District of Columbia
Gay D.C. liquor board member says he was unfairly denied reappointment
Mayor’s office mum on allegation that Grandis was falsely accused of ethics violations
Gay longtime D.C. attorney Edward Grandis who has served for the past four years as a member of the city’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis (ABC) Board is calling on D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large) to investigate what he believes was the use of false and defamatory allegations against him to persuade Mayor Muriel Bowser against appointing him to a second four-year term on the ABC Board.
Grandis said he has reached out to McDuffie because he serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development, which oversees the ABC Board. Under D.C. law, members of the ABC Board are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Council.
In a Nov. 14 letter to McDuffie sent by email, a copy of which he sent to the Washington Blade, Grandis blames Steve Walker, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments, known as MOTA, which advises the mayor on whom to appoint to dozens of city boards and commissions, for failing to provide Grandis an opportunity to respond to allegations that he violated city ethics rules by representing business clients in his private law practice that are regulated by the ABC Board.
Grandis told McDuffie that in addition to failing to allow him to respond to the alleged ethics violations, Walker also failed to inform him and provide an opportunity to respond to another allegation that Grandis lives in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he owns a home, and no longer lives in D.C., which would make him ineligible to serve on the ABC Board.
According to his letter to McDuffie, Walker informed Grandis that MOTA learned of the allegations from sources who appeared to have an ax to grind against Grandis, but Walker did not disclose this to Grandis until after Grandis repeatedly attempted to reach Walker by phone and email earlier this year to inform him that he would like to serve another term on the ABC Board.
Grandis says he believes he adequately refuted the allegations in subsequent email messages and phone conversations with Walker, but by that time Walker and ABC Board Chairperson Donovan W. Anderson had already advised the mayor or her top aides not to reappoint Grandis and to replace him with another nominee.
He notes that while he spends time in Rehoboth Beach, like countless other D.C. residents, he is a legal District resident and fully meets the city’s residency requirements for an appointed position on the ABC Board.
He also notes that details of his law practice and some of his clients were carefully examined and cleared by the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) at the time he was first nominated for his ABC Board appointment in 2019. Nothing has changed since that time to rise to the level of an ethics violation, Grandis says.
“To say I was surprised by such defamatory accusations by Mr. Walker, that called into question my decades of private service to my clients as well as my decades of public service to residents of the District, does not reflect the anxiety such falsehoods cause,” Grandis told McDuffie in his Nov. 14 letter. “I don’t think the Mayor, who knows me, would have believed that I was unethical,” his letter continues.
“I bring this to your attention because I want to defend my reputation,” he wrote. “I also want you to know that I do not believe the Mayor or you, if known, would have tolerated these abusive actions by Mr. Walker or Mr. Anderson.”
Grandis told the Blade that he respects Mayor Bowser’s authority to make the final decision on whom to appoint to the ABC Board and other boards and commissions. But he said his concern is that the mayor may have based her decision in his case on false information. He said he has reached out to people with ties to the mayor’s office to discuss his concerns, including the possibility of his being considered for one of as many as four ABC Board positions that remain vacant.
He told McDuffie in his letter that he received a phone call saying the so-called ethical allegations were not pursued. “The reason that I was not considered for another term was because Donovan Anderson, the ABC Board chairperson, requested that I not be renominated to the ABC Board,” he says in his letter. Grandis told the Blade he did not want to publicly speculate why Anderson opposes his reappointment.
City records show that Walker, who was appointed to the position of director of the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments in 2015, changed jobs in October of this year to become Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the Mayor. But Grandis said Walker continued to interact with him after beginning his new job.
In his most recent phone conversation with him, Walker “ended the call stating that I was not to speak to anyone about these accusations or about my desire to be renominated to the ABC Board,” Grandis told McDuffie in his letter. “Being told by Mr. Walker to stay silent only made me more determined to attempt to clear my name with the Mayor,” Grandis says in his letter.
The Blade has sent email messages to Walker, ABC Board Chair Anderson, and Bowser spokesperson Susana Castillo providing details of Grandis’s concerns and allegations about being unfairly dropped from consideration for reappointment to the ABC Board and asking the three to respond as well as to disclose whether they believe Grandis’s allegations have merit. As of the end of the business day of Nov. 21, Walker had not responded.
