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District of Columbia

One of two gay candidates wins primary for D.C. Council

Bowser triumphs in Democratic race for third term as mayor

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3 years ago

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Gay D.C. Board of Education member Zachary Parker won the Democratic primary for the Ward 5 Council seat.

Gay D.C. Board of Education member Zachary Parker emerged as the clear winner in a seven-candidate race for the Ward 5 D.C. Council seat in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, placing him in a strong position to win the November general election and become the first openly gay member of the Council since 2015.

With nearly all of the votes counted shortly before midnight, Parker had 41.65 percent of the vote, with his closest rival, Faith Gibson Hubbard, receiving 23.41 percent. Former at-large and Ward 5 Councilmember Vincent Orange had 16.66 percent of the vote in his unsuccessful bid to return to the Council.

While Parker and his supporters celebrated his primary victory, gay former D.C. police officer Salah Czapary lost his bid for the Ward 1 D.C. Council seat to incumbent Councilmember Brianne Nadeau by a margin of 47.39 percent to 32.09 percent. A third candidate in the Ward 1 race, Sabel Harris, had 20.25 percent of the vote.

Parker had an advantage over Czapary, according to political observers, because he was running for an open seat after incumbent Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General rather than re-election to the Council. Incumbents, such as Nadeau in Ward 1, are considered to have a better chance of winning re-election.

But some political observers, based on reports of a private poll showing Czapary running close if not slightly ahead of Nadeau, thought Czapary had a good shot at unseating Nadeau. That prompted what Czapary’s supporters said was an onslaught of negative campaign attacks against Czapary. The attacks were based in part on a Washington City Paper story disclosing his campaign chairperson was a registered Republican and was associated with a conservative think tank that supports Donald Trump.

Czapary said he immediately secured the resignation of his campaign chair, saying he did not know he was a registered Republican. He also pointed out that as a gay Arab American he was a longtime Democratic Party supporter even though, as Nadeau supporters pointed out, he was an independent and did not become a registered Democrat until earlier this year.

The political attacks against Czapary continued, with large signs accusing him of having “Republican campaign leadership” being posted on light poles in Ward 1 as well as outside the nearby Number 9 gay bar in Ward 2, which Ward 1 residents are known to patronize.

“I’m sure negative campaigning has an effect,” Czapary told the Washington Blade at his election night gathering at the Duplex Diner in Adams Morgan, which drew more than 100 supporters.

“But we made a very essential effort to focus on the issues that voters want to talk about,” he said. “And you know, the election is over, and bygones are bygones. And I look forward to working with Councilmember Nadeau on some of the issues that resonated with voters that voted for me.”

With Nadeau and all the other candidates running in the June 21 Democratic primary – including Mayor Muriel Bowser and her three Democratic rivals — expressing support for LGBTQ issues or having long records of support — LGBTQ voters are believed to have based their vote on other issues such as public safety and affordable housing among other issues.

As of just before midnight on election day, Bowser had 49.86 percent of the vote, with rival mayoral candidates D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large) receiving 38.51 percent and Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) receiving 9.8 percent. The fourth candidate in the mayoral race, James Butler, had 1.47 percent of the vote. The Associated Press earlier in the evening projected Bowser as the winner.

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) had 54.82 percent of the vote compared to challenger Erin Palmer, who had 44.72 percent. In the four-candidate At-Large D.C. Council race, incumbent Anita Bonds was ahead with 38.33 percent of the vote, with rival Democrats Lisa Gore with 26.96 percent, Nate Fleming 26.45 percent, and Dexter Williams with 7.54 percent.

In the hotly contested Ward 3 D.C. Council race, in which nine candidates were on the ballot, Matthew Frumin was ahead with 38 percent of the vote. Eric Goulet was in second place with 31.01 percent. The remaining candidates, including three who dropped out and threw their support to Frumin after it was too late to have their names removed from the ballot, received less than 7 percent of the vote.

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) was the clear winner in her bid for re-election, with 86.55 percent of the vote. Her two opponents in the primary, Wendy Hamilton and Kelly Mikel Williams received 6.15 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively.

