Local
Ebbin, Fisette on ‘short list’ for U.S. House seat in Northern Va.
Gay officials considered viable candidates to replace Moran
Virginia State Sen. Adam Ebbin (left) and Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette are possible candidates for Congress. (Washington Blade file photos. Photo of Ebbin by Michael K. Lavers; photo of Fisette by Jeff Surprenant)
Political insiders in Northern Virginia have placed two openly gay elected officials near the top of a list of at least a dozen possible candidates considered qualified to run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who announced he’s not running for re-election this year.
Virginia State Sen. Adam Ebbin, whose district includes parts of the City of Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax counties; and Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette, who represents the entire county, are well known and have longstanding ties to the 8th Congressional District, according to people familiar with the district.
Ebbin and Fisette are both Democrats. The 8th District, which Moran has represented for more than 20 years, is a Democratic stronghold. Virtually all political observers say the candidate that wins the Democratic primary scheduled for June 10 is almost certain to win the general election in November.
“The 8th District is a highly educated, progressive, engaged district that has embraced LGBT equality for years,” said Joshua Israel, former president of Virginia Partisans, a statewide LGBT Democratic group that recently changed its name to LGBT Democrats of Virginia.
Israel says he knows most of the other candidates considering entering the race and all of them are strong supporters of LGBT rights, just as Moran has been a staunch ally of the LGBT community during his tenure as a congressman.
“The field will no doubt be an embarrassment of riches,” he said.
Fisette became the first known openly gay candidate to win election to public office in Virginia in 1997, when he won his race for a seat on the Arlington County Board, which serves as the county’s legislative body. He has won re-election four times since then by wide margins, with his latest electoral victory in 2013.
Fisette’s colleagues elected him chair of the five-member board in 2001, 2005, 2010, and again this year under a system in which the board rotates its leadership posts every year.
Ebbin became the first openly gay candidate to win election to the Virginia General Assembly when he won his race for a seat in the House of Delegates in 2003 in a district in Alexandria, which is his home base. He won re-election to the seat in 2007.
When a seat in the 30th State Senate district came open in 2011 Ebbin tossed his hat in the ring and won the Democratic primary in a hotly contested, three-candidate race by a three-point margin. He won the general election against a Republican opponent by a margin of 64.4 percent to 35.4 percent.
Political observers note that Ebbin is the only potential candidate for the 8th District congressional seat who represents parts of Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax, giving him an advantage in the June primary should he enter the race.
“With the 2014 legislative session just beginning, I am working hard every day for the people of the 30th District,” Ebbin said in a statement released last week. “I am honored that people think I’d make a good congressman, and I will give it the serious consideration it deserves,” he said. “I hope to have more to say about this in the future.”
Ebbin told the Blade on Monday that a report posted on Twitter by Virginia political blogger Ben Tribbett incorrectly claimed Ebbin announced his candidacy for the congressional seat at a Jan. 18 meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.
“I don’t know why he tweeted that,” said Ebbin. “I didn’t make an announcement.”
Although Ebbin told the Blade he isn’t ready to announce his decision on whether or not to run, Charlie Conrad, vice chair of elections for LGBT Democrats of Virginia said “the word is out” that Ebbin plans to run for the congressional seat.
“I’m supporting Adam,” he said. “He is very popular and very well respected.”
Fisette, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, had not made a public statement about whether he was considering running for the congressional seat as of early this week.
A spokesperson for the Virginia election board said that if the Democratic Party decides to hold a primary, as expected, rather than a caucus to nominate a candidate for the seat, candidates must file petitions with 1,000 valid signatures by March 27 to gain placement on the June 10 ballot.
Other potential Democratic candidates for the 8th District seat mentioned by political insiders include Alexandria Mayor William Euille and former Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley; Del. Charniele Herring (Alexandria); Del. Patrick Hope (Arlington); Del. K. Robert Krupicka Jr. (Alexandria); Del. Alfonso Lopez (Arlington); Fairfax Board of Supervisors member Jeff McKay; Del. Mark Sickles (Fairfax); and Del. Scott Surovell (Fairfax).
Surovell and Krupicka have sponsored bills in the House of Delegates in support of same-sex marriage rights. Hope has proposed legislation to ban “ex-gay” therapy for minors.
Chesterfield resident Maggie Sacra, the current chair of LGBT Democrats of Virginia, which recently became an official arm of the Virginia Democratic Party, said the organization can no longer endorse candidates in a primary under party rules.
