Local
Ward 2 redistricting plan would split Dupont Circle ‘gayborhood’
Activists call on Council to keep LGBTQ neighborhood intact
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) has joined a growing contingent of her ward’s LGBTQ residents in calling on the D.C. Council to reject parts of three proposed redistricting plans for Ward 2 that would transfer portions of the North Dupont Circle neighborhood into Ward 1.
The redistricting proposals, which were released to the public on Monday, Nov. 1, were drafted by a three-member D.C. Council Subcommittee on Redistricting appointed by Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
The subcommittee members include Council members Elissa Silverman (D-At-Large), who was named as chair; and fellow Council members Anita Bonds (D-At-Large) and Christina Henderson (I-At-Large).
In an eight-page statement released this week, the subcommittee points out that a shifting of the city’s ward boundary lines is needed to bring the city into legal conformance with the 2020 U.S. Census count for D.C., which shows shifts in population within the city.
Gay Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Mike Silverstein is among the activists who say the redistricting proposals would unnecessarily split Dupont Circle’s historic “gayborhood,” which has served as a safe space for LGBTQ D.C. residents for decades.
Silverstein noted that those in opposition to the proposals are members of ANC 2B, which represents the Dupont Circle area.
“Half of ANC 2B’s eight commissioners are openly gay,” Silverstein said in a statement. “2B represents the historic epicenter of D.C.’s LGBT community,” he said. “If any of these three working maps were to be adopted as presented, that would no longer be the case.”
Silverstein was referring to three maps that the Subcommittee on Redistricting released this week showing proposed significant changes in the boundary lines for Wards 6, 7, and 8.
The subcommittee points out that the population of Ward 6 grew by 17,699 residents since the 2010 U.S. Census count, and Wards 7 and 8 lost 5,628 residents and 3,370 residents respectively over the past decade.
In its statement, it says to balance the population of each of the eight wards, some neighborhoods in Ward 6 — most likely the Southwest D.C. waterfront neighborhood — must be moved to Ward 8. Neighborhoods in other wards that border on Wards 7 and 8 must be moved into those two wards to raise the Ward 7 and 8 population counts to “within range” that equalizes the population of each of the wards, according to the statement.
Silverstein points out that the subcommittee itself shows in its statistical findings that Ward 2 is currently “within range” of the census count requirements for equal representation for its residents.
A public hearing by the subcommittee was scheduled to take place on Friday, Nov. 5, to provide a forum for residents from throughout the city to voice their opinions on the proposed redistricting plans.
“Keeping communities together and not arbitrarily drawing lines through neighborhoods is an important consideration,” Councilmember Pinto said in a Nov. 1 statement. “This is one of the reasons why I am troubled to see parts of North Dupont Circle removed from Ward 2 in some of the ‘Maps for Discussion’ released today,” Pinto said.
“Excising this part of Ward 2 would arbitrarily cut off the LGBTQQIA+ community that has such a rich history and pronounced presence in North Dupont,” Pinto said. “I will be working with my colleagues to ensure that this community remains in Ward 2.”
The full D.C. Council was expected to make a final decision on the redistricting proposals sometime in December.
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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