Local
D.C.’s gay-friendly election
Supportive candidates lead field in host of November races
D.C. Council member Michael Brown (I-At-Large) may be in jeopardy of losing his seat due to ethics-related questions. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Nearly all candidates supportive on LGBT issues are expected to win their races in the Nov. 6 election for seven seats on the D.C. City Council, the city’s non-voting seat in Congress and five seats on the D.C. school board.
But LGBT activists say they are joining fellow citizens across the city in watching with concern the unfolding campaign investigation and past driving infractions surrounding D.C. Council member Michael Brown (I-At-Large), a long-time friend and supporter of the LGBT community.
Revelations this month that more than $113,000 have gone missing from Brown’s 2012 campaign coffers and a Washington Post report that Brown had his driver’s license suspended five times over the past eight years due to traffic violations have fueled speculation that Brown’s re-election bid could be in jeopardy
Brown said his former campaign treasurer, who he fired in late June, stole the campaign funds and the U.S. Attorney’s office is investigating the reported theft. Through his attorney, the former treasurer has denied he stole the money. Brown, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the driving infractions, which the Post obtained through public records.
“I have no legal and ethical issues at all,” he told the Blade.”I’m the victim of a crime and the other stuff is personal.”
The fact that his main opponent, David Grosso, is also supportive on LGBT issues prompted Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance Vice President Rick Rosendall to note that D.C.’s LGBT community has been blessed with highly supportive political candidates and elected officials for the past 20 years or longer.
“It’s a luxury to be choosing between LGBT-friendly candidates,” he said. “It’s a luxury to have to choose among friends. Here in D.C., most candidates are gay friendly. We should remember how lucky we are.”
Two openly gay candidates are running for seats this year on the D.C. State Board of Education. One of them, Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Jack Jacobson, is running unopposed for the Ward 2 Board of Education seat.
Longtime Ward 8 gay rights and community activist Phil Pannell is making a second try at capturing the Ward 8 school board seat. Pannell ran and lost his bid for the seat last year in a special election after the incumbent died. Pannell is running against his former opponent and now incumbent Trayon “Tray” White, who has received the backing of Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry (D).
A third openly gay candidate, D.C. libertarian activist and Realtor Bruce Majors, is running as a Libertarian candidate against incumbent D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.). Norton, who is running for her twelfth term, is considered among the most LGBT supportive members of Congress and is highly popular in the LGBT community.
She is considered the strong favorite to win re-election. Majors has acknowledged that his chances of defeating Norton are slim. He said his main objective is to promote the Libertarian Party cause and to capture at least 7,500 votes, which would give the Libertarian Party an automatic place on the ballot in future D.C. elections.
Leaders of the city’s three main LGBT political organizations – GLAA, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, and D.C. Log Cabin Republicans – said this week they would not be taking an official position on an investigation into the Brown campaign’s missing funds.
Stein Club President Lateefah Williams, D.C. Log Cabin President Robert Turner, and GLAA Vice President Rick Rosendall said their respective groups also would not be taking an official position on three proposed D.C. City Charter amendments that will be on the ballot in the November election. The amendments were placed on the ballot as part of a sweeping city ethics reform bill approved by the Council last December.
The Charter amendments, if approved by the voters and later cleared by Congress, will give the D.C. Council authority to vote by a 5/6 majority to remove from office a fellow Council member or a sitting mayor if the mayor or Council member is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony charge. One of the amendments would also give the Council authority to remove from office a Council member that demonstrates a “gross failure to meet the highest standards of conduct” expected of an elected official.
“This is something we will leave to our individual members to decide,” said Williams, who added that the club might consider taking a position on the charter amendments if members raise the issue at upcoming club meetings.
Of the seven incumbent Council members on the ballot in November, political observers say Brown could become the only one in jeopardy of losing his seat, although most political insiders say they expect him to win unless more damaging revelations surface.
Brown is running in a contest in which two at-large Council seats are at play, with one of them earmarked only for a non-majority party candidate. With Democrats being the majority party in the city, the seat Brown holds and is seeking to retake must go to a non-Democrat.
Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), the incumbent in the so-called “Democratic” seat, is considered the favorite to win re-election in November. Orange, a former Ward 5 Council member, came out against same-sex marriage in past years but has since said he changed his mind and fully supports the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Grosso worked on the staff of pro-LGBT former Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6) and is a former staffer to Norton. He has expressed support for LGBT issues during his campaign for Council this year.
Others running for one of the two at-large seats are Republican Mary Brooks Beatty, who has been endorsed by D.C. Log Cabin Republicans; and Statehood Green Party candidate Ann Wilcox, an attorney who has represented gay activist and former Army Lt. Dan Choi after Choi was arrested in one of his White House protests against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Independent candidates A.J. Cooper and Leon Swain Jr. are also running for the at-large seat. Under the city’s election law all seven candidates compete on the same ballot and the highest two vote getters will be declared the winner.
Transgender activist Jeri Hughes appeared to reflect the views of many in the LGBT community in expressing her support for Brown on grounds that his commitment to equal rights for LGBT people and his “good work on the Council” far outweigh any of the media reports about his campaign problem or driving record.
“I’m going to support the people who support us,” Hughes said. “Michael Brown supports us. I have no problem with him.”
In other Council races, acting Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) is considered the strong favorite to win election as permanent Council chair in a Nov. 6 special election to fill the unexpired term of Council Chair Kwame Brown (D-At-Large), who resigned earlier this year after being indicted on corruption related charges.
Mendelson is being challenged by Democrat Calvin Gurley, who expressed mixed views on LGBT issues during a bid for a Council seat two years ago.
Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), another longtime supporter of LGBT rights, is running unopposed as is Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), another strong supporter of LGBT equality.
Former D.C. Mayor and Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) – both considered strong supporters of the LGBT community in past years – lost support from many of their LGBT allies in 2009 when the two voted against the same-sex marriage law.
The law passed by a vote of 11 to 2, with Barry and Alexander emerging as the only ones to vote no. Both said their constituents were strongly opposed to same-sex marriage. Both also told LGBT activists they remain strong supporters of LGBT equality on nearly all other issues. At an endorsement meeting for the Stein Club earlier this year, Barry pointed out that he was among the nation’s strongest politicians backing gay rights during his years as D.C. mayor in the 1980s and 1990s.
Although the Stein Club had endorsed Barry and Alexander four years ago, Stein members chose not to endorse the two Council members this year. Most political observers, however, consider Barry and Alexander the odds on favorites to win re-election.
The two are being challenged by the two co-founders of Peaceoholics, a city anti-gang youth organization that has received millions of dollars in city funding. Co-founder Ron Moten is running as a Republican against Alexander. The other co-founder, Jauhar Abraham, is running as an independent against Barry. Mouten has pointed out that Peaceoholics has provided support services to LGBT youths affiliated with Checkit, a group with mostly gay and transgender members.
In the race for the city’s so-called “shadow”seat for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Stein Club has endorsed Democrat Nate Bennett-Fleming, who has expressed strong support for LGBT issues. He is being challenged by Statehood Green Party candidate G. Lee Aikin.
In the contest for the shadow U.S. Senate seat, D.C. Log Cabin-endorsed Nelson Rimensnyder is running as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Michael D. Brown, who is unrelated to Council member Michael A. Brown. Statehood Green Party candidate David Schwartzman is also competing for the seat. The city created the shadow congressional seats as unpaid advocacy positions to push for D.C. statehood and D.C. congressional voting rights. The positions have no voting rights or other privileges in Congress.
At least 20 out gays, and possibly far more, are running for seats to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, which were created as citizen advisory bodies to assist D.C. agencies on neighborhood issues such as trash collection, crime, and liquor licenses for bars and restaurants. There are 296 total seats.
The Washington Blade will provide a full report of the LGBT ANC candidates as they become fully identified in the next few weeks.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to RODRIGO HENG-LEHTINEN on his new role as Trevor Project Senior Vice President of Public Engagement Campaigns. On accepting the position, he said, “My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being perceived as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people – your friends, your families, your neighbors. Now I get to focus on that 100% at The Trevor Project.”
