Local
Longtime Baltimore attorney, activist Ed Jeunette dies
Worked for City Council President Clark
Edward Jeunette, a longtime attorney for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, community activist, and former aide to City Councilwomen Mary Pat Clark when she was President of the City Council, died suddenly on New Year’s Day after developing pneumonia. He was 62 years old and lived in Mount Washington with his spouse and husband of 30 years James “Jeb” King.
Jeunette was the son of Edward R. Jeanette, an attorney, and Margaret Clark Jeunette, who died when Ed was 11. Like his father and two brothers, he attended and graduated from Mount Saint Joseph High School. He then graduated from Towson State University, and the University of Baltimore School of Law. As soon as he finished law school in 1982, he took over his father’s Hampden-based law practice. He ran the law practice until he began a lifelong career in public service.
Jeunette and Jeb met on April 29, 1989. In 2013, the year that gay marriage became legal in Maryland, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Edward Hargadon, now retired, married them on April 29, their anniversary date. Judge Hargadon knew Jeunette from his years as a Judge in Juvenile Court where Jeunette tried many cases and said, “To be asked by Ed to officiate his and Jeb’s wedding was such an honor. When I had lunch with them to plan the ceremony, I could see how much they loved one another. They were so playful and gentle together.”
When the two first met, Jeunette was not out to his conservative Catholic family. That all changed when Jeunette was planning to go to a family gathering and asked Jeb if he wanted to come along. Jeb’s answer was an emphatic yes and from then on, they were a couple — to Jeunette’s family and everyone else. Jeb said, “I really believe that was a turning point in Ed’s life because he was not out anywhere up to that point. From that moment on, Ed began living the life that he deserved, wanted and was extremely proud of.”
Jeunette spent much of his life volunteering for community organizations. He grew up in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood and remained committed to the community even after he moved away. He was a board member of the Hampden Business Association, served as a marshal in the Mayor’s Christmas Parade, volunteered for the Hampden Family Center, and was a past vice president of the Hampden-Woodberry Community Council. He later worked for marriage equality and participated in Pride activities.
He was also active in the Democratic Party and in 1987 joined Mary Pat Clarke’s successful citywide campaign for president of the City Council. Following her election, Jeunette joined her as her director of legislation and was involved during her challenging but successful transition as the first woman elected City Council president. He worked on a number of important early legislative initiatives, but Clarke remembers most an incident that showed Jeunette’s thoughtfulness and humor. She said, “[f]or all the support and help Ed brought to the office, I best recall a surprise transformation of my office itself on our first St. Patrick’s Day in office. I began the day chairing the Board of Estimates and when I returned to my office, the red chairs had all been replaced with green chairs. A wonderful sight to behold, which made my day and stands out in my happy memories of those transitional days. Ed never said where those green chairs came from, and I never asked.”
In 1990, Jeunette began a 30-year career as an attorney with the Department of Social Services representing the agency in difficult child abuse and neglect cases and trials protecting vulnerable adults.
In addition to Jeb, Jeunette is survived by brothers Michael and Clark, sister Patricia Dideriksen, step brother Chuck Thompson, step sister Susan Kohler, nine nieces and nephews, and eight great nieces and nephews. A stepsister Libby Rector died recently.
Jeunette’s family, many friends, and colleagues attended a packed memorial celebration of his life on Jan. 8. The family has suggested that donations be made in his honor to the Maryland SPCA.
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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