Anderson replied with a brief message saying only that he had forwarded the Blade’s inquiry to the “Agency” for a formal response. By the Agency, he appeared to be referring to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA), which sometimes responds to press inquiries sent to the ABC Board. As of Nov. 21, the Blade had not heard back from an ABCA spokesperson.
Mayoral spokesperson Castillo twice responded to the Blade with short messages saying she was in the process of arranging for a response from the mayor’s office to the Blade’s inquiry, but as of Nov. 21, more than a week after the Blade first contacted her, no response was received.
Also not immediately responding to a request by the Blade for comment on Grandis’s concerns was Council member McDuffie’s press spokesperson, Jose Sousa.
“As I discussed with you, I had looked forward to continuing the work of the Board on alcoholic beverages and cannabis to implement policies that benefit District residents,” Grandis concludes in his letter to McDuffie. “Thank you for the excellent work of your Committee.”
Grandis told the Blade that as an out gay man who is familiar with the D.C. LGBTQ nightlife scene he believes he brings to the ABC Board a perspective and knowledge that has and can continue to help to render fair and informed decisions on LGBTQ-related businesses with liquor licenses.
Also expressing concern about the apparent decision not to reappoint Grandis to the ABC Board is D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2). Pinto told the Blade that in addition to Grandis’s role as a gay member of the board, he also has provided representation on the board for Ward 2, where Grandis has lived and operated his law practice for more than 30 years. Pinto, who spoke to the Blade about the Grandis matter last month while attending the 17th Street High Heel Race, said she planned to contact the mayor’s office about the matter.
D.C. Council records show that the mayor’s office, through MOTA, submitted the nomination in October of Silas H. Grant Jr., a former member of McDuffie’s Council staff, to replace Grandis on the ABC Board. Council records show the Council voted to approve Grant’s nomination on or around Nov. 2. Although Grandis’s term on the ABC Board expired on May 3 of this year, under board rules he continued as a board member until his replacement was confirmed.
Grandis told the Blade he believes Grant, who is from Ward 5, is highly qualified to serve on the board and he has no objections to Grant. But Grandis points out that there are now just three members on the ABC Board, including Grant, Chairperson Anderson, who represents Ward 8, and Ward 7 representative James Short Jr. The board’s website says under city law there may be as many as seven ABC Board members, but the board can operate with a quorum of just three members.
With four vacant seats on the board, Grandis says there was no reason for Grant to be named as his replacement rather than to be appointed to one of the vacant seats other than as a sign of animus toward him by Board Chair Anderson and Walker.
District of Columbia
Former Capital Pride board member reiterates sexual harassment allegation
Trans activist says resignation of board chair won’t change org’s culture
Taylor Lianne Chandler, who earlier this year resigned from the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors after expressing concern that the board failed to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization, said this week she doesn’t believe her concerns will be addressed following the resignation of the board’s current chairperson.
Capital Pride Alliance serves as the lead organizer of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Anna Jinkerson, who has served as chair of the Capital Pride board for only 10 months and has served on the board for the past four years, confirmed she is resigning from the board effective Sept. 30.
In a statement to the Washington Blade commenting on the possible impact of Jinkerson’s resignation, Chandler said Capital Pride board member Natalie Thompson would be replacing Jinkerson as board chair, and she didn’t expect that change to impact what she called Capital Pride’s problematic “culture.”
But Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride president and CEO, told the Blade that Thompson had not been selected as the new board chair and that a new chair would not be selected until the board holds an election scheduled for October.
Chandler, who identifies as transgender, said it was a Capital Pride board member who told her that Natalie Thompson had been or would be selected as the new Capital Pride board chair. She didn’t identify the board member.
“My concerns about how Capital Pride has handled serious allegations of sexual misconduct have not disappeared with a change in leadership,” she told the Blade in her statement. “When leadership continues to socialize, smile for photographs, and share spaces with someone facing serious allegations, what message does that send to the people who say they were harmed,” she said.
Chandler has told the Blade a Capital Pride investigation identified an individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment-related behavior but said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that applied to all board members and she could not provide further details.
