Local
Mayor names new GLBT Affairs director
Sterling Washington lands the job; D.C. Center finds new home
Standing with openly gay DC Council member Jim Graham (right), Mayor Vincent Gray named longtime local activist Sterling Washington (left) to the post of GLBT Affairs director this week. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced at a news conference Tuesday night that he has appointed longtime gay activist Sterling Washington as the new director of the Mayor’s Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs.
At the same news conference Gray announced the city has accepted a bid by the D.C. LGBT Community Center to rent store front space in the city’s Reeves Center, an eight-story office and retail building located in the heart of the 14th and U Streets, N.W., entertainment district.
The mayor’s dual announcement drew applause from more than 50 LGBT activists who assembled in the Reeves Center’s first floor atrium, steps away from the interior entrance to the Center’s soon-to-be-opened offices.
“What a great time of the year to be able to make the announcement,” Gray told the gathering. “We are at the day when there will be a permanent home for the D.C. Center.”
Gray was referring to the D.C. Center’s years-long search for a permanent location that has brought it to at least three temporary locations over the past several years.
Its current home at 1318 U St., N.W., less than a block away from the Reeves Center, is about to be razed to make way for a new high-rise office and residential building similar to numerous other buildings popping up in the booming neighborhood.
In announcing Washington’s appointment to head the Office of GLBT Affairs, Gray said he is certain Washington will continue the office’s high standards set by his predecessor, Jeffrey Richardson.
Richardson left the GLBT Affairs post last month after Gray appointed him as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism, which is also known as Serve D.C.
Washington, 39, is a D.C. native with a political science degree from George Washington University and a music degree from Howard University. Among his numerous LGBT community activities, he was co-founder of the Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay Organization of Students at Howard known then as BLAGOSAH.
He worked as a presidential appointee in the Clinton administration in the 1990s and later worked for the D.C. HIV/AIDS services and prevention organization Us Helping Us. Washington currently serves as resources and grant development manager at the Center for Black Equity, which was formerly called the International Federation of Black Prides.
“Sterling Washington is well acquainted with a broad swath of the District’s LGBT community, and I expect him to be a natural fit for this important role,” Gray said.
“I’m proud that D.C. is a national and international leader in protecting our residents’ rights regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and Sterling is eminently qualified to continue the excellent work that Jeffrey Richardson has done in ensuring we continue to be a city that values safety and equality for all,” the mayor said.
“I’m honored to serve under Mayor Gray, who has a very clear outline of what he wants the LGBT community to be,” Washington told the Blade. “All of his priorities are integrating every member of the LGBT community into the city as part of his One City Action Plan.”
Washington said he will remain in his current job for the next few weeks and is scheduled to begin as director of the GLBT Affairs Office on Jan. 7.
D.C. Center President Michael Sessa said the developer that owns the building where the Center is currently housed had offered the Center a $15,000 rent rebate if it vacates the premises by Dec. 31.
Sessa said that as recently as Monday, with the Center still searching for a new home, it appeared that it would have to stay in its current building a while longer and miss out on the rebate offer.
But to his and Center Executive Director David Mariner’s amazement and delight, an official with the D.C. Department of General Services informed the Center late Monday afternoon that the city had accepted the Center’s bid for the Reeves Center space.
“We’ll be calling on volunteers and lining up help to move into the new space as best we can by the 31st,” Sessa said.
The D.C. Center’s new location at the Reeves Center consists of 2,468 square feet of space and it includes a street entrance on 14th Street as well as an interior entrance, according to Darrell Pressley, a spokesperson for the Department of General Services.
Sessa said the new space is about double that of the current space. He said the rent will be $4,000 per month, a figure between 50 percent and 60 percent below market value for rent in the area.
Sessa and Mariner said the below market rent is part of a city program that seeks to bring in community services to the bustling business and residential area as a means of enhancing the neighborhood and the community.
The rental agreement allows the Center to remain in the space for up to 15 years.
“The D.C. Center participated in a competitive bidding process for the space that included both non-profits and local businesses, submitting their original proposal in April 2012,” the Center said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday night.
