District of Columbia
Ward 3 candidates express support for LGBTQ issues at Stonewall Dems forum
Eight of nine in hotly contested race participate in virtual debate

Eight of the nine candidates running in the city’s June 21 Democratic primary for the Ward 3 D.C. Council seat being vacated by longtime LGBTQ supportive incumbent Mary Cheh expressed strong support on a wide range of LGBTQ issues at an April 25 virtual candidates’ forum organized by the Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest local LGBTQ political group.
The 90-minute forum, which was co-sponsored by the D.C. Democratic State Committee, touched on topics ranging from anti-LGBTQ violence, especially hate crimes targeting transgender women of color; efforts to address homelessness faced by LGBTQ youth and seniors; the overall impact of D.C.’s high cost of living on the LGBTQ community; and whether LGBTQ-related curricula should be put in place in the city’s public schools.
Kurt Vorndran, a longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist and one of the Capital Stonewall Democrats’ former presidents, and Elizabeth Callanan Mitchel, a member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, served as co-moderators of the forum.
The candidates participating in the forum, all of whom have been Ward 3 civic activists, included:
• Eric Goulet, longtime D.C. Council staff official and city budget director under former Mayor Vincent Gray;
• Ben Bergmann, former teacher, attorney, and ANC commissioner in the Palisades and Spring Valley neighborhoods;
• Matt Frumin, attorney, former Cheh campaign official, and ANC commissioner;
• Deirdre Brown, Realtor, small business owner, and former ANC commissioner;
• Henry Cohen, 18-year-old high school senior and longtime youth political activist who would become the Council’s youngest ever member if elected
• Tricia Duncan, former chemical industry researcher turned real estate company official and president of the Palisades Community Association
• Beau Finley, attorney, union leader, ANC commissioner, and Democratic campaign consultant who worked on the campaigns to help elect gay College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn and transgender Virginia House of Delegates member Danica Roem;
• Phil Thomas, Ward 3 community activist, chair of the Ward 3 Democratic Committee, and former director of the D.C. Office of Clean City under Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Monte Monash, CEO of the D.C. public affairs and communications consulting firm Monash Advisory Group and longtime Ward 3 community activist, was the only one of the Ward 3 D.C. Council Candidates who did not attend the LGBTQ candidates’ forum.
In keeping with D.C.’s long history of having mostly LGBTQ supportive candidates who run for public office, each of the eight Ward 3 candidates participating in the form appeared to agree with each other on their proposals for policies in support of the city’s LGBTQ community. None of them criticized or disagreed with each other during the discussions and several praised their fellow candidates for being knowledgeable and enthusiastic in their advocacy for LGBTQ rights.
At the conclusion of the forum, when Capital Stonewall Democrats President Jatarious Frazier asked each of the candidates if LGBTQ people were working on their respective campaigns as volunteers or paid staffers, each of them raised their hands to give a “yes” answer to that question.
Frazier said the April 25 forum was the first of five candidate forums the LGBTQ group would be holding between April 25 and May 11. The next forum, scheduled for Thursday, April 28, was to be for D.C.’s U.S. Congressional Delegate seat and for the so-called shadow U.S. Representative seat.
On May 2, Capital Stonewall Democrats is scheduled to hold its forum for Democratic candidates running for D.C. Mayor and D.C. Attorney General. On May 4, the group will hold its forum for Democrats running for D.C. Council in Ward 1 and Ward 5, where an openly gay candidate is running in each of those two races.The last of the series of forums, scheduled for May 11, will be for Democrats running for D.C. Council Chair and the At-Large D.C. Council seat.
Frazier said that due to concerns over the COVID pandemic, the group decided to hold each of the forums virtually.
He said the organization’s voting members will receive an electronic ballot to cast their votes on which candidates Capital Stonewall Democrats should endorse beginning on May 1 and will have until May 15 to cast their ballots electronically. He said the group would announce its endorsements on May 17.
Similar to its practice in past elections for many years, a 60 percent majority vote will be needed in order for a candidate to win the organization’s endorsement, Frazier said. He said that if no candidate receives a 60 percent majority vote after two rounds of voting, no endorsement will be made for that particular race in the June 21 primary. Frazier said under club rules, an endorsement for a race where no endorsement was made in the primary can be made later for the November general election.
The April 25 forum, which was recorded on video in its Zoom broadcast, can accessed for viewing here: https://fb.watch/cEfNwZkAtF/
A Washington Blade transcript of the closing statements delivered by the eight candidates participating in the April 25 forum can be read below:
Deirdre Brown
Thank you so much. I just want to thank you all for having us here. On my website you can read about my LGBTQ+ policy positions. I will mainly in my work on the Council make sure we reduce the number of LGBTQ+ homeless youth by providing temporary housing and wrap around services. I will advocate for support policies to protect and empower transgender sex workers. We didn’t get a chance to talk about that tonight. And of course, I support the Equality Act and an end to workplace discrimination. I view LGBTQ+ rights as similar to the other rights that are for other marginalized communities, including undocumented immigrants as well as of course people of color. And we all need to work together to make sure that our community is safe for everyone. Thank you.
