Local
At the center of LGBTQ Frederick
Group celebrates 2nd anniversary helping youth, others
The Frederick Center’s leaders, from left: executive director Austin Beach; board members Diane Iñiguez, Rev. Dr. Robert Apgar-Taylor, Katherine Jones, Brian Walker, Cindie Beach, Maureen Conners and Peter Brehm. (Blade photo by Steve Charing)
There was a flurry of activity at the public library on E. Patrick Street in the heart of the historic district in Frederick, Md. on a recent Saturday morning. Inside, several people were lugging pamphlets, name tags, business cards, beverages and pastries into the library’s community room while others were setting up tables and chairs and preparing a Power Point presentation.
Outside the building on this cool October morning, you could peer through the famous spires of Frederick and see the autumn colors on Maryland’s mountains in the west. The foliage may as well have been rainbow colors, as the folks performing these tasks inside were getting ready for the second annual general meeting of the LGBTQ Frederick Center or simply The Frederick Center (TFC).
Fifteen years ago, the idea of a gay center in Frederick would have been considered unimaginable. Alex X. Mooney, a virulently anti-gay conservative Republican from Frederick was elected to the state Senate in 1998 using, in part, a message warning voters of the “homosexual agenda.” He once said, “Homosexual activists have managed to gain legal recognition as a minority, based solely on their lifestyle choices, through so-called ‘hate crimes’ and domestic partnership laws.”
Employing divisive rhetoric like that, Mooney was elected two more times, reaffirming Frederick’s conservative leanings, but with decreasing margins each time. But Mooney was finally unseated in 2010 by pro-LGBT former Frederick Mayor Ron Young.
Frederick County, an exurb of Washington D.C. and Baltimore—roughly equidistant to both—has seen a growth in population of around 25 percent since 2000. Much of this increase is attributed to an influx of young married white-collar workers and professionals or singles moving into new housing developments. Indeed, the median age in the county is seven years younger than the rest of the state.
With the arrival of younger, more educated residents, a less conservative tilt exists, but the political landscape has not shifted to the point where it is like Montgomery County or Baltimore City. Brian Walker, president of the TFC board, said while there has been progress inside Frederick especially due to the increasing number of affirming churches, “the attitude toward LGBT folks outside of Frederick has been spotty.”
But a pro-LGBTQ mindset appears to be on the rise here. Although in 2012, Mitt Romney defeated President Obama by a 50-47 percent margin in Frederick County, voters affirmed Question 6 on same-sex marriage by 2,400 votes or 51-49 percent.
The Frederick Center emerged because its founder realized something was missing.
“I felt there was a need for an LGBTQ center in Frederick because of my experience,” says Austin Beach, 21, who is also the executive director of TFC. “As a young man discovering my identity I had no resources that where easily available to me and I felt firsthand how that affected me. I didn’t want anyone else to go through that same process of feeling there was no one there to help them.” In January 2012, TFC was born.
Cindie Beach heads up TFC’s youth group, where “over the past two years, there had been a total of 70 youth and of those, seven were at one time homeless.” She said she also performed four suicide interventions. “To succeed, the youth must have a roof over their heads and food in their mouths,” she said. “We need emergency housing and long-term housing for these kids and a support system in place. Some get thrown out for being LGBT and appear at my door. It breaks my heart.”
TFC does not have a permanent home as of yet. It holds events in Frederick’s affirming churches and other pro-LGBTQ business establishments. But that could change.
“I envision the center being a focal point of support, resources, and education for Marylanders LGBTQ community both inside, but especially outside of the D.C. and Baltimore areas,” says Austin. “I hope to soon see us having our own space, offering transitional services, counseling, shelter space, etc. to the LGBTQ community and if all goes well, being on the forefront of LGBTQ advocacy in Maryland in the ever-growing area of Frederick”
For more information about The Frederick Center, visit thefrederickcenter.org.
In an official statement released at the reveal event Capital Pride Alliance described its just announced 2026 Pride theme of “Exist, Resist, Have the Audacity” as a “bold declaration affirming the presence, resilience, and courage of LGBTQ+ people around the world.”
The statement adds, “Grounded in the undeniable truth that our existence is not up for debate, this year’s theme calls on the community to live loudly and proudly, stand firm against injustice and erasure, and embody the collective strength that has always defined the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a reference to the impact of the hostile political climate, the statement says, “In a time when LGBTQ+ rights and history continue to face challenges, especially in our Nation’s Capital, where policy and public discourse shape the future of our country, together, we must ensure that our voices are visible, heard, and unapologetically centered.”
The statement also quotes Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President Ryan Bos’s message at the Reveal event: “This year’s theme is both a declaration and a demand,” Bos said. “Exist, Resist, Have Audacity! reflects the resilience of our community and our responsibility to protect the progress we’ve made. As we look toward our nation’s 250th anniversary, we affirm that LGBTQ+ people have always been and always will be part of the United States’s history, and we will continue shaping its future with strength and resolve,” he concluded.
District of Columbia
Capital Pride board member resigns, alleges failure to address ‘sexual misconduct’
In startling letter, Taylor Chandler says board’s inaction protected ‘sexual predator’
Taylor Lianne Chandler, a member of the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors since 2019 who most recently served as the board’s secretary, submitted a letter of resignation on Feb. 24 that alleges the board has failed to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization.
