Local
Opponent challenges signatures for lesbian D.C. Council candidate
More accusations of invalid names in race
Dionne Reeder is a leading candidate for an At-Large Council seat. (Photo courtesy of Twitter)
A representative of D.C. Council candidate S. Kathryn Allen filed a challenge on Aug. 20 to the nominating petitions for lesbian businesswoman Dionne Reeder, who is considered one of Allen’s two leading opponents for an At-Large Council seat in the city’s Nov. 6 general election.
The challenge, filed by Nona Richardson, whose company MitchRich Communications is serving as a paid consultant to the Allen campaign, came on the same day that incumbent At-Large Council member Elissa Silverman filed a challenge to Allen’s nominating petitions.
All three are running as independents for an At-Large Council seat that under the city’s election law can only go to a non-Democrat. Democratic incumbent Anita Bonds holds the second At-Large seat up for election on Nov. 6 and is considered the strong favorite to win re-election.
Richardson didn’t respond to a call by the Washington Blade asking for details about why she feels Reeder’s petition signatures are sufficiently defective to knock Reeder off of the ballot.
Under rules established by the D.C. Board of Elections, the board doesn’t disclose the details of a challenge until it holds a preliminary and later a full hearing to assess the merits of a petition challenge.
The Board on Tuesday held preliminary or pre-hearing conferences for the challenges to both Reeder and Allen’s petitions. Reeder’s campaign manager, Alfreda Davis, told the Blade that the Board’s Registrar, who conducts the pre-hearing conferences, made a preliminary determination that Reeder had sufficient valid signatures on her petitions to be granted access to the ballot on Nov. 6.
“That’s really good news,” said Davis. Davis noted that under the election board’s rules, Richardson would have an opportunity at a full hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 5, to contest the Registrar’s determination and seek a final ruling by the full three-member Board of Election sometime before Sept. 10.
Allen, meanwhile, didn’t comment on what the election board Registrar’s preliminary assessment was regarding the challenge against her petitions. One source supportive of Allen said the Registrar had a preliminary finding that while many of her petition signatures were invalid a sufficient number appear to have survived the challenge to enable her to be placed on the November election ballot.
However, Silverman, who filed the challenge, issued a statement saying the preliminary review confirmed that 3,028 signatures submitted by the Allen campaign were invalid, leaving Allen with only 3,040 signatures as the Board begins its final assessment between this week and Sept. 10. All at-large candidates must have at least 3,000 valid petition signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Silverman said in her statement issued on Tuesday that many of the signatures the Registrar said were valid could still be disqualified on grounds that the petition circulators’ names allegedly were forged. Silverman noted that under the city’s election law, all signatures of petitions submitted by a disqualified circulator could be disqualified.
Political observers have said Reeder currently has a shot at beating Silverman in the general election and her chances of doing so would increase significantly if Allen were to be disqualified from the ballot.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
New Hungarian government to scrap anti-LGBTQ adoption law
Fashion icon Bob Mackie dead at 87
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Dozens detained after Turkish authorities raid LGBTQ groups, businesses
PHOTOS: SMYAL Fall Brunch
PHOTOS: SUNFESTIVAL
How Dolly became a folk saint for Appalachian queers
Remembering the LGBTQ heroes of 9/11 terrorist attacks
Report: 90 percent of LGBTQ groups around the world have lost funding since 2025
