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Vote in D.C.’s ‘LGBTQ precincts’ divided between Bowser, White

Bonds loses in 10 of 13 precincts with high concentration of queer voters

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Mayor Bowser won her primary race over Robert White, taking seven of the 13 precincts with high concentrations of LGBTQ voters. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Voters in 13 of the city’s 144 electoral precincts that LGBTQ activists have long said include a high concentration of LGBTQ residents and voters divided their vote between D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Councilmember Robert White, her lead rival, in the city’s June 21 Democratic primary.

In the D.C. Board of Elections final but unofficial vote tally for the primary, which it released on July 3, Bowser beat Robert White (D-At-Large) in seven of the 13 so-called LGBTQ precincts. Robert White won in six of the precincts. The two mayoral candidates won or lost in the 13 precincts mostly by a close margin of less than 5 percent.

The other two Democratic mayoral candidates, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White and former attorney and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner James Butler, received less than 10 percent of the vote in each of the 13 precincts in question.

The precincts include the neighborhoods of Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Shaw, Capitol Hill, Anacostia, and the Southwest Waterfront. 

In the race for the D.C. Council Chair, incumbent Phil Mendelson and his only Democratic opponent, attorney and community activist Erin Palmer, each won six of the 13 LGBTQ precincts. The two finished in a tie vote in Precinct 90, which is part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, with each receiving 294 votes or 49.75 percent of the vote in that precinct, according to the Board of Elections final returns.

In the At-Large Council race, incumbent Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community, did not fare as well as Bowser and Mendelson in the LGBTQ precincts. Bonds won in just three of the 13 precincts – those in Logan Circle, Shaw, and Anacostia.

Among her three opponents in the four-candidate race in the primary, attorney Nate Fleming won six of the precincts and ANC Commissioner Lisa Gore won in four of the LGBTQ precincts.

The fourth candidate running for the at-large seat, former DC Council staffer and former Howard University community relations official Dexter Williams, received less than 10 percent of the vote in each of the 13 precincts and lost in all of them.

The candidates challenging Bonds for the at-large Council seat – as well as all the Democratic candidates running for mayor and the Council Chair seat – expressed strong support for LGBTQ rights. Bonds’s poor showing in the LGBTQ precincts suggests that at least some LGBTQ voters may have voted for Fleming and Gore instead of Bonds based on other issues.

Bonds won the primary with 35.85 percent of the vote, with Gore receiving 28.08 percent of the vote and Fleming receiving 27.73 percent, according to the Board of Elections final vote count.

In the race for mayor, Bowser won the primary with 49.01 percent of the citywide vote. Robert White received 40.5 percent, Trayon White received 8.79 percent, and Butler received 1.38 percent.

 In the Council chair race, Mendelson, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter, won the citywide vote with 53.16 percent compared to challenger Palmer, who received 46.44 percent.

Four of the 13 precincts considered to have a high concentration of LGBTQ residents and voters are in Ward 1. They include Precincts 24 and 25 in Adams Morgan and Precincts 23 and 36 in Columbia Heights.

The final vote count for those four precincts show that incumbent Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) beat her gay opponent in the Ward 1 race, former D.C. police officer Salah Czapary, in each of the four precincts. Nadeau won in three of the four precincts by a margin greater than 10 percent of the vote.

In a development that surprised some in the LGBTQ community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, endorsed Nadeau over Czapary in the Ward 1 Council race. Czapary received the endorsement of the national LGBTQ Victory Fund as well as from the Washington Post and former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams.

Activists following the race have said LGBTQ voters who backed Nadeau were clearly basing their vote on issues other than LGBTQ rights, for which Nadeau and a third candidate in the race, community activist Sabel Harris, have expressed support.

Nadeau won the Ward 1 primary with 48.46 percent of the vote. Czapary received 30.94 percent, with Harris receiving 20.36 percent.

In the Ward 5 D.C. Council contest, gay D.C. Board of Education member Zachary Parker won the primary in a seven-candidate race, placing him in a strong position to win the November general election and become the first openly gay member of the D.C. Council since 2015. The Blade couldn’t immediately identify precincts in Ward 5 that may have significant numbers of LGBTQ voters.

In the mayor’s race, Bowser and Robert White each won and lost one of the two LGBTQ precincts in Dupont Circle and Logan Circle by close margins. Bowser beat Robert White in Dupont Circle Precinct 14 by a margin of 50.26 percent to 45.42 percent. But Robert White won in the adjacent Dupont Circle Precinct 15 by a margin of 49.0 percent to 48.17 percent over Bowser.