Matthew ‘Matt’ Frumin
So, I work on a whole lot of issues and honestly LGBTQ issues have not been at the top of the list of the things that I work on. I get educated on these issues in part from my children, in part from watching the world and in part from things like this. And this has been educational to me. I’ve been stunned by a number of the different things that have been raised here. And I would really want to be a partner to work on these issues with this group and with others in the community. I want to learn. I want to work with you, and I want to address these critical things that are out there. And all I can say is I offer myself as a partner to do and learn with you going forward. So, thank you very much.
Beau Finley
Thank you, Capital Stonewall Democrats, for hosting and thank you to my fellow candidates for a great discussion. You know, I got into this campaign because I care about one thing. And that is dignity. We need to treat each other with dignity and respect. And we need to make sure our policies take into account the dignity of each person. And so, I’m not perfect. I don’t know everything. I’ve got a lot of proposals, a lot of ideas. But I’m not going to be right all the time and I appreciate partnering with you and learning and moving forward together. I think together, we can make a much stronger, much more just District. And I look forward to working with you as a Council member. My website is BeauFinley.com. And it has a number of my policies up. I believe at least as of about a week and a half or two weeks ago I was still the only candidate with an LGBTQ platform. So, thank you all for a wonderful evening.
Phil Thomas
Thank you, Capital Stonewall, and thank you Elizabeth and Kurt as Ward 3 Dems came strong today as both of you are on the Executive Committee. And as someone who has worked with the LGBTQ community as director at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ as well as Check It Enterprises. I would say I will continue to be a partner as the next Ward 3 Council member, as a bridge builder and as someone who continues in working in the neighborhood…I know nothing can be accomplished alone so I ask you to go to my website at PhilforWard3.com, and I thank you for having me today.
Ben Bergmann
Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you, Kurt. Thank you, Stonewall Democrats, for hosting. I think the thing that this whole forum focused on is how can we make a city that is inclusive, that is just, that is fair, that is beautiful, that is a loving place? And that means making the city affordable. That means making sure the city government works properly. One of the reasons why I’m running and one of the reasons I jumped in this race is that I think that we have a true crisis of epic proportions along one of the policy fronts. But one of the big problems is because we have a Council that is afraid to hold people accountable…They don’t want to ask hard questions. And that is on so many issues. And we need independent people to hold people accountable. That’s why I’m running. Please go to BenGergmann.com. You can read my policy plans. Go at the end of the week – we’re planning a relaunch of some stuff. But go now and go a few days from now as well. Thank you so much.
Eric Goulet
Well, I thank you. It’s just been a fantastic forum. We have all eight of us here. We’re strong Democrats who have been Democrats who have fought against the Trump administration and the hate that’s been there. And anyone of us would be a great advocate for the LGBTQ population here in the District and would fight hard against any hate that tried to get into this city. So, I think it’s great to sit on a panel with so many great people that we have today.
The one issue I just want to conclude with at this moment that we didn’t have time to speak about at the forum. So, in lieu of a traditional closing statement I’d like to just quickly mention employment. Because I think that is one of the biggest issues a Council member can tackle. For we see a gap, particularly with our transgender community still, even after efforts to try to close that gap. So, I’d like to work very closely with the Department of Employment Services to set up a training program where we make sure we connect residents – our transgender community, the LGBTQ community to jobs here in the city. And that involves having training programs that are culturally appropriate. And then making sure we have a list of available residents who want jobs. And then when employers come in — to help educate employers who may not understand the community. And to connect those employers to the residents who need jobs here in the District. Because the unemployment gap for our LGBTQ+ community, particularly the transgender community is still large here in the city and we need to do more about it. And I think that’s something a Council member can really get done here in the District.
Tricia Duncan
Thank you for a great forum tonight. I feel like this is one of our best ones that we’ve had with the unique issues that the LGBTQ community faces. As your Council member, I would be a willing partner. I was very impressed with the advocacy that you have done on behalf of your community. I’ve been a lifelong Democrat. And a lot of my heart with the Democratic Party when I joined was that the government had a role in helping the marginalized. And that is my philosophy of government. So, you hear all these stories and specifics, and we need to get to work. We need to do better. And as your Council member I’ll do that. Thank you very much.
Henry Cohen
So, I’d like to make a closing statement to tell you about somebody very close to me. In preparation for this I’ve been speaking with LGBTQ students at my school because I know that myself specifically had the opportunity to speak with those students. One person who is a very close friend of mine is a trans woman. Her name is Eliana and she asked me to talk about her [inaudible]. So, I’m going to tell you a little about Eliana’s experience living in D.C. She loves having the opportunity to live in this city more than anything in the world. If you talk to her about it, her eyes light up the second anybody asks her what she thinks of D.C. But she’s scared because there is a lot going on.
