Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive healthcare center and medical clinic, is calling on D.C. residents and supporters to take part in its 40th annual Walk & 5K Run to End HIV scheduled to take place Saturday, Sept. 19.

The event, in which participants choose to walk or run, begins at 8:45 a.m. at the Roller Skating Pavilion at Anacostia Park located at 1500 Anacostia Drive, S.E. 

The route, similar to recent years, will take participants from the Skating Pavilion site going west along Anacostia Drive to the Poplar Point parking lot, where there will be a turn around to return along Anacostia Drive to the finish line at the Roller Skating Pavilion, according to Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore.  

“Held for the past 40 years, the Walk & 5K to End HIV is Whitman-Walker Health’s signature fundraiser that calls on thousands of Washington, D.C. area residents to lace up their shoes and walk or run to support WWH’s mission of providing dependable, high-quality, comprehensive and accessible health care to those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.

The statement says that at the completion of the walk and run, a stage program with live entertainment and family activities, including free snacks and drinks, will take place at the Anacostia Park Skating Pavilion from 9:30-11 a.m.

It says a free shuttle bus will be available to take participants from and to the Anacostia Metro station before and after the event takes place.

Among the event’s goals are “mobilizing attendees to walk and donate to sustain independent policy research, as well as raise their voices by contacting elected officials to protect the national commitment to end HIV by 2030,” the statement says. It adds that all donations are fully tax deductible and supporter checks should be made payable to Whitman-Walker Foundation.

Further information and registration for the walk and run can be accessed at www.walktoendHIV.org.

With experience as an economist, legislative staffer, and nonprofit director, Michael Smith is looking to protect Delaware from the Trump administration and become Delaware’s first openly LGBTQ treasurer. 

With a master’s degree in economics from the University of Alabama, Smith has worked as an economist at the Progressive Policy Institute, Secretariat Economist, and Cornerstone Research. 

“I think my work in economic and financial analysis has given me a lot of experience and know-how about what the treasurer role can and should be,” said Smith. 

Smith also worked in the Delaware House Democratic Caucus in Dover, working with state representatives to improve the quality of life of Delawareans. 

“I got to see where the rubber meets the road and how we can have policies that positively affect everyday working Delawareans.” said Smith. 

In 2024, Smith narrowly lost a race to represent District 21 by 30 votes. He said that this loss gave him the itch to make a positive impact on the community. 

Smith also founded and directed Powering Our Future, a nonprofit that promoted clean energy infrastructure throughout New Castle County.

“We helped people across Delaware reduce their energy bills and specifically try to encourage energy efficiency and electrification,” said Smith. 

According to Smith, affordability is the biggest issue to voters, especially with the rising cost of utility bills. 

“Everyone is worried about the affordability crisis. The cost of living is just incredibly high.”

“I’ve been knocking on doors for months now, and every time I hear people say: ‘My utility bill has gone up 75 percent. My property taxes are going through the roof. I can’t afford health care. I can’t afford to save for my children’s college or my own retirement.’”

“The treasurer cannot solve all those problems. But what we can do is we can help people save for them and their family’s future,” said Smith. 

Smith talked about his goal to increase awareness around Delaware EARNS, a state sponsored Roth IRA geared toward people who don’t have access to a traditional employer-sponsored retirement plan. 

“There’s roughly 150,000 Delawareans who could take advantage of it,” said Smith. “These are people who are the backbone of Delaware’s economy, whether they are working for small businesses, certain nonprofits, or working the gig economy,” said Smith.

Smith said that many people working for companies such as Doordash and Lyft are not saving for the future but that they could be doing so in a tax-advantaged way through Delaware EARNS. 

“I think there’s some work that needs to be done to make a clear on-ramp for the self-employed and for those gig workers to get enrolled,” said Smith. 

“Right now, we just passed our 10,000th account, which is fantastic, but there’s a lot of room left to grow.”

Smith also spoke of his plans to build on the Aspire 529 College Savings Plan, a project that helps traditionally underserved students finance their college education in ways that traditional 529 plans don’t. 

Smith said that Delaware needs a treasurer who will work to protect the first state from the Trump administration, and he says is ready to step up to the plate. 

“I think we need someone who’s willing to speak out and try to work with state treasurers, comptrollers, and other elected officials across the country to push back over the next two years.”

“We have a president in Washington, D.C., who is working with his Republican cronies in Congress to attack blue states like ours and threaten our federal funding.”

“I think that the best form of resistance is resilience,” said Smith. 

Smith identifies as pansexual, having come out 10 years ago in college. He said that he is proud of the representation Delaware already has, from Rep. Sarah McBride to Travis McDermott, the mayor of Newark. 

“I would love to partner with our attorney general, our governor, and our General Assembly to defend our LGBTQ+ citizens and residents as much as possible,” said Smith.

“I’d be honored to be Delaware’s first openly LGBTQ+ treasurer,” said Smith. 

Mike Ramone, the Republican nominee for treasurer, has described Delaware as being in a ‘financial crisis.’The Blade asked Smith to respond to Ramone’s statement. 

“I would disagree with Mike Ramone. I think Delaware is in a very strong financial shape, with the caveat of our state employee health benefits, which needs to be more well funded.”

Michael Smith will face Ted Lauzen and Mike Miller on the ballot for the Sept. 15 primary. 

