News
Rep. Cicilline wins re-election in R.I.
Gay former mayor of Providence won re-election to Congress on Tuesday in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Gay Rep. David Cicilline won re-election to Congress on Tuesday from Rhode Island.
Cicilline, a former two-term mayor of Providence, should have had a relatively easy race for a second term in office in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 3 to 1 margin, according to most political observers in Rhode Island.
But the openly gay Democratic congressman became the target of intense criticism by both Republicans and many Democrats last year when news surfaced that he allegedly concealed a $110 million or greater budget deficit for Providence during his last year as mayor.
Earlier this year, Cicilline apologized for a remark he made while campaigning for his first term in the House in 2010 that Providence’s finances were in “excellent” shape, saying his choice of words was not accurate.
Anthony Gemma, his challenger in the Democratic primary, raised the Providence fiscal issue as a major part of his campaign. However, Cicilline won the primary with 60 percent of the vote, leading some to believe that voters might not hold the Providence budget shortfall against Cicilline, who argued that it was due mostly to the national recession and a large cutback in city funding by the state government.
Doherty, however, raised the issue in the general election campaign, saying Cicilline’s handling of the city’s fiscal issues raised serious questions about his character and credibility.
Ray Sullivan, campaign director for Marriage Equality Rhode Island, a statewide group advocating for a same-sex marriage law before the state legislature, said that while Doherty expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, neither he nor his campaign raised same-sex marriage or other LGBT issues to attack Cicilline.
Cicilline is a strong supporter of marriage equality and is a co-sponsor of a House bill to repeal the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act. He’s also a co-sponsor of all other LGBT supportive bills pending in Congress, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.
Sullivan and others supporting Cicilline said Doherty, while steering clear of gay rights issues, unleashed a barrage of negative TV ads attacking Cicilline on non-LGBT issues. One accused Cicilline of having ties to a child molester and murderer whom Cicilline represented in court more than 20 years ago when he worked as a defense lawyer.
“What do a child molester, a murder and a violent attacker all have in common? Defense attorney David Cicilline,” said the narrator of the ad, which was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said the ad represented the worst form of “gutter politics.” Other Cicilline supporters denounced the ad for seeking to link Cicilline to the acts of criminals that lawyers have a duty to represent in court under the nation’s criminal justice system.
Six months ago, prior to the Democratic primary, polls showed Cicilline trailing Doherty by more than 10 points, but by early October Cicilline made what some called a remarkable recovery, gaining a six point lead over Doherty. But following the attack ads by Doherty in October, Cicilline’s lead narrowed to just one point less than a week before the election in what most pollsters called a statistical tie.
Former President Bill Clinton was among a long list of prominent Democrats who endorsed Cicilline. The Providence Journal, which endorsed Cicilline two years ago, endorsed Doherty this time.
Belarus
Belarusian president signs bill to allow LGBTQ rights crackdown
Alexander Lukashenko known as ‘Europe’s last dictator’
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday signed a bill that will allow his government to crack down on LGBTQ advocacy.
The measure that Lukashenko, who is known as “Europe’s last dictator” and is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed would punish anyone found guilty of “propaganda of homosexual relations, gender change, refusal to have children, and pedophilia” with fines, community labor, and 15 days in jail.
The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, last month approved the bill. The Council of the Republic, which is the parliament’s upper chamber, passed it on April 2.
Belarus borders Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Kazakhstan is among the countries that have enacted Russian-style anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws in recent years.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over its anti-LGBTQ propaganda law. Hungarian voters on April 12 ousted Viktor Orbán, a Putin ally who had been their country’s prime minister since 2010.
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
National
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
Capitol Police arrested five protesters
A group of protesters interrupted Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought during his testimony before Congress on Wednesday.
Vought was at the Cannon House Office Building to give testimony to the House Budget Committee.
Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) began the hearing by touting what he described as economic accomplishments of the Trump-Vance administration’s economic accomplishments. Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) disputed those claims in his opening statement.
Boyle went on to admonish Vought for not attending a committee hearing in the previous year.
Vought, the “Project 2025” architect, was invited to speak after Arrington and Boyle made their statements.
Shortly after Vought began reading his statement, Housing Works CEO Charles King stood up in the gallery and began shouting, “PEPFAR saves lives: spend the money!”
The U.S. Capitol Police moved quickly to escort King from the room. Other activists began chanting with King as they unfolded signs bearing a picture of Vought’s face and statements such as, “Vought’s cuts kill people with AIDS,” and “Protect PEPFAR from Vought.”
The group of HIV/AIDS activists included independent activists, former U.S. Agency for International Development and PEPFAR staff, members of Health GAP, Housing Works, and the Treatment Action Group. Six activists were escorted from the hearing and the U.S. Capitol Police detained five of them.
The HIV/AIDS treatment activists protested at the hearing in response to the dismantling of global health programs, including PEPFAR, a federally-funded program credited with saving millions of lives from HIV/AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Russell Vought is directly responsible for illegally withholding Congressionally appropriated funds for PEPFAR and related global health initiative,” King said in a statement provided to the Washington Blade. “These funding disruptions have already contributed to preventable deaths and threaten to reverse decades of progress in the fight against HIV worldwide. Enough is enough. Congress must ensure Vought stops this deadly sabotage.”
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