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Mendelson wins top GLAA rating for D.C. Council

Grosso, Brown take high scores for at-large Council contest

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Phil Mendelson, Washington D.C., Washington Blade, gay news
Phil Mendelson, D.C. Council, Washington Blade, gay news

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) received GLAA’s highest possible score in his race for City Council Chair. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) received a +10 rating from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, the highest possible score, in his race for the position of City Council Chair.

Mendelson, a long-time supporter of LGBT rights who played the lead role in shepherding the city’s same-sex marriage law though the Council, is considered the strong favorite to beat Democratic challenger Calvin Gurley in a Nov. 6 special election.

GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10, the worst possible rating, to +10, the highest score.

In the general election race for two at-large Council seats, GLAA gave challenger David Grosso, an independent, a +9 rating compared to a +7.5 rating for incumbent Michael A. Brown, who’s also an independent.

In a statement announcing its ratings, GLAA, a non-partisan LGBT advocacy organization, said Grosso and Brown are equally supportive on the issues deemed important by GLAA and both have strong records of support on those issues.

The statement says Grosso received the higher score based on the “substance” of his answers to a GLAA questionnaire, which asks candidates to provide detailed responses to a wide range of LGBT-related issues as well as a few non-LGBT specific issues.

In a development likely to raise concern among some LGBT Democrats, GLAA gave incumbent Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) a +0.5 rating, saying Orange disagrees with GLAA on a number of issues and “showed no understanding of the issues in his questionnaire” responses.

The GLAA ratings came out on Oct. 10, the same day that the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, voted to endorse Orange’s re-election bid. His supporters among club members say he has shown overall support on most LGBT issues.

Most political observers believe Orange and Brown remain the strong favorites to win re-election, with Grosso considered the challenger with the best shot at pulling off an upset victory by winning one of the two seats.

Others running for the at-large seats who were rated by GLAA are independent A.J. Cooper (+4); Leon Swain Jr. (+4), Statehood Green Party candidate Ann Wilcox (0); and Republican Mary Brooks Beatty (0). GLAA said Wilcox and Beatty failed to return the questionnaire, resulting in an automatic 0 rating absent credible information about their records or positions on LGBT issues.

The Log Cabin Republicans of D.C. endorsed Beatty.

In other Council races, GLAA gave a -3.5 rating to incumbent Council members Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). Both voted against the same-sex marriage law when it came up for a vote in the Council in 2009. GLAA says Barry lost additional points for speaking at an anti-gay rally calling for the Council to defeat the marriage equality law.

The group says Alexander lost additional points for introducing an amendment to the same-sex marriage bill that would have “effectively removed protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act on the basis of sexual orientation.” The amendment died in committee.

GLAA gave Alexander’s Republican challenger, Ron Moten, a +1.5 rating and Barry’s independent challenger Jauhar Abraham a 0 rating. Both failed to return the questionnaire, but GLAA said Moten scored points for his record of providing services to LGBT youth through his organization Peaceoholics.

In the remaining two Council races, LGBT supportive incumbents Jack Evans (D-Ward 3) and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) are running unopposed. GLAA gave Evans a +8.5 rating and Bowser a +6.5.

In the at-large race, LGBT activists appear to be dividing their support between Orange, Brown and Grosso, who has been aggressively courting the gay vote, according to some observers.

Brown supporters say Brown expended political capital in sections of the city dominated by conservative black voters in an effort to campaign for the same-sex marriage law, saying they believe he worked hard to persuade black clergy to support marriage equality.

Grosso supporters say Grosso was a behind-the-scenes advocate for LGBT rights while working for pro-gay Congresswoman Norton and pro-gay former Council member Ambrose.

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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.

A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.

The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals

Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

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Deacon Maccubbin attends the 2024 Capital Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.

The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Laverne Cox (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.

Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.

Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”

“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”

“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.

The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.

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PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride

Schuyler Bailar gives keynote address

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D.C. Trans Pride 2025 was held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on May 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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