Martin O’Malley, who enjoys widespread popularity throughout the state, will follow through with his promise to campaign vigorously in support of the same-sex marriage law and help raise money for the campaign. O’Malley has been credited with playing a key role in persuading the legislature to pass the law.
O’Malley’s chief fundraising consultant, Colleen Martin Lauer of the fundraising firm Martin-Lauer Associates, is working with the campaign, Lauer told the Blade. She declined to provide details on what her firm is doing, deferring inquires to the campaign.
O’Malley and Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel County) are scheduled to co-host a June 26 fundraiser in Ocean City for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. According to the Washington Post, tickets for the event start at $1,000.
Szekeres said he’s rooting for the success of the Maryland campaign as well as the pro-marriage equality campaigns in Maine, Minnesota and Washington. But he said other states have had similarly strong coalitions, with polling numbers showing the same-sex marriage side ahead. He notes that same-sex marriage has lost in each of the 32 states that have had ballot measures on the issue.
The 2008 approval of California’s Proposition 8, which overturned that state’s gay marriage law, and the 2009 defeat of a same-sex marriage law approved by the Maine legislature that year were especially heartbreaking, Szekeres and others familiar with those ballot measures said.
California voters approved Proposition 8 by a margin of 52 to 48 percent following polling numbers showing the marriage equality side was ahead. Polls showed that Maine’s same-sex marriage law would survive the referendum vote shortly before voters rejected the law by a margin of 53 to 47 percent.
Opponents of a Maine same-sex marriage law passed by the state legislature initiated the 2009 referendum, which killed the law before it took effect. This year’s referendum in Maine was initiated by same-sex marriage supporters, who want Maine to become the first state to put a same-sex marriage law in place through a popular election.
“We lose these things 52 to 48 percent across the country,” said Szekeres. “I’ve been at these things and our polling showed we were much higher in Maine [in 2009] than we were. People lie to pollsters. They don’t want to be bigots to the pollsters but they are when they go vote.”
He and others familiar with same-sex marriage ballot campaigns have said TV ads by opponents that allege that gay marriage is harmful to children and the traditional family continue to succeed in persuading a majority of voters to turn against marriage equality.
“Again, if they think they can run this on a shoestring budget because 57 percent of the people six months out from the election tell pollsters they support us, that’s not going to happen,” said Szekeres in discussing the Maryland referendum. “There will be a lot of negative advertising and negative advertising works. And we just don’t seem to have an effective response.”
Nix said Marylanders for Marriage Equality retained the D.C.-based national advertising firm Dixon-Davis Media Group to prepare the campaign’s TV ads on behalf of the same-sex marriage law.
The firm’s website describes itself as a “full-service strategic communications company and advertising agency serving Democratic candidates, campaigns and causes.”
Nix said the campaign has also retained the Hart Research polling company to conduct internal polls to help the campaign develop the best possible messages for persuading voters to support marriage equality.
Matthew Crenson, professor emeritus of political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said he has observed a “shift in the electorate” that is likely to break the gay marriage losing streak on ballot measures.
“I think there’s a better than 50-50 chance that Maryland will become the first state to approve gay marriage in a referendum,” he said.
“One decisive event was when the NAACP endorsed [marriage equality] because African Americans in Maryland, especially those closely attached to churches, have traditionally been opposed to gay marriage and gay rights,” he said.
“But the NAACP defined this as a civil rights issue, which is similar to the kind of issues that African Americans have raised in the past,” he said. “And I think that introduced a kind of shift in the electorate that makes it more than likely that [same-sex marriage] will pass.”
Maryland political observer Michael J. Wilson, a Montgomery County resident and former executive director of the national group Americans for Democratic Action, said he too senses a shift in the direction of voters upholding the same-sex marriage law.
“I think there’s reason to be hopeful,” he said, adding that the ability of the marriage equality side to turn out their supporters at the polls will be a crucial factor in the outcome.