The mayor won the Logan Circle Precinct 16 by a vote of 54.29 percent compared to Robert White, who received 41.12 percent. In the Logan Circle Precinct 17, Robert White beat Bowser by a margin of 48.29 percent to 46.33 percent.

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Citywide Vote Count

Board of Elections

DC MAYOR

James Butler                        1,753            1.38%

Muriel Bowser                   62,391           49.01%

Trayon White                     11,193             8.79%

Robert White                     51,557            40.5%

Write-In                                    406             0.32%

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Precinct Vote Count

Precincts with High Concentration of LGBTQ voters

Board of Elections

DC MAYOR

Precinct 14 – Dupont Circle

James Butler              21                2.16%

*Muriel Bowser       488             50.26%

Trayon White             16              1.65%

Robert White           441            45.42%

Write-In                        5               0.51%

Precinct 15 – Dupont Circle

James Butler                16               1.33%

Muriel Bowser           579            48.17%                

Trayon White               17               1.41%

*Robert White           589               49.0%

Write-In                          2               0.17%

Precinct 16 – Logan Circle

James Butler                 21                1.55%

*Muriel Bowser            734             54.29%

Trayon White               34                2.51%

Robert White               556             41.12%

Write-In                            7               0.23%

Precinct 17 – Logan Circle

James Butler                 32                 2.24%

Muriel Bowser             663              46.33%

Trayon White                 43                 3.0%

*Robert White             691             48.29%

Write-In                              2               0.14%

Precinct 24 – Adams Morgan

James Butler                     14                    1.2%

Muriel Bowser                 541               46.48%

Trayon White                       9                  0.77%

*Robert White                   594                51.03%

Write-In                                6                  0.52%

Precinct 25 – Adams Morgan

James Butler                      20                       1.1%

Muriel Bowser                  883                 48.49%

Trayon White                      19                   1.94%

*Robert White                    895                 49.15%

Write-In                                  4                   0.23%

Precinct 23 – Columbia Heights          

James Butler                       20                       1.87%

Muriel Bowser                  455                      42.6%

Trayon White                      49                       4.59% 

*Robert White                  541                   50.66% 

Write-In                                 3                        0.58%

Precinct 36 – Columbia Heights

James Butler                     18                         1.32%

Muriel Bowser                 508                     37.27%

Trayon White                   102                       7.48%

*Robert White                 731                     53.63%

Write-In                                5                        0.39%

Precinct 129 – Shaw

James Butler                         43                        1.67%

*Muriel Bowser              1,300                       50.37%                

Trayon White                     148                          5.73%

Robert White                  1,081                       41.88%

Write-In                                   9                          0.35%

Precinct 89 – Capitol Hill

James Butler                       12                              0.98%

*Muriel Bowser               677                            55.22%

Trayon White                      14                             1.14%

Robert White                    521                             42.5%

Write-In                                 2                              0.16%

Precinct 90 – Capitol Hill

James Butler                       7                                  1.14%

*Muriel Bowser               349                               56.75%

Trayon White                     11                                 1.79%

Robert White                   246                                 40.0%

Write-In                                3                                  0.51%

Precinct 127 – Southwest Waterfront

James Butler                        13                                0.84%

*Muriel Bowser                778                             50.23%

Trayon White                     128                               8.26%

Robert White                     628                             40.54%

Write-In                                  2                                0.13%

Precinct 112 – Anacostia

James Butler                      18                                       3.59%

*Muriel Bowser              277                                     45.35%

Trayon White                   107                                    21.36%

Robert White                   148                                    29.54%

Write-In                                 1                                        0.2%

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Citywide Vote Count

Board of Elections

DC COUNCIL CHAIR

Erin Palmer                                   56,671                            46.44%

*Phil Mendelson                          64,877                            53.16%

Write-In                                               406                              0.32%

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Precinct Vote Count

Precincts With High Concentration of LGBTQ Voters

Board of Elections

DC COUNCIL CHAIR

Precinct 14 – Dupont Circle

*Erin Palmer                                 492                             52.34%

Phil Mendelson                            446                             47.45%

Write-In                                             2                                0.21%

Precinct 15 – Dupont Circle

*Erin Palmer                               627                              53.5%

Phil Mendelson                          543                            46.33%

Write-In                                           2                               0.17%

Precinct 16 – Logan Circle

Erin Palmer                                    580                              44.68%

*Phil Mendelson                           715                              55.08%

Write-In                                              3                                 0.23%

Precinct 17 – Logan Circle

*Erin Palmer                                  739                               54.02%

Phil Mendelson                             628                               45.91%

Write-In                                               1                                 0.07%

Precinct 24 – Adams Morgan        

*Erin Palmer                                 593                                  53.09%