The Washington Blade received a copy of Chandler’s resignation letter one day after she submitted it from an anonymous source. Chandler, who identifies as transgender and intersex, said in an interview that she did not send the letter to the Blade, but she suspected someone associated with Capital Pride, which organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, “wants it out in the open.”
“It is with a heavy heart, but with absolute clarity, that I submit my resignation from the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors effective immediately,” Chandler states in her letter. “I have devoted nearly ten years of my life to this organization,” she wrote, pointing to her initial involvement as a volunteer and later as a producer of events as chair of the organization’s Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex Committee.
“Capital Pride once meant something profound to me – a space of safety, visibility, and community for people who have often been denied all three,” her letter continues. “That is no longer the organization I am part of today.”
“I, along with other board members, brought forward credible concerns regarding sexual misconduct – a pattern of behavior spanning years – to the attention of this board,” Chandler states in the letter. “What followed was not accountability. What followed was retaliation. Rather than addressing the substance of what was reported, officers and fellow board members chose to chastise those of us who came forward.”
The letter adds, “This board has made its priorities clear through its actions: protecting a sexual predator matters more than protecting the people who had the courage to come forward. … I have been targeted, bullied, and made to feel like an outsider for doing what any person of integrity would do – telling the truth.”
In response to a request from the Blade for comment, Anna Jinkerson, who serves as chair of the Capital Pride board, sent the Blade a statement praising Taylor Chandler’s efforts as a Capital Pride volunteer and board member but did not specifically address the issue of alleged sexual misconduct.
“We’re also aware that her resignation letter has been shared with the media and has listed concerns,” Jinkerson said in her statement. “When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” she said.
“As we continue to grow our organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” Jinkerson said in her statement. “We’re doing this because the community’s experience with CPA must always be safe, affirming, empowering, and inclusive,” she added.
In an interview with the Blade, Chandler said she was not the target of the alleged sexual harassment.
She said a Capital Pride investigation identified one individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment related behavior over a period of time. But she said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that applies to all board members and she cannot disclose the name of the person implicated in alleged sexual misconduct or those who came forward to complain about it.
“It was one individual, but there was a pattern and a history,” Chandler said, noting that was the extent of what she can disclose.
“And I’ll say this,” she added. “In my opinion, with gay culture sometimes the touchy feely-ness that goes on seems to be like just part of the culture, not necessarily the same as a sexual assault or whatever. But at the same time, if someone does not want those advances and they’re saying no and trying to push you away and trying to avoid you, then it makes it that way regardless of the culture.”
When asked about when the allegations of sexual harassment first surfaced, Chandler said, “In the past year is when the allegation came forward from one individual. But in the course of this all happening, other individuals came forward and talked about instances – several which showed a pattern.”
Chandler’s resignation comes about five months after Capital Pride Alliance announced in a statement released in October 2025 that its then board president, Ashley Smith, resigned from his position on Oct. 18 after Capital Pride became aware of a “claim” regarding Smith. The statement said the group retained an independent firm to investigate the matter, but it released no further details since that time. Smith has declined to comment on the matter.
When asked by the Blade if the Smith resignation could be linked in some way to allegations of sexual misconduct, Chandler said, “I can’t make a comment one way or the other on that.”
Chandler’s resignation and allegations come after Capital Pride Alliance has been credited with playing the lead role in organizing the World Pride celebration hosted by D.C. in which dozens of LGBTQ-related Pride events were held from May through June of 2025.
The letter of resignation also came just days before Capital Pride Alliance’s annual “Reveal” event scheduled for Feb. 26 at the Hamilton Hotel in which the theme for D.C.’s June 2026 LGBTQ Pride events was to be announced along with other Pride plans.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats elect new leaders
LGBTQ political group set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Longtime Democratic Party activists Stevie McCarty and Brad Howard won election last week as president and vice president for administration for the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization.
In a Feb. 24 announcement, the group said McCarty and Howard, both of whom are elected DC Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, ran in a special Capital Stonewall Democrats election to fill the two leadership positions that became vacant when the officers they replaced resigned.
Outgoing President Howard Garrett, who McCarty has replaced, told the Washington Blade he resigned after taking on a new position as chair of the city’s Ward 1 Democratic Committee. The Capital Stonewall Democrats announcement didn’t say who Howard replaced as vice president for administration.
The group’s website shows its other officers include Elizabeth Mitchell as Vice President for Legislative and Political Affairs, and Monica Nemeth as Treasurer. The officer position of secretary is vacant, the website shows.
“As we look toward 2026, the stakes for D.C. and for LGBTQ+ communities have never been clearer,” the group’s statement announcing McCarty and Howard’s election says. “Our 50th anniversary celebration on March 20 and the launch of our D.C. LGBTQ+ Voter’s Guide mark the beginning of a major year for endorsements, organizing, and coalition building,” the statement says.
McCarty said among the organization’s major endeavors will be holding virtual endorsement forums where candidates running for D.C. mayor and the Council will appear and seek the group’s endorsement.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to Capital Stonewall Democrats. McCarty said the 50th anniversary celebration on March 20, in which D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and members of the D.C. Council are expected to attend, will be held at the PEPCO Gallery meeting center at 702 8th St., N.W.
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