Local
How did LGBT candidates fare in D.C. elections?
Pannell, Snowden win on ‘Hillary’ slate
Phil Pannell won election as Alternate National Committeeman as part of a slate of candidates called Ready for Hillary. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Eight gay or lesbian candidates won their races on Tuesday in the city’s primary and Democratic Party election while another eight LGBT candidates were defeated.
Among the winners were gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell and lesbian Democratic activist Courtney Snowden, who won election as Alternate National Committeeman and Alternate National Committeewoman as part of a slate of candidates called Ready for Hillary.
The two have said the slate was created to encourage former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016.
Gay Libertarian Party candidates Bruce Majors, who’s running for mayor, and Martin Mouton, who’s running for the city’s shadow U.S. House seat, ran unopposed in their party’s primary. Both will be on the general election ballot in November.
Also winning was gay Republican activist and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Marc Morgan, who ran unopposed for the Replication nomination for an at-large D.C. Council seat in November.
As a Republican, Morgan is eligible for one of two at-large Council seats on the ballot in November that cannot go to a Democrat under the City Charter. With the defeat of gay Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) by civic activist Brianne Nadeau in the Democratic primary on Tuesday and with gay Council member David Catania (I-At-Large) saying he will give up his Council seat to run for mayor, Morgan has emerged as an option for retaining at least one openly gay member of the Council.
Six out of seven LGBT candidates that ran for seats on the Democratic State Committee as part of an insurgent slate called The Rent is Too Darn High lost their races on Tuesday. Among the losing candidates was transgender activist Alexandra Beninda, who was vying to become the first known transgender person to win election to a D.C. citywide office. Beninda was running for an at-large seat on the State Committee.
Others who ran on the ‘Rent is Too High’ slate and lost were gay or lesbian Democratic activists Gregory Cendana, Edgardo Guerrero, Nikisha Carpenter, Jessica Pierce and Andy Litsky. Lesbian Tamara Angela Ferrell was the only LGBT member of the slate to win her race in Ward 4.
Gay Democrats Ron Collins and David Meadows, who were challenged by members of the ‘Rent is Too High’ slate, won their races for State Committee seats representing Ward 6.
Incumbent gay State Committee member Bill O’Field, who didn’t run on a slate, lost his bid for re-election to the State Committee for a seat representing Ward 1.
Gay Democratic activist and former Gertrude Stein Democratic Club treasurer Barry Daneker is listed by the Board of Elections as having won an at-large seat on the State Committee on Tuesday more than a month after he announced he was leaving D.C. to take a job in Rhode Island in March. Neither Daneker nor a spokesperson for the State Committee could be immediately reached to determine whether Daneker’s election would be invalidated if he’s no longer a D.C. resident.
Virginia
Mark Levine running in ‘firehouse’ Democratic primary to succeed Adam Ebbin
Outgoing gay Va. state senator has endorsed Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
Gay former Virginia House of Delegates member Mark Levine (D-Alexandria) is one of four candidates running in a hastily called “firehouse” Democratic primary to be held Tuesday, Jan. 13, to select a Democratic nominee to replace gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria)
Ebbin, whose 39th Senate District includes Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax Counties, announced on Jan. 7 that he was resigning effective Feb. 18, to take a job in the administration of Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger.
The Jan. 13 primary called by Democratic Party leaders in Alexandria and Arlington will take place less than a week after Ebbin announced his planned resignation.
According to the Community News of Alexandria publication, a public debate between the four candidates was scheduled to take place one day earlier on Monday, Jan. 12, from 7-9 p.m. at the Charles Houston Recreation Center in Alexandria.
The winner of the so-called firehouse primary will compete in a Feb. 10 special election in which registered voters in the 39th District of all political parties and independents will select Ebbin’s replacement in the state Senate.
The other candidates competing in the primary on Tuesday, in addition to Levine, include state Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, former Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, and World Wildlife Fund executive Charles Sumpter.
Another Alexandria news publication, ALXnow, reports that Ebbin, Spanberger, and at least four other prominent Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly have endorsed Bennett-Parker, leading political observers to view her as the leading contender in the race.
“I have worked alongside Elizabeth and have seen her fight for the values of our community,” Ebbin said in a statement, ALXnow reports.
Arlington gay Democratic activist TJ Flavall said Parker-Bennett has attended LGBTQ community events and is known as an LGBTQ ally.
Ebbin’s endorsement of Bennett-Parker over fellow gay politician Levine in the Jan. 13 firehouse primary follows what observers have said is a longstanding rivalry between the two over disagreements around legislative issues.
In 2021, Ebbin endorsed Parker-Bennett when she challenged Levine in the Democratic primary for his House of Delegates seat in the then 45th House District in Alexandria.
Parker-Bennett defeated Levine in that race at a time when Levine, in an unusual move, also ran for the position of lieutenant governor. He also lost that race.
ALXnow reports that in his Facebook announcement of his candidacy for Ebbin’s state Senate seat Levine discounted the relevance of the large number of prominent endorsements that Parker-Bennet has received. In campaigns that last for just a few days rather than weeks or months, “it’s about turnout,” ALX now quoted him as saying.
Levine, an attorney, has a longstanding record as an LGBTQ rights advocate. He worked as a legislative counsel to gay former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) before becoming a radio talk show host and TV political commentator in Virginia prior to his election to the Virginia House of Delegates.
The firehouse primary on Jan. 13, which is open only to voters with identification showing they live in the 39th District, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in these locations:
Alexandria: Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Public Library, 5005 Duke St.; and the Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe St.
Arlington: Aurora Hills Library, 735 18th St. S.
Annandale: New John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 6531 Columbia Pike
Virginia
Gay Va. State Sen. Ebbin resigns for role in Spanberger administration
Veteran lawmaker will step down in February
Alexandria Democrat Adam Ebbin, who has served as an openly gay member of the Virginia Legislature since 2004, announced on Jan. 7 that he is resigning from his seat in the State Senate to take a job in the administration of Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger.
Since 2012, Ebbin has been a member of the Virginia Senate for the 39th District representing parts of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax counties. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria from 2004 to 2012, becoming the state’s first out gay lawmaker.
His announcement says he submitted his resignation from his Senate position effective Feb. 18 to join the Spanberger administration as a senior adviser at the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.
“I’m grateful to have the benefit of Senator Ebbin’s policy expertise continuing to serve the people of Virginia, and I look forward to working with him to prioritize public safety and public health,” Spanberger said in Ebbin’s announcement statement.
She was referring to the lead role Ebbin has played in the Virginia Legislature’s approval in 2020 of legislation decriminalizing marijuana and the subsequent approval in 2021of a bill legalizing recreational use and possession of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. But the Virginia Legislature has yet to pass legislation facilitating the retail sale of marijuana for recreational use and limits sales to purchases at licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.
“I share Governor-elect Spanberger’s goal that adults 21 and over who choose to use cannabis, and those who use it for medical treatment, have access to a well-tested, accurately labeled product, free from contamination,” Ebbin said in his statement. “2026 is the year we will move cannabis sales off the street corner and behind the age-verified counter,” he said.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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