In the race for D.C. Attorney General, attorney Brian Schwalb was ahead with 45.21 percent of the vote, with rival attorneys Bruce Spiva and Ryan Jones receiving 35.65 percent and 18.32 percent of the vote, respectively.

In the race for U.S. Representative, which is known as D.C.’s shadow representative to the U.S. House of Representatives, with no voting powers, incumbent Oye Owolewa was trailing challenger Linda Gray by a vote of 49.78 percent to 48.64 percent. Owolewa was the only Democratic incumbent on the primary ballot who was not substantially ahead of their opponent.

In a development that surprised some observers, the Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest local LGBTQ political group, endorsed Robert White over Bowser and backed challenger Erin Palmer over Council Chair Phil Mendelson. The group also endorsed Nadeau over gay challenger Czapary. In the Ward 5 race, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Parker.

With the overwhelming majority of the city’s voters being registered Democrats, winners in the D.C. Democratic primary almost always win in the November general election. In the D.C. Republican primary on Tuesday, GOP candidates ran unopposed for the office of congressional delegate, mayor, Council chair, at-large Council member, and Council member for Wards 3 and 5.

Most political observers say that with Republicans having little or no chance of winning, Democrats running against each other in the primaries tend to divide along the lines of moderate Democrat versus progressive-left Democrat.

In Tuesday’s primary, Bowser, Mendelson, Bonds, and Czapary were considered representatives of the party’s moderates. Their opponents, including Ward 1 incumbent Nadeau, are considered representatives of the party’s progressive-left faction. Parker is also considered part of the progressive-left faction.

Parker won election in 2018 as the Ward 5 representative on the D.C. Board of Education. His fellow board members last year elected him as president of the board. He drew media attention earlier this year when he came out publicly as gay in a video message he posted on his Twitter page.

“I am very proud and confident in who I am and who I’ve been,” he said in his video message. “Many already know – my family, my friends, many community leaders,” he continued. “But I recognize that many may not know, and this may come as a surprise. So, I thought it was important for me to share my full self,” he said.

Lesbian activists Sheila Alexander-Reid and Courtney Snowden, who each held high-level positions in the Bowser administration in the recent past, were among the large number of LGBTQ activists who turned out for Bowser’s election night party at the Franklin Hall restaurant and nightclub. Alexander-Reid served as director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Snowden served as Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity, the highest-level position an LGBTQ person has held in the D.C. mayor’s office.

Both told the Washington Blade they believe Bowser will continue her commitment to addressing the needs and concerns of all factions of the LGBTQ community, including those who did not vote for her on Tuesday.

“I think we need to come together and work with her,” said Alexander-Reid in referring to LGBTQ voters who supported Robert White. “And if they have some issues and concerns, bring them to her attention,” she said. “I can tell you firsthand when you bring issues to her attention, she takes care of it, and she addresses it.”

Snowden said the diversity reflected in the several hundred people attending the mayor’s election night event symbolized her ability to bring people together to solve problems.

“I am so happy to see the mayor get exactly what she deserves, four more years to make good on her promises she made to our city, to the LGBTQ community, for the District’s long-time residents, to African Americans, and to everyone,” Snowden said. “She is doing incredible work and the city has resoundingly said that she gets to do this for four more years to bring prosperity for all in every single ward of our city.”

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District of Columbia

Activists protest outside Hungarian Embassy in DC

Budapest Pride scheduled to take place Saturday, despite ban

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3 days ago

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June 27, 2025

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Activists on the eve of Budapest Pride protest outside the Hungarian Embassy in D.C. on June 27, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

More than two dozen activists gathered in front of the Hungarian Embassy in D.C. on Friday to protest the country’s ban on Budapest Pride and other LGBTQ-specific events.

Amnesty International USA Executive Director Paul O’Brien read a letter that Dávid Vig, executive director of Amnesty International Hungary, wrote.

“For 30 years Budapest Pride has been a celebration of hope, courage, and love,” said Vig in the letter that O’Brien read. “Each march through the streets of Budapest has been a powerful testament to the resilience of those who dare to demand equality, but a new law threatens to erase Pride and silence everyone who demands equal rights for LGBTI people.”

