Local
Stein Club won’t endorse for ‘non-Democratic’ at-large Council seat
GOProud endorses gay libertarian over Norton for D.C. congressional seat
GOProud, the national LGBT conservative group, whose Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia is pictured here, endorsed gay Libertarian Party candidate Bruce Majors, who is running against Eleanor Holmes Norton for the city’s congressional delegate seat. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, was unable to make an endorsement Tuesday night in the hotly contested race for an at-large D.C. Council seat that must go to a non-Democratic candidate.
Incumbent Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At-Large) came in first place with 48.6 percent of the vote and challenger David Grosso, also an independent, came in second with 40.5 percent in a second ballot vote as announced by Stein Club President Lateefah Williams. A vote for the option of “no endorsement” came to 10.8 percent.
Brown fell short of a required 60 percent vote needed for an endorsement under the Stein Club’s rules.
“It is an honor to have received the [most] votes from the members of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and to be recognized for my one-hundred percent record on LGBTQ issues,” Brown said in a statement released Wednesday.
Grosso, who, like Brown, is campaigning aggressively for votes from the LGBT community, said he was pleased with the support he received as a candidate with less name recognition than Brown.
“Given my first shot at this, I’m really pleased with the outcome,” he said following the vote. “I had a lot of great supporters in the crowd tonight and it was an honor to be here and do this.”
In a first ballot vote, Brown received 43.6 percent of the vote compared to 38.5 percent received by Grosso. Independent candidate A.J. Cooper received 5.1 percent of the first ballot vote and Statehood Green Party candidate Ann Wilcox received 2.6 percent in the first ballot competition, according to Williams.The option of “no endorsement” received 7.7 percent of the vote in the first ballot round.
Cooper and Wilcox were eliminated in the second ballot runoff, which is limited to the two highest vote-getters under club rules.
Williams said 39 club members voted in first round of voting and 37 members voted in the second ballot round.
The vote took place following a Stein Club sponsored forum in which the four candidates appeared at the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Center meeting hall, where the event was held.
Independent candidate Leon Swain Jr. and Republican candidate Mary Brooks Beatty didn’t attend the forum and the two received no votes from club members.
On the Nov. 6 election ballot, city voters have the option of voting for any two of the seven candidates competing for two at-large seats in play, including incumbent Democrat Vincent Orange, who won the Stein Club endorsement earlier this month and didn’t participate in the club’s forum on Tuesday. Although a Democrat, or majority party candidate, is only eligible for one of the two seats, under the city’s election law a non-Democrat can hold both seats if he or she comes in first and second place and the Democrat finishes third or lower.
However, a Democrat has won one of the two at-large seats in every election since the city’s modern home rule government was put in place in 1974.
The four candidates that participated in Tuesday night’s Stein Club forum answered a wide range of questions on LGBT and non-LGBT issues from longtime D.C. Democratic activist and city voting rights advocate Eugene Kinlow, who served as moderator. The candidates also responded to written questions submitted by members of the audience.
All four expressed strong support for LGBT equality, including same-sex marriage rights. But it became clear from audience members that Brown and Grosso had the most support. According to club members, Brown has voted for, introduced, or signed on as a co-sponsor to virtually all LGBT supportive bills or amendments that have come before the Council since he first won election to the seat in 2008
Grosso noted during the forum that he has worked on LGBT related issues as a staff member to former D.C. Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6), who now serves as his campaign chairperson; and for Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). Norton and Ambrose are considered among the city’s strongest LGBT community supporters who have held elective office.
Gay libertarian challenges Norton
In other local election news, gay Libertarian Party candidate Bruce Majors, who is running against Norton for the city’s congressional delegate seat, won the endorsement this week of GOProud, the national LGBT conservative group that has also endorsed Mitt Romney for president.
“I am running to give people someone to vote for, and to build the local Libertarian Party, and to get the minimum number of votes for them to get ballot status so they can run multiple candidates without the oppressive expense of collecting 5000 signatures for each one each time,” Majors told the Blade.
Majors is one of 24 U.S. House candidates endorsed by GOProud and the one only who isn’t a Republican.
Stein Club set to honor activists at leadership awards event
The Stein Club was scheduled to honor six LGBT activists and one organization Thursday night at its 36th Anniversary Leadership Awards reception for their distinguished serve to the LGBT community. The honorees include:
- Paul Kuntzler, Stein Club co-founder, Dr. Frank Kameny Pioneer Award
- Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Richard Rausch Equality Award
- Danielle Moodie-Mills, advisor for LGBT Policy and Racial Justice, Center for American Progress, Michael Bustamonte and James Zais Political Development Award
- David Perez, president, Latino GLBT History Project, Justice Award
- Jeri Hughes, Transgender Advocate, Transgender Health Empowerment, Heil-Balin Community Service Award
- Greg Cendana, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Desi Deschaine Young Democrat of the Year Award
- Jerame Davis, Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats, Wanda Alston Democratic Service Award
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
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