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Comings & Goings
Zach Ford named press secretary at Alliance for Justice


The Comings and 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 and Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.

Congratulations to Zack Ford on his new position as Press Secretary at Alliance for Justice (AFJ). According to their website “For 40 years, AFJ has been a recognized leader in advocating for a judiciary that upholds the rights of all. AFJ has longstanding ties to Senate offices, legal organizations, and state and local advocates. Senators rely on our research and know our advocacy, making us a ‘go-to source’.” Upon accepting the position Zack said; “I think a lot of people understand that President Trump has appointed many judges, but fewer understand the impact that will have on our lives, and I’m looking forward to helping change that.”
Prior to taking this position Zack had worked for 8.5 years at ThinkProgress the news source of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. While there he covered both LGBTQ issues and Trump. He also wrote the LGBTQ political newsletter Fording the River Styx. He was the Founder/Editor of ZackFordBlogs.com; and worked as a Graduate Assistant, Multicultural Student Services, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Zack received his Bachelor of Music, Music Education (Piano), magna cum laude from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY and his Master of Education, Higher Education/Student Affairs from Iowa State University, Ames, IA. There he taught a course in Gender Justice and was a Teaching Assistant, Musical Theatre I and II. He currently serves on the Ithaca College Alumni Board of Directors. In 2014 The Advocate named him me one of its 40 under 40 voices in LGBTQ media. He is an accomplished pianist and still accompanies and directs musical theatre when opportunities arise.
Congratulations also to Shane Larson on his new position as Assistant to the President, Communications Workers of America (CWA). The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 workers in private and public-sector employment. CWA members work in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields. Prior to this appointment he was Director of Legislation, Politics and International Affairs for them. Before joining CWA Shane was Government Affairs Director for the Association of Flight Attendants. He had also worked on Capitol Hill for Sen. Tom Daschle.
Shane has served a stint as Board co-chair National Stonewall Democrats and is President of the Progressive Congress Action Fund. He has also served on the Board of Pride at Work, National LGBT constituency group of the AFL-CIO. He earned his Bachelor of Science, International Politics at Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C.

District of Columbia
Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court
Congresswoman notes Congress controls local court system

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Friday, June 20, reintroduced her bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ D.C. residents in the process for selecting people to serve as jurors in D.C. Superior Court.
“The bill would clarify that D.C. residents may not be excluded or disqualified from jury service in the local D.C. trial court, the D.C. Superior Court, based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Norton said in a statement.
“Specifically, this bill would clarify that the term ‘sex,’ which is a protected class under the nondiscrimination law that applies to jurors in the D.C. Superior Court includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” Norton said.
She points out in her statement that under the D.C. Home Rule Act approved by Congress that created D.C.’s local government, including an elected mayor and City Council, the federal government retained control over the local court system.
“Therefore, until D.C. is given authority to amend Title 11 of the D.C. Code, which one of my bills would do, an act of Congress is required to clarify that LGBTQ+ jurors in the D.C. Superior Court are protected from discrimination,” according to her statement.
A spokesperson for Norton couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Norton is aware of specific instances where residents were denied jury service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Online records of congressional action on Norton’s juror nondiscrimination bill show she had introduced it in 2019, 2021, and 2023, when it died in committee each year, except for the 117th Congress in 2022, when it was approved by a committee but died in the full House.
“During Pride month we are reminded of the many contributions of the LGBTQ+ community,” Norton said in her June 20 statement. “Nobody, including D.C. jurors, should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and D.C. juries should not be deprived of the service of LGBTQ residents,” she added.

The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor.
Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.
“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”
Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.
Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.
Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.