Prior to this, he was executive director, Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), where he co-led the merger of two national transgender rights organizations, NCTE and TDLEF, to create the new organization. He had served as executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, leading that organization through a period of growth, restoring organizational size and stability. He had served as deputy executive director prior to that. Previously he served as vice president of Public Education, Freedom for All Americans, where he led a successful campaign for transgender nondiscrimination protections in New Hampshire. He oversaw a full range of legislative lobbying, field organizing, and communications strategies and oganized a leadership coalition, established structure, and divided roles for key committees of 17 state and national partner organizations and local activists.
Heng-Lehtinen conducted English-language interviews with outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico. He planned a Transgender Leadership Summit for the Transgender Law Center and served as Development & Donor Services Assistant, Liberty Hill Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Brown University.
Local
D.C., Va., Md. to commemorate World AIDS Day
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a Mass, candlelight prayer vigil
The D.C. area will observe World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through a variety of community events.
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor the individuals affected by the epidemic. The global theme for 2025 is “overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.”
Washington
DC Health will host a World AIDS Day event at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from noon to 9 p.m on Dec. 1. Attendees can expect live performances, free food and free HIV testing.
The all-day event will also feature community resources from DC Health, DC Public Library, DC Health Link, Serve DC, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation is partnering with Visual AIDS, a New York-based non-profit that uses art to fight AIDS, to reflect on World AIDS Day with a film screening on Dec. 1.
The David Bethuel Jamieson Studio House at Walbridge in Mount Pleasant will premiere “Meet Us Where We’re At,” an hour-long collection of six videos. The free screening highlights the complexity of drug use in intersection with the global HIV epidemic.
The videos, commissioned by artists in Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and Vietnam, showcase the firsthand experience of drug users, harm reduction programs, and personal narratives. The program intends to showcase drug users as key individuals in the global response to HIV.
In addition to streaming the videos, the event will include an evening potluck and conversation led by Peter Stebbins from 6-8 p.m.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a 5:30 p.m. Mass and candlelight prayer vigil at 6 p.m. in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The event is open to all and includes a subsequent reception at 6:30 p.m.
The Capital Jewish Museum is hosting a speaker series on Dec. 2 from 6:30-8 p.m. that explores the response to AIDS within the Jewish community. Speakers include LGBTQ psychiatrist Jeffrey Akman, physician assistant Barbara Lewis and Larry Neff, lay service leader at Bet Mishpachah, a synagogue founded by LGBTQ Washingtonians. Heather Alt, deputy director of nursing at Whitman-Walker Health, will moderate the event.
The program is free for museum members. General admission is $10 and Chai tickets, which help subsidize the cost of general admission, are $18. Tickets include access to LGBT Jews in the Federal City, a temporary exhibition that collectively explores Washington, Judaism, and LGBTQ history. The exhibition is on view through Jan. 4, 2026.
Virginia
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and local residents will commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 at the Lee Center.
The event, which is free to attend, will include music, choir performances, educational moments and more. The commemoration will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
The Frederick Center will host talks, tabling and a raffle in honor of World AIDS Day. The Frederick County Health Department will conduct free HIV testing.
The event, which is free to attend, will be held on Nov. 30 from 1-4 p.m. The Frederick County Health Department always offers free, walk-in HIV testing on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will host a community day of awareness in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 6 from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event will feature free, confidential HIV testing, private talks with medical professionals and health workshops.
The event will be held at Suitland Community Center in Forestville and will include breakfast and snacks.
Damien Ministries is commemorating World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through the grand opening of the We the People Community & Wellness Collaborative. The event, held at 11:30 a.m. at 4061 Minnesota Avenue, N.E., is free to attend.
Damien Ministries is a faith-based non-profit committed to supporting those with HIV/AIDS.
Begin Anew, a Baltimore non-profit that provides education, outreach and resources to improve public health, wellness and economic stability, is hosting its 4th Annual World AIDS Day Community Celebration on Dec. 1 alongside community partners.
Hosted at the University of Maryland BioPark from noon to 3 p.m., the program will feature keynote speaker Jason E. Farley of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The celebration will also dedicate awards to local heroes focused on fighting HIV/AIDS and promoting health equity.
The free event includes lunch, live entertainment and networking opportunities with health advocates and partners.
District of Columbia
Bowser announces she will not seek fourth term as mayor
‘It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, announced on Nov. 25 that she will not run for a fourth term.
Since first taking office as mayor in January 2015, Bowser has been an outspoken supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ related issues, including marriage equality and services for LGBTQ youth and seniors.
