Local
LGBT tipped workers hail D.C. Council repeal of Initiative 77
Bowser has promised to sign measure
Mayor Muriel Bowser has vowed to sign a repeal of Initiative 77 passed this week. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)
LGBT tipped workers at the city’s restaurants, bars, and nightclubs joined their straight colleagues on Tuesday in celebrating a vote by the D.C. City Council to repeal an initiative passed by voters in June to end the so-called tipped wage system.
In its first of two required readings, the Council voted 8 to 5 to approve a bill calling for repealing Initiative 77, which voters passed by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent despite vocal opposition by what appeared to be a large majority of tipped workers.
Council observers expect the Council to give final approval to the repeal bill later this month. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said she would sign a repeal bill.
Had it become law, Initiative 77 would require restaurants, bars and other employers of tipped workers to pay those workers the city’s full minimum wage, which is currently $13.25 per hour and which will increase to $15 per hour in 2020. The minimum wage for tipped workers is currently $3.89 per hour.
Under the city’s tipped wage law, employers in the city’s highly competitive hospitality industry are allowed to pay tipped workers a lower minimum wage on grounds that the workers make more than the city’s full minimum wage in tips. The law requires employers to pay the difference if workers’ tips fall short of the full minimum wage.
Bar and restaurant owners said ending the tipped wage system would increase their labor costs to a degree that could force them out of business or force them to raise food and beverage prices, which they said would result in lower overall income for tipped workers.
Supporters of the initiative disputed those claims, saying ending the tipped wage system in several other states has not brought about significant problems for restaurants and bars. But opponents of the initiative, including large numbers of tipped workers, told Council members D.C.’s unique and thriving restaurant, bar and nightclub venues would be especially susceptible to serious and harmful repercussions if Initiative 77 were to become law.
Employees and owners of several of the city’s gay bars were part of a coalition of hospitality industry businesses and employees that urged the Council to repeal Initiative 77.
In a development that surprised some observers, once the Council voted 8 to 5 on Tuesday both in the Council’s Committee of the Whole and in the full Council to approve the repeal bill it voted unanimously in a third vote for an emergency version of the bill. The emergency measure takes effect immediately, which prevents Initiative 77 from taking effect this month while the Council moves ahead with its normal legislative process that takes about two months for passing the regular repeal bill. The process involves sending it to the mayor for her signature and completing a required 30 legislative day review by Congress.
“LGBT tipped employees along with tipped employees across the city are celebrating tonight that Initiative 77 has been repealed by the City Council, which will protect their jobs and their livelihoods and their income,” said gay nightlife advocate Mark Lee, who served as managing consultant for NO2DC77, one of the leading groups opposing the initiative.
“This sets a national standard of pushback against the outside organizations that came into Washington to try to impose this upon the workers,” Lee said.
Many supporters of Initiative 77, led by the New York-based group Restaurant Opportunities Center United, denounced the Council for what they called a blatant move to overturn the will of voters who approved the initiative in the city’s June 19 primary election. Some said they would consider pushing for yet another voter initiative to bring the measure back for another vote at the polls.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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