Local
Lesbian Council candidate leads in fundraising
Reeder again bests Silverman, Bonds
Dionne Bussey-Reeder is running for an at-large D.C. Council seat. (Photo courtesy of Twitter)
Lesbian business woman Dionne Bussey-Reeder, who’s running as an independent for one of two at-large D.C. Council seats up for election this year, is ahead of all of the other at-large candidates in campaign fundraising, including incumbents Anita Bonds, a Democrat, and Elissa Silverman, an independent.
Bussey-Reeder’s lead in fundraising as of the Jan. 31 reporting period, in which she had a total of $53,685 raised, marks the second reporting period in a row that she has surpassed all rival candidates in money raised.
“I am truly humbled,” Bussey-Reeder said in a statement. “Because of more than three hundred individual donors, we doubled the amount raised by our opponent Elissa Silverman in the latest campaign fundraising report.
Silverman’s finance report shows she has raised a total of $25,126 as of Jan. 31.
Bussey-Reeder, 46, who owns Cheers at the Big Chair restaurant in the city’s Anacostia neighborhood, is considered Silverman’s main rival because the two are competing along with three other lesser-known candidates for an at-large seat that under D.C. law must go to a non-Democrat.
When contacted by the Blade, Silverman said she began her campaign fundraising on Jan. 15 and in just 15 days raised $25,126. She noted that it took Reeder 80 days to raise the $53,685 she reported in her Jan. 31 campaign finance report.
Silverman also pointed out that Reeder’s report shows she spent about $30,000 so far, much of it on a campaign consultant, and had $24,312 in cash on hand remaining as of the Jan. 31 reporting period. Silverman’s report shows she so far has spent $1,199.91 and has $23,926 in cash on hand.
“It doesn’t matter how much you have raised,” said Silverman. “It matters what you have left. And these numbers show we’re even.”
The others running for the “non-Democratic” seat are independent Omekongo Dibinga, Statehood Green Party candidate David Schwartzman, and Libertarian Party candidate Denise Hicks.
Dibinga’s finance report shows he has raised just $100 since he filed his name as a candidate. The Office of Campaign Finance website shows that neither Schwartzman nor Hicks has filed a finance report, indicating they have yet to raise funds for their campaigns.
Democrat Bonds, a longtime supporter of the LGBT community, is being challenged by five Democrats in the June 19 Democratic primary – communications firm worker Aaron Holmes, real estate development company associate Marcus Goodwin, Chesapeake Climate Action Network official Jeremiah Lowery; and Smithsonian Institution employee and Ward 8 ANC Commissioner Sharece Crawford.
Campaign finance reports filed by the four candidates show they had raised the following sums as of Jan. 31: Bonds, $14,117; Goodwin, $66,267; Lowery, $26,127; and Holmes, $18,685. Crawford had not filed a finance report and is presumed not to have raised funds for her campaign as of Jan. 31.
Although Bonds is trailing three of her Democratic primary opponents in fundraising her widespread name recognition and support among many D.C. Democrats places her as the frontrunner in her race for re-election.
Under the city’s election law, the highest two vote-getters in the November general election will be declared the winner of the two at-large Council seats.
In a related development, two more gay candidates are expected to be on the ballot in the June 19 Democratic primary. Gay Democrat and longtime Ward 8 civic activist Phil Pannell is running for an at-large seat on the D.C. Democratic State Committee. Gay Democratic activist John Fanning is running for a seat on the Democratic State Committee from Ward 2.
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.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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