Local
Howard County executive to co-host Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser
Ken Ulman and Byron Macfarlane to co-host Ellicott City event
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman will co-host Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser at parents’ home (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and gay Howard County Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane on Friday will co-host a fundraiser for the group defending Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
County Council members Calvin Ball and Courtney Watson and state Del. Guy Guzzone (D-Howard County) are among those expected to attend the Marylanders for Marriage Equality event at Ulman’s parents’ Ellicott City home. Tickets range from $75 to $2,000.
“This is an important issue to me,” Ulman, who backed marriage rights for same-sex couples before voters elected him county executive in 2006, told the Blade. He further stressed that he feels that the fact the fundraiser will take place at his parents’ home sends what he describes as a powerful message about his family’s commitment to the issue. “This is something I feel very strongly about.”
A Public Policy Polling survey in May showed that 57 percent of Maryland voters would support the same-sex marriage law in the referendum. The same survey found that 55 percent of black Marylanders back nuptials for gays and lesbians—Marylanders for Marriage Equality on July 10 released a web advertisement that highlights African Americans who support marriage rights for same-sex couples .
“It is important for us to step up and play a role,” Macfarlane told the Blade. “I want to make sure that Howard County just doesn’t deliver just 51 or even 55 percent of the vote for marriage equality, but that we get at least 60 or 65 percent.”
O’Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne Arundel County) and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are among the state and local officials who have either hosted or attended fundraisers for Marylanders for Marriage Equality in recent weeks. Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin attended a campaign event at a Baltimore restaurant last month.
The campaign to defend Maryland’s same-sex marriage received a boost in May with President Obama’s announcement that he supports nuptials for gays and lesbians – he urged Marylanders to vote for the law during a Baltimore re-election campaign fundraiser last month. The Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Board of Directors passed a same-sex marriage resolution less than three weeks after Obama publicly endorsed the issue.
“We have an all hands on deck approach, whether its raising money or getting people to volunteer,” said Macfarlane when asked about the status of the campaign to defend the same-sex marriage law. “This is a fight we’ve been fighting in Maryland for a long time. We want to win once and for all.”
Ulman conceded he feels “there’s a lot of work to be done” between now and November to ensure same-sex couples will be able to marry in Maryland. He remains optimistic, however, that voters will support the law in the referendum.
“Marylanders have a strong commitment to fairness and equality,” said Ulman. “I feel strongly it will pass. The numbers are trending in the right direction.”
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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