Local
Tim Day endorses Anita Bonds
Move to back Democrat by gay Republican surprises many in his party
Tim Day (Photo courtesy of Tim Day)
Gay Republican Tim Day, who was endorsed by the Washington Post last year in his unsuccessful run for the Ward 5 City Council seat, has surprised fellow Republicans by endorsing Democrat Anita Bonds in this year’s special election for an at-large Council seat.
Day’s decision to back Bonds over Republican contender Patrick Mara is expected to strain his ties with the D.C. Republican Party. He resigned as a member of the D.C. Republican Committee after informing party leaders he would be backing Bonds instead of Mara.
Bonds and Mara are strong supporters of LGBT rights. Both supported the city’s same-sex marriage law before the City Council passed it in 2009.
The D.C. Democratic State Committee, which Bonds chaired, appointed her in December to the at-large Council seat on an interim basis until the special election is held on April 23. The seat became vacant after Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) won election last year as Council chair.
Bonds and Mara are among 20 candidates competing for the seat in what many political observers say will be a low turnout election in which Mara has a shot at winning. Some political pundits say the Democratic candidates – including former Council member Michael Brown, former City Paper columnist Elissa Silverman and D.C. voting rights activist John Capozzi – will likely split the Democratic vote, enabling Mara to win if large numbers of Republicans and independents turn out to vote for him.
Day told the Blade he and Bonds, a Ward 5 resident, are longtime friends. He said Bonds, 67, has a wealth of experience in local government and politics and would continue to be an excellent Council member.
The deadline for the 20 candidates who entered the race to submit their nominating petitions to the D.C. Board of Elections was the end of the business day on Wednesday.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
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)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
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.
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.
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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