Local LGBTQ advocates have also praised Bowser for playing a leading role in arranging for widespread city support in the city’s role as host for World Pride 2025 in May and June, when dozens of LGBTQ events took place throughout the city.
She has also been credited with expanding the size and funding for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which was put in place as a Cabinet level office by the D.C. Council in 2006 under the administration of then-Mayor Anthony Williams.
It was initially called the Office of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Affairs. At Bowser’s request, the D.C. Council in 2016 agreed to change the name as part of the fiscal year 2016 budget bill to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs.
As she has in numerous past appearances at LGBTQ events, Bowser last month greeted the thousands of people who attended the annual LGBTQ Halloween 17th Street High Heel Race from a stage by shouting that D.C. is the “gayest city in the world.”
In a statement released after she announced she would not run for a fourth term in office; Bowser reflected on her years as mayor.
“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor,” she said. “When you placed your trust in me 10 years ago, you gave me an extraordinary opportunity to have a positive impact on my hometown,” her statement continues.
“Together, you and I have built a legacy of success of which I am immensely proud. My term will end on Jan. 2, 2027. But until then, let’s run through the tape and keep winning for D.C,” her statement concludes.
Among the LGBTQ advocates commenting on Bowser’s decision not to run again for mayor was Howard Garrett, president of D.C.’s Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of the city’s largest local LGBTQ political groups.
“I will say from a personal capacity that Mayor Bowser has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. “I think she has done a great job with ensuring that our community has been protected and making sure we have the resources needed to be protected when it comes to housing, public safety and other areas.”
Garrett also praised Bowser’s appointment of LGBTQ advocate Japer Bowles as director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs,
“Under the leadership of the mayor, Japer has done a fantastic job in ensuring that we have what we need and other organizations have what they need to prosper,” Garrett said.
Cesar Toledo, executive director of the D.C. based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth, credits Bowser with transforming the Office of LGBTQ Affairs “into the largest and most influential community affairs agency of its kind in the nation, annually investing more than $1 million into life-saving programs.”
Toledo added, “Because of the consistent support of Mayor Bowser and her administration, the Wanda Alston Foundation has strengthened and expanded its housing and counseling programs, ensuring that more at-risk queer and trans youth receive the safety, stability, and life-saving care they deserve.”
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein is among those who have said they have mixed reactions to Bowser’s decision not to run again.
“I am sorry for the city but happy for her that she will now be able to focus on her family, and her incredible daughter,” Rosenstein said.
“She has worked hard, and done great things for D.C,” Rosenstein added. “Those include being a stalwart supporter of the LGBTQ community, working to rebuild our schools, recreation centers, libraries, gaining the RFK site for the city, and maintaining home rule. She will be a very hard act to follow.”
Local gay activist David Hoffman is among those in the city who have criticized Bowser for not taking a stronger and more vocal position critical of President Donald Trump on a wide range of issues, including Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers to patrol D.C. streets. Prior to Bowser’s announcement that she is not running again for mayor, Hoffman said he would not support Bowser’s re-election and would urge the LGBTQ community to support another candidate for mayor.
Bowser supporters have argued that Bowser’s interactions with the Trump-Vance administration, including her caution about denouncing the president, were based on her and other city officials’ desire to protect the interests of D.C. and D.C.’s home rule government. They point out that Trump supporters, including Republican members of Congress, have called on Trump to curtail or even end D.C. home rule.
Most political observers are predicting a highly competitive race among a sizable number of candidates expected to run for mayor in the 2026 D.C. election. Two D.C. Council members have said they were considering a run for mayor before Bowser’s withdrawal.
They include Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who identifies as a democratic socialist, and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who is considered a political moderate supportive of community-based businesses. Both have expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community.
The Washington Post reports that Bowser declined to say in an interview whether she will endorse a candidate to succeed her or what she plans to do after she leaves office as mayor.
Among her reasons for not running again, she told the Post, was “we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish.”
Comings & Goings
Impulse Group DC to host fundraiser
Calendar: November 28-December 4
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D.C. theater scene has something for everyone this holiday season
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Pattie Gonia calls out Hegseth’s anti-LGBTQ policies — while doing better pull-ups
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