Phil Mendelson                            522                                  46.73%

Write-In                                             2                                     0.18%

Precinct 25 – Adams Morgan

Erin Palmer                                  866                                   48.93%

*Phil Mendelson                        900                                   50.85%

Write-In                                            4                                      0.23%

Precinct 23 – Columbia Heights

*Erin Palmer                              546                                    53.46%

Phil Mendelson                         474                                      46.2%

Write-In                                          6                                       0.58%

Precinct 36 – Columbia Heights

*Erin Palmer                             746                                        58.37%

Phil Mendelson                        527                                        41.24%

Write-In                                         5                                           0.39%

Precinct 129 – Shaw

Erin Palmer                              1,144                                     46.62%

*Phil Mendelson                    1,299                                     52.93%

Write-In                                          11                                       0.45%

Precinct 89 – Capitol Hill

Erin Palmer                              556                                         46.8%

*Phil Mendelson                    629                                       52.95%

Write-In                                        3                                         0.25%

Precinct 90 – Capitol Hill

Erin Palmer                             294                                        49.75%

Phil Mendelson                      294                                        49.75%

Write-In                                       3                                           0.51%

Precinct 127 – Southwest Waterfront

Erin Palmer                            674                                         45.66%

*Phil Mendelson                  796                                         53.93%

Write-In                                      6                                            0.41%

Precinct 112 – Anacostia

Erin Palmer                            168                                         35.52%

*Phil Mendelson                  303                                         64.06%

Write-In                                      2                                            0.42%

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Citywide Vote Count

Board of Elections

DC COUNCIL AT-LARGE

Lisa Gore                                      33,225                     28.08%

Nate Fleming                               32,815                     27.73%

*Anita Bonds                               42,421                     35.85%

Dexter Williams                            9,356                        7.91%

Write-In                                             504                        0.43%

DC Democratic Primary

June 21, 2022

Final Pre-Certified Precinct Vote Count

Precincts With High Concentration of LGBTQ Voters

Board of Elections

DC COUNCIL AT-Large

Precinct 14 – Dupont Circle

Lisa Gore                                     309                             34.14%

*Nate Fleming                            311                             34.36%

Anita Bonds                                207                              22.87%

Dexter Williams                           72                                7.96%

Write-In                                          6                                 0.21%

Precinct 15 – Dupont Circle

*Lisa Gore                                  421                               38.34%

Nate Fleming                             355                               32.33%

Anita Bond                                 222                               20.22%

Dexter Williams                          97                                 8.83%

Precinct 16 – Logan Circle

Lisa Gore                                    371                               29.87%

*Nate Fleming                          437                               35.19%

Anita Bonds                               350                                28.18%

Dexter Williams                          82                                   6.6%

Write-In                                         2                                    0.16%

Precinct 17 – Logan Circle

*Lisa Gore                                413                                 30.87%

Nate Fleming                            401                                 29. 97%

Anita Bonds                              420                                 31.39%

Dexter Williams                       101                                    7.55%

Write-In                                         3                                     0.22$

Precinct 24 – Adams Morgan

*Lisa Gore                                384                                     36.4%

Nate Fleming                           330                                     31.28%

Anita Bonds                             261                                     24.74%

Dexter Williams                        80                                        7.58%

Write-In                                       0                                              0%

Precinct 25 – Adams Morgan

Lisa Gore                                 571                                        34.19%

*Nate Fleming                       595                                         35.63%

Anita Bonds                           362                                          21.68%

Dexter Williams                    132                                            7.9%

Write-In                                    10                                            0.6%

Precinct 23 – Columbia Heights

*Lisa Gore                            336                                            34.46%

Nate Fleming                       273                                            28.0%

Anita Bonds                         278                                            28.51%

Dexter Williams                    85                                              8.72%

Write-In                                   3                                               0.31%

Precinct 36 – Columbia Heights

*Lisa Gore                             418                                             33.76%

Nate Fleming                      318                                             25.69%

Anita Bonds                        386                                             31.18%

Dexter Williams                 112                                               9.05%

Write-In                                   4                                               0.32%

Precinct 129 – Shaw

Lisa Gore                            662                                            28.03%

Nate Fleming                     695                                            29.42%

*Anita Bonds                     800                                            33.87%

Dexter Williams                195                                              8.26%

Write-In                               10                                               0.42%

Precinct 89 – Capitol Hill

Lisa Gore                          336                                               29.87%

*Nate Fleming                460                                               40.89%

Anita Bonds                     254                                               22.58%

Dexter Williams                68                                                  6.04%

Write-In                               7                                                   0.62%

Precinct 90 – Capitol Hill

Lisa Gore                        164                                                 29.55%