There is a lot of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric going on. And nationally, there are a lot of anti-LGBTQ laws being passed. And for her to have to see that growing up – she’s only a year younger than me. Somebody growing up at almost 18, it’s a terrifying thing. And we should make sure that as a city that we’re stopping that from happening. That we’re making sure that we are an accepting place for anybody, no matter who they are, no matter what their gender, race, sexuality – any of that. We need to make sure that people like Eliana can stay in the city that they love and feel safe in the city that they love. To do that we have to radically reform our systems in order to better represent LGBTQ people.
District of Columbia
$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC
Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.
With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.
Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.
The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.
“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”
In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.
“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”
He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.
Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.
“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.
At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.
In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.
“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement
Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.
So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.
District of Columbia
Welcome home: DC LGBTQ Center opens its doors to healing and hope
The 6,671 square foot DC LGBTQ Center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events, and community support groups, all under one roof.

On a sunny spring day in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood, the once empty Holzbeierlein Bakery warehouse now showcases energy, pride, and the sounds of chosen family coming closer together. After years in a less-than-perfect space on 14th Street, the DC LGBTQ community finally has a new home at the DC LGBTQ Center—and Executive Director Kimberley Bush says it’s more than a building. It’s a promise.
That promise, Bush explained to the Washington Blade on April 26—the day of the new LGBTQ Center’s opening—may change depending on who is being uplifted by the DC Center, but at its core remains the same goal: a thriving LGBTQ community in the nation’s capital. The commitment to the DC LGBTQ community is able to grow more connected and stronger, she explained, as more resources, space, and funding become available for the DC Center.
“This is a glorious home,” Bush said, beaming as groups of community members walked in under the giant inflatable rainbow at the Center’s doors. “It’s our new home. Today was a whole day of welcome home. This space has been an amazing endeavor for a long time, one that we’ve always known we’ve needed. This is space that we need for our LGBT siblings in need—and it’s amazing when your intentions match your efforts.”
The DC Center has long worked to “educate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate, and connect” the LGBTQ community from its former location at the Reeves Center. But now, in its new space at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., these efforts are more visible, accessible, and impactful than ever before.
“This space is a model that is new, that we are creating,” Bush said as groups of DC Center supporters chatted with Etta James’s “At Last” filling the hallways. “There is, I believe, no other LGBTQ+ community center in the country that not only has its own life and supportive services in its building, but is also co-housed with other organizations. A lot of community centers try and do it all, but that’s not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring everybody together under one roof, to be able to have that whole life supportive services center like one-stop shopping. We didn’t want to take over anything anyone else did. We don’t want to take away the dollars those organizations have to do what they do for the community. We want us all to be together. So that’s what we are. We’ve been able to now expand into almost 7,000 square feet of space.”

The new DC Center features a variety of functional spaces designed to meet the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community. It includes office space for up to nine additional partner organizations, creating a hub for collaboration and support. Local and integral LGBTQ organizations like SMYAL, Team DC, and HIPS are some of the groups taking advantage of the space.
“People can be spread out,” Bush said about the opportunity for these LGBTQ-specific organizations to have a dedicated office in the Center. “We are on a grander scale, so we have a grander number of individuals that we can positively and effectively take care of. We [as members of the DC LGBTQ Center] can’t provide everything someone needs, but we can be an outpost for other organizations. Because we’ve expanded, we are able to expand the love, kindness, and support we can give our siblings.”
Additional support, Bush explained, is made possible by the intentional design of the new DC Center. Specialized rooms meet critical needs—from an HIV and STI testing room to therapy spaces and a boutique offering professional attire for job interviews. While the DC Center may not provide every service directly, it offers a shared space where partner organizations can step in and support the community—all under one roof.
“Often people are not able to go here, here, and here, to get what those gaps in life are creating,” she said. “To bridge them in one space just gives that person the opportunity to have less on their heart and their mind in regards to what they need to take care of themselves.”
In addition to being able to provide a space for instrumental elements of protecting the safety and well-being of the DC LGBTQ community, the Center also has a food pantry, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to assist those without a permanent address, and a spacious kitchen.
This, she explained, is why this space is so monumental to providing the DC LGBTQ community the resources they need in a succinct and approachable way.

“By bridging those gaps and having as much as we can here means you’re in one space to get your needs met,” she added. “From sexual health needs, in terms of testing, counseling, and what have you, to mental and behavioral health needs. You can get food, you can get clothing, you can shower. You can store some of your things here. That is such an ease off of your mind to where now you can breathe.”