“In Maryland, if you carry Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County by a big enough margin, you win a statewide election,” Wilson said. “If you carry those big counties you can win the state, even if the other counties go 60 to 40 against you.”
Michael K. Lavers contributed to this report.
Pride month festivities continue through the end of the month and there’s a new event for Rehoboth/Dewey Beach residents and visitors, Pride on the Bay, set for June 27.
Boaters will tie up at the sandbar near Massey’s Landing from 12-4 p.m. Visit Pride on the Bay’s Facebook page for a map of the exact location. You can rent pontoons for the day at Dewey Beach Watersports (deweybeachwatersports.com).
Aqua Bar & Grill is sponsoring the inaugural event and will provide a floating DJ for the afternoon. Aqua will then host an after-party back on land (57 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach).
Local part-time resident Brian Sparrow is organizing the gathering, citing the need for more Pride-oriented events at the beach.
“I decided to create an event in June for Pride month,” Sparrow told the Blade. “There aren’t many Pride events in Rehoboth and Dewey where we can take advantage of the Rehoboth Bay.”
He noted that there is another event called “Bay Pride” but that it is held in late summer on a Sunday. “Having the event on Saturday will allow for more boat renting options for visitors and friends to join,” Sparrow said, adding that he plans to make this an annual event.
District of Columbia
McDuffie on LGBTQ support and standing up to Trump
‘I’m committed to governing with the queer community at the table’
Former D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie is running for mayor as Muriel Bowser’s third term expires in January. He’s running in a crowded Democratic primary field; recent polls show him in second place behind Council member Janeese Lewis George. D.C.’s primary is Tuesday, June 16.
The Blade sat down with McDuffie on June 8 for a wide-ranging conversation about his pro-LGBTQ record and challenges now facing the community.
The Blade reached out to fellow mayoral candidates Lewis George and Rini Sampath, who identifies as queer, for interviews. Neither responded to repeated requests over several weeks.
Blade: Members of the D.C. LGBTQ community are receiving information that most if not all the seven Democratic candidates for mayor, including you and Council member Janeese Lewis George, are strong supporters of the LGBTQ community. What message would you have for LGBTQ voters on why they should support you rather than one of the other candidates?
McDuffie: Thank you for the question, Lou. And thank you for your work over the years with the Washington Blade. I’m really looking forward to having this conversation. You know, Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States, and our city is one of the most beautifully diverse and inclusive cities in America because generations of LGBTQ+ residents, advocates, and organizations have fought to make it that way.
And throughout my time on the Council, I’ve been proud to support that work by advancing equity and opportunity and standing up for the rights and dignity of every resident across the District regardless of where they live, who they know, how much money they have. And as mayor, I’m going to build on that progress by ensuring D.C. remains a place where LGBTQ+ residents can live safely, where they can access quality healthcare and housing, they can build families and businesses and thrive in the neighborhoods of our city.
And now more than ever, making sure we protect residents from a hostile federal administration, including President Donald Trump, who seeks to roll back civil rights and civil liberties.
Blade: Some people, including members of the LGBTQ community, have criticized Mayor Bowser for what they say has been her position of not standing up forcefully enough against the Trump administration on various issues, including the deployment of National Guard soldiers in the city. What are your thoughts on that? How would you deal with the Trump administration if you were mayor?
McDuffie: Well, I’m going to deal with the Trump administration by prioritizing D.C. residents first. I’m going to stand up and fight back against federal infringement from Donald Trump and from Republicans in Congress or any other individual or organization that seeks to threaten Washington, D.C. residents.
And that means on day one rescind the executive order that permits cooperation between the Metropolitan Police Department and ICE and DHS [U.S. Department of Homeland Security]. And I know because of my work 13-and-a-half years on the Council doing research, authoring transformational legislation that protects people’s civil rights, that makes the Metropolitan Police Department more transparent, doing things like authoring the landmark NEAR Act [a 2016 D.C. law aimed at reducing violent crime].