“The Hungarian government’s relentless campaign against LGBTI rights represents a worrying trend that can spread normalizing division and hatred,” added Vig. “Thank you for standing with us when we refuse to be intimidated.”

Council for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley and two of his colleagues — Stephen Leonelli and Keifer Buckingham — also spoke. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and Chloe Schwenke, a political appointee in the Obama-Biden administration who worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Planned Parenthood staffers are among those who attended the protest.

(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)

Hungarian lawmakers in March passed a bill that bans Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs in April amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.

Budapest Pride is scheduled to take place on Saturday, despite the ban. Hundreds of European lawmakers are expected to participate.

“Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love,” said David Pressman, the gay former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, on Friday on social media.

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District of Columbia

Man sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug deal that killed two DC gay men 

Prosecutors asked for 210 month sentence

Published

4 days ago

on

June 26, 2025

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Brandon Román and Robbie Barletta (Photo via Instagram)

On Thursday Jevaughn Mark, 33, of D.C., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for running what prosecutors called a “prolific drug delivery service” that led to the fentanyl overdose deaths of two men in D.C.’s gay community.

The 15-year sentence comes three months after Mark, aka “Ledo,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. As part of the plea deal, Mark accepted responsibility for causing the deaths of Brandon Román and Robert “Robbie” Barletta. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also ordered five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia argued that Mark knowingly sold fentanyl and was at least partially responsible for the men’s deaths. The office had asked the court for a 210-month sentence.

On Dec. 27, 2023, Román, 38, and Barletta, 28, were found unconscious in their Northwest Washington home after a 911 call brought police and emergency responders to the scene. A police investigation later revealed that Román had purchased what he believed was ketamine from Mark. DEA testing of the remaining drugs found no ketamine — only fentanyl, xylazine, and caffeine.

Friends and family members wore rainbow ribbons in solidarity with Román, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Barletta, a historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner — both of whom were active members of Washington’s gay community.

“There is no good outcome here,” Chutkan said from the bench before issuing the sentence. “These people didn’t deserve to die.”

While noting Mark’s “long record,” Chutkan opted for a sentence shorter than what the government had requested, citing what she believed to be genuine remorse.

“I believe Mr. Mark when he wishes he could take it back,” she said.

Following the sentencing, the Washington Blade spoke with Jeanine Pirro, the recently appointed U.S. Attorney for D.C., who echoed the judge’s compassion, but stood by her office’s push for a longer sentence.

“We had asked for more time,” Pirro said. “He’s a felon in possession, and there’s the fentanyl. But he’s got a prior record. There are various other crimes. This guy’s been operating with impunity.”

“My job is to make sure we recognize both Brandon and Robbie with dignity,” she added. “They are two very special human beings who should not have died — and they died as a result of not only someone else’s criminal behavior, but someone else’s reckless behavior in ignoring what he should not have ignored.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar Mian emphasized the broader dangers of the drug trade in a written statement.

“The drug market is characterized by the illegal availability of polydrug mixtures, many of which have lethal amounts of fentanyl,” Mian said. “Criminals like Mr. Mark pose a deadly threat by selling drugs with fentanyl, which users unknowingly consume, often leading to their deaths. Illegal drug distribution affects the very foundations of our families and communities, so every time we take criminals like Mr. Mark off the streets, lives are saved.”

Mian also credited the DEA teams, USAO-DC litigators, and local and state partners for their work in investigating and removing “illegal drugs from this individual who was involved in violent activities.”

Asked whether she had a message for the LGBTQ community — statistically more vulnerable to substance use disorders than the general population — Pirro was direct about her commitment to equal justice.

“The only thing I can say to the LGBT community is that there is a level playing field here,” Pirro said. “Everybody gets the same justice. You have a problem, you have an issue, you come to me. I have a long history of fighting for equal rights for everyone. Everyone deserves dignity, everyone deserves protection, and everyone deserves justice — and you’re gonna get that from me.”