“In June of 2012 the D.C. Center was notified they were not selected for the space,” the statement says. “The business that won the initial bid, however, decided not to move forward with the project, and the D.C. Center had the opportunity to resubmit their proposal in October 2012.”
Mariner said nine members of the D.C. City Council wrote letters in support of the Center’s bid for the Reeves Center space. He said gay Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who spoke at Monday’s news conference, was especially helpful in advocating for the Center to obtain the Reeves Center space, which is located in Ward 1.
In his remarks at the news conference, Graham thanked Gray for taking the lead in creating an atmosphere in the city supportive of LGBT equality.
“It’s just an enormous sigh of relief to see that the District of Columbia, which cares so much about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community and to say, ‘We want you at the Reeves Center at 14th and U,” Graham said.
“And we want you there for 15 years and we want you there for a reasonable rent, and we want you to feel secure,” he said. “I think the first person to thank for this and the attitude and fortitude that he brings to all of this is the Mayor of the District of Columbia, Vincent C. Gray. Thank you.”
Mariner said the rental agreement at the Reeves Center requires the Center to pay for renovations needed to convert what had been a restaurant into office and meeting space for the numerous LGBT groups that use the center for meetings and office space.
“As we move forward we are counting on our supporters to help with the renovation, both financially and with ‘sweat equity’” Mariner said. “We have a unique opportunity to create a space that we can be proud to call our own for the next 15 years, and a big job ahead of us.”
District of Columbia
D.C. LGBTQ community to gather for post-election dialogue
Dec. 12 event to address federal workers’ rights, immigration, more
Several leading LGBTQ organizations in D.C. are coming together to make sense of the recent election and to discuss the future of advocacy and resilience as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
With Republicans in firm control of the federal government after winning majorities in the House and Senate, many are concerned about attacks on the LGBTQ community, including Trump’s pledge to ban trans people from serving in the military. In addition, many LGBTQ federal workers have expressed concerns about being targeted for reassignment or termination, as outlined in Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for Trump’s second term.
In response, D.C.’s LGBTQ community is coming together for an event on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.) featuring an array of speakers who will address issues, including: anticipated policy shifts; community resilience strategies; legal rights; immigration advocacy; and federal workers’ rights.
The event, titled, “Charting Our Future: LGBTQ+ Advocacy & Resilience in a Changing Landscape” is free; visit washingtonblade.com/future to RSVP.
The event is being hosted by the Washington Blade and includes community partners: the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, HME Consulting & Advocacy, Eaton DC, DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, Capital Pride Alliance, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs. Heidi Ellis of the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition will moderate. A list of speakers will be released later this week.
District of Columbia
Casa Ruby receiver files for bankruptcy
Jan. 21 deadline set for creditors, former employees to apply for reimbursement
In a little-noticed development, the Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the D.C. LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August 2022 under a court-appointed receivership role, filed a petition on Aug. 27 of this year to place Casa Ruby in bankruptcy.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, says Casa Ruby has estimated liabilities to at least 50 creditors of more than $1 million and estimated assets of between $0 and $50,000.
Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services to homeless LGBTQ youth, said Casa Ruby currently has no known financial assets, including cash.
He said the bankruptcy petition’s estimated assets of up to $50,000 are based on a pending lawsuit that the Alston Foundation filed against eight former Casa Ruby board members and Casa Ruby’s founder and former executive director Ruby Corado in December 2022. The lawsuit accuses the board of violating D.C.’s nonprofit corporation law by failing to exercise oversight over Casa Ruby’s operations that led to its financial collapse and shutdown in 2022.
The lawsuit calls on the court to require Corado and the former board members to pay “restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneys’ fees, and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper.”
A D.C. Superior Court judge on May 1, 2023, dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Alston Foundation against all but one of the former Casa Ruby board members but did not dismiss the case against Corado.
The Alston Foundation has appealed the ruling dismissing the lawsuit, and the case is now pending before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
The lawsuit also alleges that the board failed to adequately oversee the actions of Corado, who pleaded guilty in July of this year to a charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors.