Thus the state’s largest LGBT Democratic group won’t be able to endorse Ebbin or Fisette should they decide to run in the primary. Sacra said the group nevertheless will be “very active” in the primary campaign by reaching out to all of the Democratic candidates to discuss their positions on LGBT issues and inform them of the issues of concern to the LGBT community.
“I think we will have a good group of candidates,” she said. “All are pro-equality.”
She added, “It would be a great thing for the state if we were to get an openly gay congressman,” noting that such a development would be an historic first in the South.
Israel, who lives in Arlington, said the LGBT vote could be a key factor in the primary if a large number of candidates enter the race.
“The biggest question is going to be how many people run and who is able to turn out a plurality of their supporters,” he said. “Given the number of potential candidates considering this race, one candidate with a particularly committed base of support could become a U.S. representative for decades to come.”
In August 2003, Fisette announced he would run against Moran in the 2004 Democratic primary at a time when Moran came under fire for what political observers called a series of widely reported “missteps.” Among other things, fellow Democrats criticized him for suggesting that the Jewish lobby was responsible for persuading President George W. Bush to start the Iraq war.
“Jim deserves credit for his past work, but it’s time to move forward,” the Free Republic blog quoted Fisette as saying at the time. “I’m convinced that there’s an overwhelming number of people looking for a change.”
But less than two weeks later, Fisette changed his mind and withdrew from the race, saying that while he had differences with Moran he agreed with the congressman on most issues and didn’t want to engage in a negative campaign.
“He made the very smart decision not to run,” said Nick Benton, the gay editor and publisher of the Falls Church News-Press and an outspoken advocate of LGBT rights. “It would have been very destructive of his future ambitions to run.” Benton has been a longtime supporter of Moran.
Moran defeated another primary challenger who ran against him in 2004 by a wide margin.
As of early this week, the only candidate to officially declare his candidacy for the 8th District congressional seat was Bruce Shuttleworth, a retired Navy fighter pilot and marketing executive.
“I have roomed with at least two gay midshipmen and I will be the loudest voice in the land for equal rights for all minorities to include our transgender brothers and sisters who remain outside a proper embrace,” he said in a declaration of candidacy statement.
Shuttleworth ran against and lost to Moran by a wide margin in the 2012 Democratic primary.
Delaware
Democrat Maureen ‘Mo’ Madden takes on longtime GOP stronghold in Delaware’s 38th
Out lesbian candidate for state House focused on infrastructure needs, voting rights
Democrat Maureen “Mo” Madden is running for the Delaware House of Representatives in the 38th District, seeking to win a seat that has been held by Republicans for more than two decades.
The race opened up after Republican state Rep. Ron Gray announced in April that he would not seek reelection after seven terms in the General Assembly.
Gray was first elected in 2012 and represents communities including Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, Selbyville and Ocean View. Madden, a Dagsboro resident, filed to run for the seat in 2025.
Madden is a retired federal civil servant who spent nearly 23 years at NASA and more than seven years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She holds a master’s degree in physics and previously worked in leadership at NOAA.
She said her professional experience taught her the importance of working collaboratively, something she believes would translate to the legislature.
“Advocating, negotiating, and collaborating are all skills that a legislator needs,” she said. “You learn to collaborate. You learn to negotiate. You learn to advocate for your budget, for your team, and for your projects.”
Madden said her decision to run began after she and her wife moved to the area and she noticed the lack of Democratic candidates on the ballot in her district.
“Somebody’s got to do it, and I’ve got time. I’m retired,” said Madden.
She acknowledged the difficulty of running as a Democrat in the district, which has been represented by Republicans since 2002.
Madden said one of the biggest concerns she hears from residents is the rapid growth of Sussex County.
“We have a massive amount of growth and a massive amount of development,” said Madden.
Madden said the growth has placed additional pressure on roads, schools, emergency services, as well as water and sewer infrastructure.
“We need to find a way to bring more money down here for the school system and for the infrastructure that we need,” she said.
She also raised concerns about the impact of new developments on existing neighborhoods, particularly in regard to flooding and drainage.
“Something needs to be done,” said Madden.
Madden also pointed to climate change as a factor affecting the region.She said the state will need to work on both addressing development and preparing communities for increasingly severe weather.
“We have to work both sides of it,” Madden said.