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District of Columbia

GLAA issues ratings in Ward 8 D.C. Council special election

Declines to rate ousted Council member Trayon White who’s seeking re-election

Published

6 days ago

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June 25, 2025

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Trayon White is seeking re-election after being expelled from the Council following his arrest on a federal bribery charge. (Washington Blade file photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

GLAA D.C., formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, announced on June 22 its ratings for three of the four candidates running in the city’s July 15 Ward 8 D.C. Council special election, saying each of the three have records of support for the LGBTQ community.  

The election was called earlier this year when the Ward 8 seat became vacant after the Council voted unanimously to expel Ward 8 Council member Trayon White (D) following his arrest by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August 2024.

White, who has denied any wrongdoing and was released while awaiting his trial scheduled for January 2026, is one of the four candidates running in the special election to regain his seat on the Council. Under D.C. law, he can legally run for office and serve again on the Council if he wins up until the time he is convicted of the criminal offense he is charged with.

While not mentioning White by name, in a statement accompanying its candidate ratings GLAA said it has a policy of not rating any candidates expelled or who resign from an elected position for ethics violations, including “malfeasance.”

The three candidates it rated – Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin, and Salim Adofo – are longtime Ward 8 community advocates who have been involved in local government affairs for many years and, according to LGBTQ activists who know them, have been supportive of LGBTQ rights. All three are running as Democrats.

White also has a record of supporting LGBTQ issues while serving on the Council since 2017.

GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10, the lowest possible rating, to +10, its highest rating. Since it began candidate ratings in the 1970s it has based the ratings mostly on LGBTQ-related issues.

But in recent years, it has shifted gears to base the ratings mostly on non-LGBTQ specific issues, saying those issues — such as housing, healthcare, and a call for decriminalizing sex work — impact the LGBTQ community as well as all D.C. residents.

The following are the GLAA D.C. ratings for the three Ward 8 candidates it rated:

Sheila Bunn – 7.5

Mike Austin – 6.5

Salim Adofo – 4.5

Bunn is a former staff member for D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and has worked for former D.C. Mayor and later D.C. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7), a longtime strong supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Austin, an attorney, is a former chair of one of the Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, served as chief of staff in the office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, and worked on the staff of former Ward 7 Council member LaRuby May (D).

Adofo has served as a Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner since 2018 and chair of his ANC since 2021. His campaign biographical information shows he  has been an advocate for affordable housing, improved health care and lower health costs in Ward 8. He is the only one of the Ward 8 special election candidates on the July 15 ballot to express support for LGBTQ rights on his campaign website.

“At the heart of our platform is a steadfast commitment to uplifting LGBTQ+ communities, ensuring that policy is shaped not just for them, but with them,” a statement on his website says.

As of early this week, White did not have a campaign website. He has won re-election for the Ward 8 Council seat in every election since 2017, including the November 2024 election following his August 2024 arrest.

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, which for many years has endorsed candidates running for public office in D.C., decided not to make an endorsement in the Ward 8 special election, according to the group’s president, Howard Garrett.

“We thought that this is best because this is a special election and in these unfamiliar times, we decided not to take a stand,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. But he said his group partnered with the Ward 8 Democrats organization in holding a candidate forum in which the Ward 8 candidates were asked questions “that related to our community.”

Longtime Ward 8 gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell, who is supporting Adofo, said he strongly feels GLAA’s 4.5 rating for Adofo does not reflect Adofo’s strong support for the LGBTQ community.

Fellow Ward 8 gay Democratic activist David Meadows said he is supporting Bunn, who he says also has a strong record of support for the LGBTQ community.

The Blade earlier this week asked each of the four Ward 8 candidates’ campaigns to provide a statement by the candidates explaining their position on LGBTQ issues. As of the end of the business day on June 24, the candidates had not yet responded. The Blade will report on those responses when they are received.   

The GLAA ratings and the group’s statement describing the responses to its questionnaire that each of the three candidates it rated submitted can be accessed here:  

GLAA 2025 Special Election Candidate Ratings.docxDownload

The websites of the three candidates who have campaign websites, which provide full details of their positions and background, can be accessed here:

Sheila Bunn

Bunforward8.com

Mike Austin

Mikeaustin8.com

Salim Adofo

Salimforward8.com

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