I know from that work, and I know from my former work as a civil rights attorney in President Obama’s Department of Justice that you have to fight to ensure that we have a fair and more just society. I did that as a civil rights attorney traveling the country fighting to protect people’s civil rights. I did that as a prosecutor who fought crime and delivered justice for victims.
And I’m going to do that as mayor to ensure that we use every legal and political tool available as mayor to resist any federal effort to roll back LGBTQ+ protections in Washington, D.C. And I’m committed to governing with the queer community at the table and lifting up their contributions to this city at the center of every decision that I make as mayor. You know that I’ve been a champion making Washington, D.|C. more equitable, more just, and economically inclusive. And I plan to continue to build on that work that I have done and the work that so many important people have done in the LGBTQ+ community in Washington, D.C. to make sure that our residents can live safely and thrive in Washington, D.C.
And so, we’re going to fight back against Trump and any hostile federal administration to make sure we’re protecting the residents first. And we will work with the federal government where there is an opportunity to do transformational economic development projects like RFK, transformational infrastructure projects like expanding Union Station. Both of those will create thousands of jobs and thousands of opportunities for D.C.-based small businesses.
But I will draw a very bright line when it comes to protecting the civil rights of individuals across the District of Columbia, including the LGBTQ+ community and our vulnerable neighbors like our immigrant neighbors and families who in many cases today are living in the shadows, afraid to leave their homes, afraid to go to work, afraid to walk their kids to school because they’re being snatched off the streets in safe places around schools and places of worship. And it is utterly despicable what Donald Trump has done and how he’s weaponized our federal law enforcement.
Blade: As a follow-up to that, reports surfaced last year that the mayor had to cut the budget for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs for this year by $600,000 because of a large cut in the city’s budget by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Would you do something to try to restore the funds that were cut from that office?
McDuffie: Absolutely. I will as mayor fully fund the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs and direct it to proactively identify gaps in city services while also ensuring that the Office of Human Rights has additional resources to vigorously enforce efforts against discrimination across government agencies and within the private sector where it arises. I am a civil rights attorney by training. And I will bring the full force of the District of Columbia government to bear when it comes to protecting the rights of our residents, including especially our vulnerable communities like LGBTQ+ community.
And we’re going to fully fund the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs and make sure it is doing the work proactively to identify any gaps in services any gaps in resources that are needed to shore up the supports and services to the community. And that’s been my record on the Council, too. As you know, I’ve supported on the Council marriage equality. That I’ve supported helping to repeal D.C.’s anti-surrogacy laws, expanding opportunities for LGBTQ couples.
You know that I’ve supported polices that recognize diverse family structures and co-introduced and passed the birth certificate equality amendment act. I supported efforts to reduce bureaucratic barriers faced by transgender residents. So, that’s the kind of work that I’ve done as a Council member. And as mayor I’m going to really fight and deliver for our LGBTQ+ neighbors to ensure that they’re supported, seen, heard, continue to be woven into the fabric of our city.
Blade: Do you or your campaign have any plans for participating in any LGBTQ Pride events during Pride month?
McDuffie: Oh, we are going to be not only front and center in marching in the Pride parade but being there as a resources to work directly with the organizers to make sure that they have every single thing that they need to build on the strong legacy of Washington, D.C.’s Pride community and all the festivities that are associated with it. I was so proud to stand on the steps of the Wilson Building last year for WorldPride and announce what Washington, D.C. does and how we do it and why we’re so special as a city. And when it comes to supporting Pride this year, I’m going to be right there marching with everybody else and ensuring that the longstanding relationships with the LGBTQ community across the District of Columbia are shown and displayed as our nation’s capital sets the example of what it looks like to really protect the beautiful diversity that we have in our city.
Blade: People have been talking about the poll just released by the Washington Post showing you to be 11 points behind Janeese Lewis George in the race for mayor. Do you have any reaction to that?
