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Gay Del. candidates lose bids for office

Andy Staton and Marie Mayor lost their bids to become first openly gay candidates elected to Del. legislature

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Andy Staton, Delaware, gay news, Washington Blade
Andy Staton, Delaware, gay news, Washington Blade

Andy Staton sought a seat in the Delaware Senate but fell short Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Prugallo.com)

Gay Democrats Andy Staton and Marie Mayor lost their bids to become the first openly gay candidates elected to the Delaware Legislature on Tuesday in districts where large numbers of LGBT people live.

Staton, a real estate agent in the popular gay beach resort town of Rehoboth Beach, ran for a seat in the Delaware Senate in a newly created district that included Rehoboth Beach and the nearby towns of Lewes, Dewey Beach and Milton.

Supporters believed Staton had a good chance of winning in the majority Democratic district, which was viewed as being more progressive-leaning than surrounding parts of Republican dominated Sussex County.

Final but unofficial returns from the Delaware Board of Elections show Staton received 42.7 percent of the vote compared to Republican challenger Ernesto Lopez, who received 56.1 percent. Libertarian candidate Gwendolyn Jones received 1.2 percent.

In a nearby district, lesbian businesswoman Marie Mayor was believed to have a shot at winning a seat in the Delaware House of Representatives in a district in Milton. Mayor received 46.8 percent of the vote, losing to Republican Stephen Smyk, who received 53.2 percent.

When asked why Staton and Mayor fell short of predictions by some that they were poised to win their races, gay Democratic activist PeterĀ Schott, an official with Stonewall Democrats of Delaware, said: ā€œItā€™s very simple. The whole county has become increasingly more Republican.ā€

Staton, who couldnā€™t immediately be reached for comment, told the Blade last week that he was optimistic about his prospects for winning.

ā€œPeople are responding overwhelmingly,ā€ he said, referring to his campaignā€™s TV ads.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, state Attorney General Beau Biden, U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper were among the big name elected officials that endorsed Staton.

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Maryland

Former College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn disbarred

One-time official serving 30-year prison sentence for child pornography possession, distribution

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Patrick Wojahn (Mugshot courtesy of the Prince George's County Police Department)

Patrick Wojahn, the former mayor of College Park who resigned after law enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant and discovered a ā€œvery large quantityā€ of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, has agreed to be disbarred in Maryland.

Wojahn, 49, a Democrat who served as mayor from 2015 to 2023, later pleaded guilty in Prince Georgeā€™s County Circuit Court to 140 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison ā€” plus five years of probation.

In an order on Friday, Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader granted a joint petition for disbarment by consent and noted that Wojahn agreed that his actions constituted professional misconduct.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Sentencing for Ruby Corado postponed for second time

Former Casa Ruby director pleaded guilty to wire fraud

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Ruby Coradoā€™s sentencing is now scheduled for April 29. (Washington Blade file photo by Ernesto Valle)

The sentencing in D.C. federal court for Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now-defunct LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, has been postponed for the second time, from March 28 to April 29.

A spokesperson for U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who is presiding over the case, said it was the judge who postponed the sentencing due to a scheduling conflict. The earlier postponement, from Jan. 10 to March 28, came at the request of Coradoā€™s attorney and was not opposed by prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 ā€œin taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,ā€ according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneyā€™s office.

Under the federal wire fraud law, for which Corado is being prosecuted, she could be subjected to a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution requiring her to repay the funds she allegedly stole.

Court observers, however, have said that due to Coradoā€™s decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty to the lesser charge, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.

An earlier criminal complaint filed against Corado, which has been replaced by the single charge to which she has pleaded guilty, came at the time the FBI arrested her on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador.

At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order. The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her March 5 arrest.

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Virginia

Pride Liberation Project announces additional Va. school board protests

Student-led group challenging Trump-Vance administrationā€™s anti-LGBTQ policies

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LGBTQ students demonstrate at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., in June 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Following their recent protests at school board meetings in Virginia to challenge the Trump-Vance administrationā€™s anti-LGBTQ policies, a student-led rights group on Wednesday outlined plans to continue their actions.

The Pride Liberation Project released a statement in early March announcing their ā€œMarch Month of Actionā€ after their first round of protests. The Pride Liberation Project on Wednesday issued another press release that provided additional details.

ā€œQueer students will rally at local school board meetings across Virginia, as they call for education leaders to reject the Trump-Muskā€™s administration escalating attacks against queer people.ā€ said Conifer Selintung on behalf of the Pride Liberation Project. ā€œSince taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has ignored the real issues facing our schools ā€” like declining reading scores and the mental health crisis ā€” and tried to bully queer students into the closet. Alongside other hateful attacks, theyā€™ve attacked nondiscrimination protections, banned gender-affirming care, and whitewashed history.ā€

The Pride Liberation Project press release also included a statement from Moth, an LGBTQ student at McLean High School.

ā€œI want to be able to go to school as myself, just like any other student,ā€ said Moth. ā€œTo do that, I need my school board to stand up to bullies.ā€

The Pride Liberation Project has also released a schedule of rallies it plans to hold this month.

The first rally took place at the Prince William County School Board meeting in Manassas on Wednesday. A second event took place at the Roanoke County School Board meeting on Thursday.

Additional rallies are scheduled to take place in Rockingham and York Counties on March 24, Loudoun County on March 25, and Fairfax County on March 27.

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