After stepping into the Center’s director role in 2022, Bush said that she often sees her “siblings” within the community make a better life for themselves starting by walking through the front doors. Sometimes the following steps take more time and resources than for others, but regardless of what it takes, Bush emphasized the goal is to alleviate some stress and make tomorrow an approachable reality.
“I have the amazing opportunity to interact with our community members, our siblings, on a regular basis,” she said. “Often I see them when they first walk in our door. Sometimes they walk in unhappy, sometimes devastated, or they walk in not in a good space. When they come in and invite us in to hear their stories, when they want to share what’s going on with them so we can learn how to best care, love, and support them, it’s incredible. We make a POA, a plan of action, outlining how to take care of them and what that’s going to take.”
Walking through the Center, it is hard to not notice the smiles coming from everyone’s faces—from volunteers, board members, community members, and those seeking assistance. The DC Center, with its rainbow murals and shining floors, has become a beacon of hope for many LGBTQ Washingtonian residents in need. For some, Bush explained, that can be as simple as having a space for solace in a city that seems to have no shortage of stressors.
“The space is made for anyone who’s in need, and even if you’re not,” she said. “This is a place for you to come and be peaceful. A place for you to come and have a cup of tea, not to pay a thing, or have to talk to anybody. You can just sit here and have a cup of tea.”
The more she spoke about the space, it became clear that providing a space for LGBTQ people to be is just as important as providing spaces for the services to take place. The DC LGBTQ Center invites people to not only find what they need to make themselves better in a literal sense but also allows them to simply exist. It is rare for a city to provide this kind of refuge from the constant motion that life demands. And that can be life-changing, she says.
“I will say, ‘How are you today? How are you feeling today?’ ‘How are you’ and ‘how are you feeling’ are two different things, but I do want to know how you’re feeling. If you don’t answer me, that’s good. You know? That’s perfect,” Bush said. “This space is built for everyone, especially for trans and non-binary folk, and for our brown and Black folk. It’s a space for those who just need a space to be.”
In a world that often erases or overlooks LGBTQ people, especially trans, non-binary, Black, and brown community members, the simple act of being seen and cared for can be revolutionary. The DC Center aims to be a place for LGBTQ people to be themselves—not to force them to prove anything or lead them to speak, but to truly be themselves. That quiet affirmation of ‘allowing to be’ can plant the seed to a better, more authentic life.

“One thing that I love to hear, and it makes me feel so good, because they say it in a way that’s just like you and I would say it, or anyone would say it, but sometimes they may not have thought they would say it. They would say, ‘See you tomorrow. See you later.’ This is a person who may not have had tomorrow in their mind. Where you and I say that all the time, but for a lot of our people, our siblings, who come to us, that may not be a thing for them. But when they come in our doors, receive the care and the love and the support and kindness, but then they walk out and they say, ‘See you tomorrow,’ and we do see them tomorrow! I can tell you that this response not only drives me to do this work, because this is good work and I’m very fortunate and privileged to be here, but it’s hearing that out of someone’s mouth. That’s it. That’s all I need.”
District of Columbia
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time
Attorneys say former Casa Ruby director has ‘significant medical issues’

A federal judge on April 8 approved a request by defense attorneys to postpone the sentencing of Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now closed D.C. LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, from April 29 to July 29.
Court records show that Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a motion filed by Corado’s two defense attorneys on that same day calling for the sentencing postponement on grounds of health issues.
“Ms. Corado has significant medical issues,” the April 8 motion states. “She has an important medical appointment related to one of her diagnoses scheduled in June 2025 and will need time to recover from that appointment,” it says.
The motion gives no further details on Colorado’s medical issues. A.J. Kramer, director of the D.C. Office of the Federal Public Defender, whose attorneys are representing Corado, said the office has a policy of never disclosing specific medical related information regarding its clients.
Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. did not object to the defense motion seeking the third sentencing postponement.
The records show that an earlier postponement of the sentencing, from March 28 to April 29, was initiated by the judge due to a scheduling conflict. The first postponement from Jan. 10 to March 28 came at the request of Corado’s attorneys, court records show.
Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors have said funds that Corado allegedly diverted for her own use were intended to be used by Casa Ruby in support of its various programs, including housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth and support for LGBTQ immigrants.
The U.S. Attorney’s statement also notes that in 2022, when “financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public,” Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County, Md. and “fled to El Salvador.” It was at that time that Casa Ruby ceased its operations.
Court records show that FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order.
The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her arrest by the FBI.
Under the federal wire fraud law Corado could be sentenced to a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s statement. However, court observers have said that due to Corado’s decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.
The statement by prosecutors points out that Corado’s decision to plead guilty to the one charge came after she had been charged in a criminal complaint filed on March 1, 2024, with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank accounts.
All those charges except for the wire fraud charge were dropped at the time of her guilty plea.
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