Rehoboth Mayor Stan Mills called for the resignation of Commissioner Suzanne Goode, following release of an independent investigation into Goode’s behavior that led Mills to conclude she has violated her oath of office.

Over the past few months, city staff have complained about Commissioner Goode’s extensive and inappropriate communications with them. 

In June, Goode went to the house of a fellow commissioner in an attempt to settle a dispute she was having with his neighbor on the online platform NextDoor. Goode also has a history of using anti-LGBTQ language in various emails. 

“I believe we’ve come to the point where we can take the most severe action we can take at this time to end Commissioner Goode’s intentional lies and harassment,” said Mills. “This has never been about differences of opinions on issues, but rather about uncivil behavior.”

“Commissioner Goode has violated her oath of office and has disgraced the position of commissioner, and she should resign,” said Mills.

In late June, the city of Rehoboth hired Margaret DiBianca, an attorney who specializes in business and employment conflict resolution, to investigate allegations of harassment and inappropriate behavior by Goode toward city employees and fellow commissioners. 

DiBianca submitted the 17-page report on Aug. 12. On Aug. 21, a majority of the commissioners voted to release a redacted version of the report to the public. 

Before the vote, Commissioner Susan Stewart, who is set to be sworn in as mayor next month, said that releasing the report is necessary. 

“In most workplaces, the documented conduct would warrant her termination,” said Stewart. 

“Our laws provide no such path for an elected official. To simply move on would mean keeping this conduct secret, leaving the victims to shoulder the burden themselves without institutional support,” said Stewart. 

The investigation reported that Goode had sent nearly 2,000 emails to city employees since 2024 with more emails being sent almost daily. Only 90 emails from June and July were used in the scope of the investigation.

The report found that the emails contained “intentionally degrading and derogatory language, references to individuals’ family members, religion, and disabilities, as well as language hostile to the LGBTQIA+ community.”

The following emails were noted in the report as examples of ‘hostile’ language toward the LGBTQIA+ community: 

“On November 7, 2025, Cmr. Goode wrote to a constituent, “PS just curious – how does this alienate the ‘Queens’ in [the City] more than the non-queens in the sense how is it a LGBTQ issue? (Not everything in [the City] revolves around gays, right?).”

“On November 15, 2025, Cmr. Goode said to the Targeted Employees “conservatives now have to remain in the closet (conservatives now have to do what gays had to do in the 20th century – ah, the irony) who object to the woke, drag queen bent of [Clear Space Theatre] at times.”

“On December 29, 2025, Cmr. Goode wrote to a constituent, “straight white males like yourself and my husband might as well just shoot themselves. Pale, stale and male doesn’t cut it in this town, eh?”   

The report stated: “The volume of emails and the short intervals between communications sent by Goode reveal a pattern of conduct designed to intimidate, demean and harass rather than to advance legitimate city business.”

The report demonstrated multiple instances of Goode circumventing directives from Mayor Mills requiring her to cease inappropriate communications with city staff.  

The conclusion of the report found that Goode’s behavior “falls substantially and demonstrably outside the bounds of acceptable professional behavior expected of an elected official and public servant in violation of the City’s Civility Code and, in turn, constitutes a violation of the Ethics Code.”

“Cmr. Goode’s communications do not foster a “respectful, courteous, and professional work environment” and do not reflect the “dignity and respect” required by the Civility Code.”

The report outlined six recommendations for the city to follow to address Goode’s behavior. 

The recommendations included prohibiting Goode from contacting city employees and accessing administrative offices, and requiring Goode to undergo city-approved training on subjects such as respectful workplace behavior. 

At the Aug. 21 meeting, the Commissioners voted to adopt all six recommendations. 

During the meeting, Goode was given time to respond before the official release of the report. 

“When an investigation is an attorney up in Wilmington looking at emails, who never contacts me, obviously it is a one-sided investigation,” said Goode. “The investigative reporter never got my side of anything. I was never given the opportunity to defend myself.”

“In June, Commissioner Goode’s communication became even worse,” City Manager Taylour Tedder told the Blade this week. 

Tedder said that the volume of messages jumped to nearly 100 emails just in the month of June.

Tedder identified himself and City Solicitor Lisa Borin Ogden. He said that each of them filed multiple complaints, with one of them being to the Human Resources director.

“With an elected official, there is no way to reprimand or punish them because they’re not an employee,” said Tedder.

Brooke Thaler, communications director for the city of Rehoboth, expressed her frustration with the city’s inability to take serious action against Goode.

“That’s just a bit mind-boggling that something like this can go on, and there’s nothing that can be done about it,” said Thaler. 

“The public put their trust in her when they elected her, and I don’t think that their intention was for her to so badly mistreat city staff,” Thaler told the Blade. 

“It’s highly doubtful that she will stop, but I think the fact that these protections are in place to at least insulate the employees from receiving it when she’s not in person is a good step,” said Tedder. 

Goode responded to the Blade’s request for comment by saying:

“Friday’s session was a kangaroo court and a blatant weaponization of FOIA. The entire report relies on systematic misrepresentation. Time and again, comments I shared from social media or resident outreach were falsely attributed directly to me.

“Without context, these claims are meaningless. As just one example, the city manager accuses me of using a vulgar word on a phone call—a word I do not use (p. 6, line 22). The investigating attorney never even contacted me, proving this process was never meant to be fair,” said Goode. 

“I will not validate or accept an investigation built on inaccurate claims.”

Goode has not announced plans to resign.