Local
Comings & Goings
Helping Clinton in Ohio; lawyer named ABA fellow
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
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].
Caleb Carter
Congratulations to Caleb S. Carter who has just been named Coordinated Campaign Field Organizer in the Akron region of Ohio for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Carter will be responsible for organizing and mobilizing volunteers into a team that will phone bank, canvass and host events related to the general election. The team he will work with will be doing voter registration and working to turn out voters for Clinton on Election Day. “The larger the turnout the better both for Hillary and down ballot Democrats,” Carter said.
Carter is a young activist with a lot of experience. He is attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and hopes to earn his bachelor’s in political science. He was the lead coordinator of Birmingham Students for Hillary and office manager of Hillary for America in Birmingham. He also served as vice president of the UAB College Democrats.
Carter was also involved in the community with non-political work. He volunteered at the Autumn Care Nursing and Rehabilitation (Mocksville, N.C.) for three years. He was also a campus organizer for the UAB Gender and Sexual Diversity Programs. Thanks, Caleb, for all your hard work and good luck in Ohio.
Congratulations to Donald C. Davis, a senior litigation associate at Ackerman Brown PLLC, a regional law firm serving the needs of individuals and businesses in the greater Washington metropolitan area. Davis was selected as a member of the American Bar Association Business Law Section Fellows Program for the 2016-2018 class. The goal of the program is to give each fellow an opportunity to become involved in the work of the Business Section. Davis was also elected to the board of directors of the LGBT Bar Association of the District of Columbia. In addition, he is a member of the executive committee of the board serving in the capacity of secretary. The LGBT Bar Association of the District of Columbia is an affiliate of the National LGBT Bar Association.
Davis was asked to participate in the CVS Health Executive Learning Series for Diverse Suppliers at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies in Providence, R.I. The series is designed to help diverse suppliers gain capacity building skills by offering training opportunities to expand skill level and growth potential in areas such as marketing, finance, leadership and human resources.
Davis obtained a Juris Doctor from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2007 and was named to the list of 40 LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of SMYAL.
Donald Davis
Congratulations also to Tommy Wrenn who has been appointed development program assistant at the Public Justice Foundation (publicjustice.net). The foundation’s staff attorneys team with private attorneys around the country to fight injustice and preserve access to the courts for ordinary people.
Wrenn is a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and moved to D.C. in the summer of 2014 to serve as a White House intern. Since leaving the White House, he has worked for peace and justice organizations, including the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker advocacy organization.
Tommy Wrenn
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex
Who might replace Lindsey Graham? The contenders and their LGBTQ records
PHOTOS: Westminster Pride
Un terremoto también se vive desde el exilio
PHOTOS: Emerald City Pride
Mr. Henry’s celebrates 60 years of proud inclusivity
It’s good to see some justices standing up to Trump
Queer media dominates 2026 Emmy nominations
Egyptian authorities refuse to allow gay cruise to dock in country