*Nate Fleming              206                                                 37.12%

Anita Bonds                   153                                                 27.57%

Dexter Williams              30                                                   5.41%

Write-In                             2                                                    0.36%

Precinct 127 – Southwest Waterfront

Lisa Gore                      323                                                  22.62%

Nate Fleming               394                                                  27.59%

*Anita Bonds               594                                                    41.6%

Dexter Williams          115                                                    8.05%

Write-In                            2                                                    0.14%

Precinct 112 – Anacostia

Lisa Gore                      74                                                     15.95%

Nate Fleming              103                                                     22.2%

*Anita Bonds              249                                                    53.66%

Dexter Williams            37                                                     7.97%

Write-In                           1                                                      0.22%

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District of Columbia

Whitman-Walker names new CEO for Health System unit

Heather Aaron credited with advancing LGBTQ health for seniors

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Heather Aaron (Photo courtesy Whitman-Walker)

Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s longtime LGBTQ and HIV health services provider, announced on March 26 that it has appointed Heather Aaron, a health care educator and executive for more than 30 years, as the new CEO for Whitman-Walker Health System.

Whitman-Walker Health System, a division of Whitman-Walker, among other things, advances the mission of Whitman-Walker through expanding its financial and fundraising capacity through the Whitman-Walker Foundation; the Whitman-Walker Institute, which conducts HIV-related research; and the Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings, according to a write-up on the Whitman-Walker website.

In a press release announcing the appointment, Whitman-Walker Health System Board Chair Ann Bonham called Aaron a “dynamic and collaborative leader that will help us to realize the vision and full potential of our health system … building revenue and growth opportunities that will further Whitman-Walker’s care, advocacy, education, and research goals in partnership with Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health.”

The Whitman-Walker Health System CEO position became open in April 2023 when former Health System CEO Dr. Ryan Moran left the position to become Deputy Secretary of Health and Healthcare Finance for the State of Maryland. Whitman-Walker named Cindy Lewin, a healthcare specialist with nonprofit organizations, as interim CEO while it conducted a national search for a permanent CEO.

“Heather has spent her entire career in health care, making a difference for the communities where she has served as Health Care Executive and Educator for more than thirty years,” the Whitman-Walker announcement of her appointment says. “She has worked tirelessly to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work,” it says, adding that her work experience includes services for members of the LGBTQ community and people with HIV/AIDS.

“In Connecticut, she operated the only continuum of care model which included a nursing home, independent living apartments and case management in one centralized community,” the announcement continues. “The care model was specifically designed for people living with HIV and AIDS,” it says. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Whitman-Walker family in service to the community,” Aaron said in the announcement press release. “I look forward to getting to know staff, patients, and engaging with D.C. in a meaningful way,” she said. 

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District of Columbia

Howard University, Gilead working to encourage HIV prevention

‘A strategic, community-centered approach to address systemic disparities’

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Howard University earlier this month hosted an event to support efforts in the Washington, D.C. area to spread HIV/AIDS awareness.

The event highlighted a collaboration between Howard University and Gilead Sciences’ new Setting the P.A.C.E  (Prevention – Arts and Advocacy – Community – Education)  initiative, which addresses HIV prevention, health equity and anti-stigma efforts for both cisgender and transgender Black women and girls. 

“By taking a strategic, community-centered approach to address systemic disparities and improve overall health outcomes, Gilead continues its commitment to advancing health equity for Black cisgender and transgender women and girls in the U.S. who continue to be disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic,” said Deborah H. Telman, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel, Gilead Sciences. 

Gilead’s Setting the P.A.C.E. Initiative is a three-year, $10 million commitment to increase HIV prevention, anti-stigma and health equity efforts for Black cisgender and transgender women and girls in the United States. Howard is one of Setting the P.A.C.E.’s grantees and through the program, it conducts HIV prevention training and informational resources, arts and advocacy, community and nonprofit capacity building, and education.

In 2021, Black women accounted for 53% of new HIV diagnoses among women aged 16 and older in the United States, despite comprising only 14% of the women living in the country, according to the Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention. Additionally, Black transgender women are likelier to be diagnosed with HIV and are likelier, more than their peers, to go undiagnosed and untreated. 

Through Setting the P.A.C.E., high-impact organizations and projects working to improve the HIV landscape receive specialized help that assists them in tackling barriers to equitable HIV health outcomes, and in receiving funding to support a variety of impactful projects to expand programs that provide culturally responsive HIV care training and leverage arts and media to engage local communities and address stigma. 

Because of the urgency of HIV awareness in the Black queer community, more than 75% of the organizations selected for P.A.C.E grants are led by Black women. Funding is directed toward initiatives spearheaded by Black women.

