Local
Gay doctor to lead D.C. Dept. of Health
Gray names Levin interim director, as Akhter takes leave
Dr. Saul Levin (Blade photo by Michael Key)
In a surprise development, Mayor Vincent Gray on Tuesday announced he had appointed Dr. Saul Levin, a psychiatrist and senior deputy director at the D.C. Department of Health, as interim director of the DOH, making him the first known out gay person to serve as head of a city department of that size.
Gray said Levin would fill in for DOH Director Dr. Mohammad Akhter, who the mayor said is taking an unpaid leave of absence to become a member of the executive board of the city’s newly created Health Benefit Exchange Authority.
The Exchange Authority, created earlier this year by legislation passed by the City Council, is one of similar entities expected to be created by all 50 states under the federal Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health insurance reform measure.
“The appointment of Dr. Akhter to the Health Benefit Exchange Authority was a strategic decision by my administration,” Gray said in a statement released Tuesday. “Implementing the Affordable Care Act is one of my top priorities, and I am confident Dr. Akhter can lead the way in that effort.”
Levin could not be immediately reached for comment. The statement released by the mayor’s office announcing his appointment as interim director of the DOH makes no mention of his sexual orientation.
However, gay D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) told the Blade he has known Levin for more than 20 years and that Levin has been involved in LGBT-related AIDS work in various positions, including a stint as an official at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“At SAMHSA, Dr. Levin led the initiative to integrate primary care, substance abuse, mental health and HIV/AIDS response,” the statement from the mayor’s office said.
Graham said Levin also did volunteer work for the then Whitman-Walker Clinic at the time Graham served as the Clinic’s executive director in the 1980s and 1990s.
A native of South Africa, Levin received his medical degree in 1992 from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, according to the statement from the mayor’s office. It says he completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of California’s Davis Medical Center. He received a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1994, the statement says.
Prior to beginning his tenure at the D.C. DOH earlier this year, Levin served as Vice President for Science, Medicine, and Public Health at the American Medical Association, the mayor’s statement says.
“He’s extremely intelligent and he knows a lot about health policy,” Graham said. “My first reaction when I heard he was named to this position was I hate to see him leave APRA [the DOH’s Addiction, Prevention and Recovery Administration] because his expertise is in that area,” said Graham. “But Saul Levin has superb qualities to be the interim director of Health.”
LGBT and AIDS activists have praised Akhter for his record of support for HIV/AIDS-related services in the gay and transgender communities, which are among the groups hardest hit by HIV in the city.
Akhter, with Gray’s approval, appointed Dr. Gregory Pappas last year as head of the DOH’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Tuberculosis Administration. Pappas is also gay.
D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At-Large), who’s gay and is chair of the Council committee that oversees the DOH, said he looks forward to working with Levin on health related issues.
“I expect Dr. Levin will bring his significant experiences and skills to the position of Interim Director and I look forward to working with him,” Catania told the Blade. “The Department of Health Director is an important position, one that both requires and deserves a permanent appointee sooner rather than later.”
District of Columbia
Brian Footer suspends campaign for Ward 1 D.C. Council seat
Race’s third LGBTQ candidate cites family reasons for ‘stepping back’
Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Brian Footer, who was one of three out LGBTQ candidates running for the open Ward 1 D.C. Council seat in the city’s June 16, 2026, Democratic primary, announced on Dec. 17 he has decided to “suspend” his campaign to focus on his family.
“After deep reflection and honest conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for the D.C. Council,” he said in a statement. “This moment in my life requires me to be present with the people I love most and honor the responsibilities I carry both at home and in the community,” he states. “This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one for me and my family at this time.”
Footer, a longtime Ward 1 community activist and LGBTQ rights advocate, announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 Council seat in July, one month before bisexual Ward 1 community activist Aparna Raj announced her candidacy for the Council seat on Aug. 12.
Gay Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Miguel Trindade Deramo announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 Council seat on Nov. 18, becoming the third out LGBTQ candidate in what appeared to be an unprecedented development for a race for a single D.C. Council seat.
At least three other candidates who are not LGBTQ are running for the Ward 1 Council seat. They include Ward 1 ANC member Rashida Brown, longtime Ward 1 community activist Terry Lynch, and Jackie Reyes-Yanes, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.
In his statement announcing the suspension of his candidacy, Footer said he would continue to be involved in community affairs and advocate for the issues he discussed during his campaign.