Madden said improving infrastructure would be a priority if she is elected, particularly roads and other infrastructure that affect residents’ daily lives.
“I want to increase the safety of my neighbors,” she said.
Madden also said she wants to address infrastructure needs related to water and sewer service, as well as the availability of health care in the rapidly growing coastal region.
Madden said protecting voting rights would be another priority in the legislature.
“The right to vote is one of the biggest things that we have here in a democracy,” she said.
She said that she supports early voting, mail-in voting, and same-day registration, as well as restoring voting rights to people who have completed felony sentences.
“You should not lose a constitutional right because you’ve been in jail,” said Madden.
“Protecting the right to vote is how I will defend democracy when I get to the state House,” she said.
Madden said she would also support efforts to enshrine certain rights in the Delaware Constitution, including reproductive rights, voting rights, and the right to marriage.
“Those three protections of our freedoms that are right now under attack need to be more secure in the Delaware State Constitution,” she said.
As an openly lesbian candidate, Madden said LGBTQ+ rights are important to her, particularly the treatment of young transgender people.
She said she is concerned about efforts to restrict transgender students’ participation in sports and other policies affecting transgender people.
“They are picking on the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable,” said Madden.
She said she hopes voters will view LGBTQ+ people as part of their communities rather than as fundamentally different from their neighbors.
“We’re your neighbors. We’re your friends. We’re your family,” she said.
Madden will face Republican Carlie Carey in the general election on Nov. 3.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
It is exciting to write about Nick Tsusaki, the founder and owner of Spark Social, 2009 14th St., N.W. Tsusaki just announced the official opening, on Sunday, Aug. 23, of a new daytime event, called Spark Coffee Club, a great opportunity to meet up with friends, or meet new ones. It is in partnership with Go Gay DC and runs 12-1 p.m., every Sunday. If you are new to D.C., you can browse more than 180 local LGBTQ+ community groups Tsusaki has listed on the community tab of his website: spark-dc.com/community.
“I’ve been out for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working in queer spaces, surrounded by queer people, that I really felt proud, even lucky, to be gay,” he said. “I hope Spark is a place where more people come to that same realization.”
Tsusaki went to Georgetown for his undergraduate studies, and spent four years doing Navy ROTC, then went into the Navy. He told me, “Town was the first gay bar I ever went to. It was always such a liberating and euphoric experience, I knew I wanted to come back to D.C. permanently, after the Navy.”
During his eight years in the Navy, Tsusaki spent time in among other places, Bahrain, and Korea. He was D.C. operations manager, where he managed large, diverse teams, across multiple countries, supervising logistics, scheduling, safety protocols, and daily operational readiness. He also directed emergency response and crisis management operations, including White House support, COVID-19 response planning, and major safety and security protocols protecting tens of thousands of personnel.
Tsusaki recounted, “When I left the Navy in 2023, I applied to every gay bar in the city. Fortunately, Shakers, was just opening at that time, and I started as a barback on the opening team. My appreciation for the D.C. LGBTQ+ community, and LGBTQ+ spaces only grew as I worked with and met some of the most hilarious, talented, proud, diverse, and supportive people in my life. After just a year in the industry, my passion had grown so strong I decided I wanted to open my own venue.”
Tsusaki then built Spark Social, and now supervises a 20-person team across café, bar, retail, and nightlife operations, ensuring strong safety standards, clear procedures, and consistent guest experience. He has developed a deeply trusted neighborhood presence through strong community partnerships, resulting in a 4.9 Google rating with 120+ reviews. He created an innovative 1-for-1 cocktail menu offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, with equal quality and presentation, and promotes an inclusive nightlife for non-drinkers. He has established Spark as a unique market leader in LGBTQ+ hospitality, combining daytime café culture, with late-night programming, and community-centered events. So, whether you go for the new community coffee hour on Sundays, or any other time, Spark Social is a place where you will feel comfortable.
Tsusaki earned his bachelor’s of science degree in foreign service, Georgetown University; and master’s in business analytics from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools updates gender identity regulation following Trump administration threats
District facing federal lawsuit, White House threats over guidelines
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Under pressure from the Trump-Vance administration, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Supt. Mark Bedell announced Wednesday the district had updated a regulation intended to protect transgender students’ right to be called by their chosen name.
The revised language makes clear that district rules on gender identity do not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the federal government alleged last month, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.
“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Bedell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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