“Gilead’s Setting the P.A.C.E. initiative will help empower organizations to expand custom programs tailored toward fighting stigma and expanding access to HIV care in their communities,” said Telman. 

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District of Columbia

D.C. Council member proposes LGBTQ senior housing in Ward 2

Calls on mayor to include funding for project in FY 2025 budget

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D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) seeks to establish the city’s ‘first affordable housing for LGBTQQIA+ seniors in Ward 2.’

D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser to include $22.9 million in the city’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget to establish what Pinto calls the city’s “first affordable housing for LGBTQQIA+ seniors in Ward 2.”

In a Feb. 27 letter to Bowser proposing specific amounts of city funding on a wide range of issues, including the Council’s recently passed crime bill, Pinto told Bowser the need for affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors is pressing.

“Having faced decades of workplace and healthcare discrimination and been barred for most of their lives from marrying or having children, our LGBTQQIA+ seniors are more likely to face financial and health challenges and need housing and social supports as they age,” Pinto states in her letter.

“As the Council-funded task force meets to identify a site for a Ward 2 Senior Center, we should endeavor to locate a building that serves a dual purpose: a Ward 2 Senior Center as well as LGBTQQIA+ senior housing,” Pinto states. DHCD [D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development] should leverage federal Community Development Block Grants funding to produce at least 80 affordable units for low-and-moderate-income seniors and provide meals and other supportive services,” she wrote.

Pinto was referring to legislation passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor creating a Wards 2 and 3 Senior Wellness Center Feasibility and Planning Task Force, which is assigned to “advise and guide” the mayor, the Council, and other city government agencies in the development of  senior wellness centers in Wards 2 and 3.

The task force, whose members are appointed by the mayor and the Council, has already met twice and has discussed one possible building in the Dupont Circle area that could be considered for a seniors wellness center and residence for seniors, according to John Fanning, a member of the staff of D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large). Bonds serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, which oversees city programs pertaining to senior citizens.

Fanning, who is gay and a longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate, and gay D.C. civic activist and former Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Mike Silverstein, are among those who have been appointed to the senior wellness center task force.

Silverstein said LGBTQ community members in the Dupont Circle area are suggesting the task force and the mayor consider arranging for the city to purchase a building owned by Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University at 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., for the senior facility.

The university used the building for many years for its various educational programs before it moved its programs and offices into a newly renovated building on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., near the U.S. Capitol.

“Since the mayor’s budget hasn’t been released yet, there’s no telling whether there’s dedicated funding included for the purchase of this property,” Fanning told the Washington Blade.

A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins University’s D.C. office couldn’t immediately be reached to determine the price the university is asking for the building, which it announced last year it was planning to sell. The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue states on its website that the 8-story building has been assessed for 2024 at a value of $35,894,220.

“Council member Pinto’s request to the mayor is a vitally important first step toward establishment of LGBT+ affirmative housing in the historic epicenter of our community,” Silverstein told the Blade. “The need is clear, as so many of our seniors are struggling to age in place with soaring rents and inflation eating away at savings or just dealing with the effects of social isolation that comes with the loss of a partner or close friends,” Silverstein said.

“There’s no question the District’s budget is very tight and this project as envisioned would be a very heavy lift,” Silverstein added. “But just putting this request on the table and perhaps setting up a task force to seek a way forward is a giant step forward,” he said.

Silverstein noted that a city-funded senior housing facility under existing law would have to be open to all city seniors, not just LGBTQ seniors, but he said it would be “LGBT+ affirmative,” making it an important and welcoming place for LGBTQ seniors.

News surfaced this week that Bowser, who had planned to release her budget proposal to the Council this week, needed more time to finalize the budget and it would be released sometime later.

Mayoral spokesperson Daniel Gleick told the Blade last week that ideas like the Pinto LGBTQ-supportive housing proposal would be part of the budget process discussions by the mayor and the Council in the coming weeks. 

Pinto’s proposal for an LGBTQ-supportive senior housing facility in Ward 2 comes six months after Mayor Bowser and other city officials participated in a groundbreaking ceremony launching the construction of Mary’s House for Older Adults, which is expected to be the city’s first home for LGBTQ seniors. The Mary’s House facility, which is located in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood in Ward 7, will include 15 single-occupancy residential apartments, compared to the 80 apartments that Pinto’s proposal calls for.

LGBTQ rights advocates nevertheless have called the Mary’s House Project, which is receiving city funds as well as support from private donors, an important project organized and founded by longtime LGBTQ community advocate Imani Woody, who is expected to operate the facility when it opens. 

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