McDuffie: Well, what the poll shows is that I have the broadest coalition of support across the District of Columbia. Because I continue to show up and meet residents where they are. That demonstrates whether you are a longtime resident or whether you are Black or white or a member of the LGBTQ+ community. My support in the District of Columbia is deep, and it is broad.
Because I will govern as mayor in the way I have led as a Council member, which is by building the broadest coalition possible, walking across differences and really coming out with solutions to address intractable issues. So, I know that Washington, D.C. has been a national leader when it comes to protecting civil rights and ensuring fairness and justice. And I’ve been one of the people who led on those issues, making our city more racially equitable, more socially just, and more economically inclusive.
Blade: As you know, some of your critics have been trying to link you to the Pepco electric rate increase and for being responsible for higher utility costs. Do you have a response to that?
McDuffie: They try to link me to a number of things that are a part of what is a widespread disinformation campaign much like what we’ve seen on a national level from Trump and other Republicans. I don’t accept it. I think the fact that I’ve been elected four times in the District of Columbia, I demonstrate my ability to work with residents across the District of Columbia to get things done.
When it comes to utilities, I’m going to fight to lower utilities costs for residents, ensuring that we expand renewables and alternative energy sources, recognizing that Janeese Lewis George was the only Council member who voted against expanding solar a couple of years ago. But I’m also going to make sure that we have automatic enrollment for individuals in the District of Columbia who are having trouble paying for the utilities. I will make sure we protect seniors who are feeling a squeeze when it comes to being able to pay for utilities …
And we’re going to make sure that everybody understands why their energy bill is going up and push back against disinformation, so that they understand that a lot of what we’re seeing in increased utility bills, which I also face with my wife, is driven by demand on the regional grid at PJM. It is the data centers that are driving up our costs and lowering supplies. I’m going to hold those data centers accountable to pay their fair share for how they are contributing to the increase in utility costs that residents across the District of Columbia and across the region are seeing on their Pepco bills.
Blade: Thank you for your time. Do you have anything else you may wish to say to conclude your remarks?
McDuffie: Just to be clear that the disinformation campaign that Janeese Lewis George and her supporters are waging is one of the lowest political tactics that we’ve seen in D.C. politics. But she is banking on voters who are not doing their research. And what I know is that D.C. voters are smart. They know me from my work on the Council. And they know I am better qualified on day one to stand up and fight back against Trump to protect home rule and to deliver a city that is safer, that is more affordable and deliver a government that is more accountable and works for residents across the District of Columbia.
District of Columbia
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
Honorees ‘live authentically’ and ‘power of sharing your story’
The Capital Pride Alliance has announced that David Archuleta and Monroe Alise will be the grand marshals for the Pride parade on June 20.
Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance’s president, said the two were chosen for the way that they exemplify the theme “Exist. Resist. Have the Audacity!”
Archuleta is the “American Idol” season 7 runner-up and a strong supporter of the LGBTQ community.
He grew up religious and has been clear about his struggle to reconcile his faith, identity, and self-expression. In 2021, he publicly came out and has since been a major voice for LGBTQ visibility and acceptance. This year, Archuleta published the memoir “Devout,” which details his lived experience as a closeted Mormon teenager.
Alise is a transgender advocate and a D.C. native.
She has appeared in the shows “P-Valley” and “The Chi.” She also grew a major online following through her social media series “I’m CLOCKABLE,” where she discusses topics such as dating, culture, and self-discovery from the perspective of a queer person.
“Together, they represent to live authentically and the power of sharing your story to create change,” Bos said in a statement.
As grand marshals, the two will kick off celebrations leading up to the parade and participate in it. Alise will join the Crack of Noon Parade Brunch from 12-3 p.m. at Viceroy Washington, alongside honorees such as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The parade will kick off at 3 p.m. at the intersection of 14th and T Streets, N.W., before moving straight down 14th Street and ending at Pennsylvania Avenue at 7 p.m. The parade is free for anyone to watch at designated viewing areas.
More information about celebrations throughout Pride and the parade can be found at www.capitalpride.org.
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