“I want to be clear: I am stepping back from the race, not the work,” he says in his statement. “Public service has always been my calling. I will continue advocating for affordability, for safer streets, for stability for small businesses, and for a government that responds to people with urgency and respect,” he wrote. “And I will continue showing up as a partner in the work of building a stronger Ward 1.”
Footer concluded by thanking and praising his campaign supporters and calling his campaign suspension a “transition,” suggesting he is not likely to resume his candidacy.
His campaign press spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking if Footer might later resume his campaign or if his latest action was in effect an end to his candidacy.
“To everyone who knocked on doors, hosted conversations, donated, shared encouragement, and believed in this campaign, thank you,” he says in his statement. “I am deeply grateful for every person who helped this campaign take root,” he added. “This isn’t an ending, it’s a transition. And I’m excited for the work ahead, both in Ward 1 and at home with my family.”
Longtime gay D.C. Democratic Party activist Peter Rosenstein said in a statement to the Blade, “I respect Brian Footer’s decision to end his campaign for Council. It is not easy to run a campaign in D.C. and there are many others running in Ward 1.” He added, “While not living in Ward 1, I thank Brian for all he has done and clearly will continue to do for the people in the ward.”
Local
LGBTQ, LGBTQ-friendly congregations to hold holiday services
Bet Mishpachah’s Hanukkah service to take place on Friday
LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly congregations in D.C. will hold services and other events throughout the holiday season.
Bet Mishpachah on Friday will hold its Sparks in the Dark Happy Hour at Spark Social on 14th Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. It’s Chanuka Shabbat Service will begin at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m.
Hanukkah began on Sunday and will end on Dec. 22.
Two gunmen on Sunday killed 15 people and injured more than two dozen others when they opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Jake Singer-Beilin, Bet Mishpachah’s chief rabbi, in a Facebook post mourned the victims.
“We grieve for the victims and send heartfelt prayers of healing for those who were wounded,” he wrote.
“This Chanuka, our lights will shine brightly in the darkness, but our hearts will be heavy with mourning for those who were murdered on Bondi Beach while observing what should have been a joyous day,” added Singer-Beilin. “We will still celebrate our Festival of Lights and we will commit ourselves to illuminating and repairing our broken world. Let us channel the bravery of the Maccabees who found hope where there seemed to be none, and who fought to create a better future. We must do the same.”
LGBTQ Catholic group to hold annual Christmas Day Mass
Dignity Washington’s Christmas Day Mass will take place at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church (1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on Dec. 25 from 6-7 p.m. Parishioners can attend in person or watch it online via Facebook.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C.’s Christmas Eve service will take place at the church (474 Ridge St., N.W., on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church (1517 18th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist from 5-6 p.m. A Christmas Eve dinner will take place in the Parish Hall from 6-8:30 p.m. The church’s Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist will occur on Dec. 25 from 10-11 a.m.
Washington National Cathedral throughout the holiday season has a number of services and events scheduled. These include the virtual Gospel Christmas Service on Dec. 21 from 6-7:30 p.m., the Family Christmas Service on Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to noon, the Christmas Eve Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 24 from 10-11:45 p.m., and the Christmas Day Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 25 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Family Service on Dec. 24 at 4:30 p.m. Its Carols and Candlelight Service will take place at 8 p.m.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum to celebrate Kwanzaa
The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (1901 Fort Place S.E.) in Anacostia will mark the first day of Kwanzaa on Dec. 26 with storytelling and drumming with Mama Ayo and Baba Ras D from noon to 2 p.m. The museum will hold a series of other events through the 6-day celebration of African American culture that ends on Jan. 1.
The Creative Suitland Arts Center (4719 Silver Hill Road) in Suitland, Md., on Friday will hold their Almost Kwanzaa: A Creative Kind of Holiday event from 6-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
Joseline Peña-Melnyk elected Md. House speaker
Family immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic
By PAMELA WOOD | Moments after being elected speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Tuesday, state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk stood before the chamber and contemplated her unlikely journey to that moment.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the Peña family lived in a small wooden house with a leaky tin roof and no indoor plumbing. Some days, she said, there was no food to eat.
When she was 8 years old, the family immigrated to New York City, where Peña-Melnyk was dubbed “abogadito” or “little lawyer” for helping her mother and others by translating at social services offices.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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