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Election of former gay official challenged in Ward 6

Richardson received highest vote count in race for Dem chair

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Jeffrey Richardson, gay news, Washington Blade
Jeffrey Richardson, gay news, Washington Blade

Jeffrey Richardson is the city’s former GLBT liaison to the mayor. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The former director of the D.C. Office of GLBT Affairs and current head of Mayor Vincent Gray’s Office on Volunteerism is facing a challenge to his election on Oct. 1 as chair of the Ward 6 Democratic Committee.

Jeffrey Richardson beat challenger Deleon Ware by a vote of 35-22, but two Ward 6 Democratic activists filed a complaint with the D.C. Democratic State Committee contesting the fairness of the balloting. The State Committee was expected to issue an opinion on the complaint Thursday, Oct. 10.

One of the two Democrats filing the complaint, gay ANC Commissioner Alexander Padro, charged that he and others were denied the right to vote in the election because the Ward 6 Democratic leaders released an announcement misleading people about the time the Oct. 1 voting would take place.

Padro noted that several notices issued in advance of the election said voting would take place during a special election meeting scheduled to be held between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. at a D.C. public library branch next to the Eastern Market Metro station on Capitol Hill.

According to Padro, when he and others arrived to cast their ballots about 7:40 p.m. they were told the voting had ended minutes earlier under a series of “Special Rules” that the Ward 6 Democratic Committee approved less than an hour earlier at the same meeting.

“It was a very shabby procedure,” Padro told the Blade. “According to all the information I saw the voting was supposed to take place between 6:30 and 8.”

Charles Allen, who served as chair of Ward 6 Democrats up until the completion of the election, said he was troubled that a few people missed the window allocated for voting. But he said the procedures adopted for holding the election fully conform to the Ward 6 Democrats’ by-laws. He said the Ward 6 Democrats also submitted an advance copy of the proposed procedures and rules for the election to a subcommittee of the D.C. Democratic State Committee that oversees ward committee elections and that no one raised any objections to the procedures.

According to Allen, former chief of staff for Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), more than 50 Ward 6 Democrats attending the meeting voted unanimously to approve the rules. He said as far as he could tell, just three people arrived at the meeting too late to be allowed to vote.

Allen is expected to announce his candidacy for the Ward 6 Council seat next week. Wells is giving up the Council seat to run for mayor.

According to people familiar with the Democratic State Committee’s by-laws, the State Committee could refuse to seat Richardson as a full State Committee member if it decides the Ward 6 Democrats’ election was conducted improperly. But the State Committee doesn’t have authority to invalidate the election and require that another election be held, State Committee observers said.

Richardson is a former president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political organization. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

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PHOTOS: Pride on the Pier

Blade’s WorldPride celebration ends with fireworks show

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The Washington Blade's Pride on the Pier. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier (Photo by Cedric Craig for Wild Side Media)
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Virginia

Hashmi to face Reid in Va. LG race

State senator won Democratic primary on Tuesday

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Ghazala Hashmi (Screen capture via One Vote At A Time/YouTube)

State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor. 

Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.

“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”

Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.

Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.

Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.

Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.

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Baltimore

More than 15K people attend Baltimore Trans Pride

Baltimore Safe Haven organized annual event

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(Bigstock photo)

More than 15,000 people attended Baltimore Safe Haven’s annual Trans Pride on Saturday.

“Last year we had maybe 2,500, and the year before that, we had 5,000,” Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said. “In today’s political climate, it’s absolutely amazing.”

Lau said allies and other groups “went into hiding” for about a month or two after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, but then all at once, different organizations started to reach out. 

“The community has really come together to support us,” Lau said. “It was a fun, exciting day.” 

Baltimore Safe Haven Executive Director Iya Dammons in a press release said the “historic turnout” showed the transgender community’s strength, as well as their unity to fight for justice and equality for all LGBTQ people.

At the event, attendees were seen waving flags and shouting “Trans Lives Matter,” showing their support for the community. 

On Friday, before Trans Pride, Baltimore Safe Haven opened their new building to the public, gathering notable attendees like the Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohan, Council Member Antonio Glover, and representatives from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

“(It) was historic in itself because … we’re the only direct service providers for people in the LGBT community,” Lau said.

Providing housing for 18- to 24-year-olds, Lau said the new building also serves as a community hub and has office spaces for workers. 

With only a few hiccups of arguments between attendees and fixing street blockades during Trans Pride, Lau said the event showed what the community can do. 

“It was amazing that so many people came out and had that much fun. We were all giddy by Sunday morning,” Lau said. “(It gave) Safe Haven exposure and continuity. We are not just an LGBT organization, we are an organization that supports the entire community.”

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