The charge to which Corado pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer-backed emergency COVID relief funds” awarded to Casa Ruby to “private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Corado, who initially denied the allegations against her, is currently staying with a family member in Rockville, Md., in a home detention arrangement following her arrest by the FBI on March 5 of this year. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson stated that her decision to dismiss the lawsuit against seven of the eight former board members was based on her interpretation of D.C. law. She said she believes the law holds that members of an organization’s board of directors can only be held liable for harming an organization like Casa Ruby if they “intentionally, rather than negligently, inflicted harm on Casa Ruby.”
The judge said she did not dismiss the case against one of the board members because the lawsuit presents evidence that the board member received some financial benefits from Corado.
In a legal brief filed with the appeals court, the Alston Foundation attorneys state that evidence shows the Casa Ruby board members “were deliberately indifferent or ‘willfully blind’ to the alleged wrongful conduct of the nonprofit’s executive director amounting to actual knowledge on their part that inaction would harm the nonprofit, ultimately and forcibly leading to its financial inability to continue operation.”
The former board members have declined requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Harrison, the attorney representing the Alston Foundation in the bankruptcy filing, said anyone who is owed money by Casa Ruby has until Jan. 21 to file a “proof of claim” form with the bankruptcy court to be eligible to be compensated if funds become available.
At the time of Casa Ruby’s shutdown, the organization’s employees were among those who said they were not paid in the months or weeks prior to the shutdown.
Asked what prompted the Alston Foundation to file the bankruptcy petition on behalf of Casa Ruby, Harris said, “Filing the bankruptcy petition ensures that a trustee with the appropriate expertise can wrap up the remaining issues while allowing the Wanda Alston Foundation to stay focused on its core mission.”
U.S. Bankruptcy Court records show that one of the officials in charge of collecting proof of claim forms for those owed money is Mark E. Albert, a court appointed Trustee for the bankruptcy filing. Court records show he can be reached at 202-728-3020.
Rehoboth Beach
Adult suspect pleads guilty to Rehoboth Beach hate crime
Case pending for five juveniles charged in targeting women for harassment
A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct in connection with an Aug. 17 incident in which five juveniles and one adult were arrested for allegedly targeting three women for harassment on a street in Rehoboth Beach based on their perception of the victims’ sexual orientation.
Lt. Mark Sweet, a spokesperson for the Rehoboth Beach Police Department, said the adult suspect in the case, Jerome Charleston, was sentenced to a fine of $100 plus court costs at a Sept. 18 arraignment in which he pleaded guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct.
A statement released by Rehoboth police at the time of the incident says it occurred on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 2 a.m. at Baltimore Avenue and Second Street. The statement says three women flagged down a police officer after a vehicle drove past them and then came to a stop.
According to the statement, five juveniles exited the vehicle and approached the women, making statements that their behavior in public was not appropriate. During the exchange, the statement continues, one of the juveniles fired an Airsoft gun at the women and all five returned to the vehicle and fled the area.
Airsoft guns are replica guns designed to shoot non-metallic projectiles. No injuries were reported in the incident.
The police statement says officers in nearby Dewey Beach located the vehicle and apprehended the five juveniles and an adult driving the vehicle.
“Once in custody, it was determined that the only reason the suspects stopped to confront the victims was due to their perception of the victims’ sexual orientation,” the Rehoboth police statement says.
The police statement says three of the juveniles arrested in the case, two of whom were 15 years old and the other 14, were from Rehoboth Beach. It says another youth, age 14, was from nearby Lewes, and the other, at age 15, was from nearby Blades, Del.
The statement says each of the juveniles was charged with Aggravated Menacing, a felony; and the misdemeanor counts of Offensive Touching, Conspiracy in the Third Degree, Disorderly Conduct, and a Hate Crime.
Charleston, the only adult in the case, was charged with Disorderly Conduct, which is a misdemeanor.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine the status of the case against the juveniles. Police spokesperson Sweet said those cases were still pending and Rehoboth Police could not comment further on those cases.
In most jurisdictions, including Delaware, juvenile cases are kept confidential and are not part of the public court records.
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