When asked by the Blade to comment on Chandler’s allegations at the time she resigned from the board in February of this year, board chair Jinkerson said Capital Pride acts “quickly and appropriately” to address concerns such as those raised by Chandler. But she and other Capital Pride officials did not at that time or since then specifically acknowledge whether someone associated with the organization engaged in sexual harassment.
“The community deserves transparency, accountability, and leadership willing to make difficult decisions,” Chandler said in her statement to the Blade this week. “Changing the chair doesn’t change the culture,” she added. “Actions do.”
In response to a request from the Blade for an update on its response to Chandler’s allegations about alleged sexual misconduct within the Capital Pride organization, Bos sent the Blade a statement on behalf of Capital Pride.
“The Capital Pride Alliance takes allegations of harassment, misconduct, and unsafe behavior seriously,” the statement says. “The organization follows standard procedures and engages appropriate resources to support a thorough, confidential, and impartial review, when information is reported.”
The statement adds, ”Because these matters require maintaining confidentiality and protecting the privacy of personnel, volunteers, and governance processes, we will not comment on specific individuals, allegations, investigative findings or communications involving law enforcement.”
It concludes by stating, “We remain committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment, appropriately addressing concerns raised, and continuing to strengthen our policies, governance practices, and organizational culture.”
Although the statement refers to “communications involving law enforcement,” Capital Pride has not disclosed whether instances of alleged sexual harassment or, as stated by Chandler, a possible instance of sexual assault, have been reported to D.C. police.
A D.C. police spokesperson, in response to a Blade inquiry, said they have no record of a sexual harassment or sexual assault complaint surfacing from the Capital Pride office, which is located in the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center building at 1827 Wiltberger Street, N.W.
But the Blade has obtained a D.C. police incident report that appears to confirm Capital Pride COO June Crenshaw’s claim in a recent Facebook post that she reported at least one incident of sexual harassment related to Capital Pride to D.C. police.
The report, which was filed on Oct. 11, 2025, states that Crenshaw told a police officer who prepared the report that another person told her “that a board member of Capital Pride Alliance groped his genitals at a Capital Pride event.” The report says Crenshaw told the officer the person who reported being groped “did not want to speak to the police at this time.”
The incident report, which is a public document, says the person who reported the groping told Crenshaw about it on Oct. 8, 2025. It concludes by saying Crenshaw was given “resource information” to provide to the person who said he was groped. It does not identify that person or the board member who allegedly committed the groping.
Officials at Capital Pride recently exchanged testy public Facebook posts with Chandler. Crenshaw criticized Chandler for her social media posts on the matter.
“It is remarkable to watch people publicly accuse others of failing to create safe spaces when, during the time they themselves held positions of leadership and significant volunteer responsibility, they claim to have witnessed deeply troubling behavior, yet never reported what they allegedly witnessed to fellow leaders, law enforcement, the Office of the Attorney General, legal counsel, or staff responsible for addressing such concerns,” Crenshaw wrote. “When I became aware of allegations or personally witnessed conduct that required intervention, I reported what I knew through the appropriate channels, including to law enforcement and other relevant authorities. Investigations were conducted. Those processes created records, documentation, correspondence, timelines, and conclusions.”
Chandler responded, “I was NOT in organizational leadership or fully informed about the scope of these allegations when much of what you reference occurred. I was read into the situation after becoming an executive officer. By that point, the investigation had already concluded, and we were awaiting the final report. … Once that report became available to me, and once I understood the seriousness and scope of what was being alleged, my position was anything but ambiguous: I did not believe this individual should be welcomed at, participate in, or have access to official Pride events.”
Capital Pride’s attorney Nick Harrison then joined the exchange, accusing Chandler of violating confidentiality rules.
“You served on the Board for years. You cannot now present yourself as an outsider with no responsibility for what occurred during your tenure,” Harrison wrote. “When the situation became difficult, you resigned, provided your resignation letter to the media, disclosed confidential organizational matters, and recast yourself as the victim.”
Again, no one has publicly identified the person Chandler references as being welcome at Pride events and photographed with Capital Pride leadership.
District of Columbia
Center for Black Equity’s annual gala to take place Oct. 3
Advocacy group to honor Black LGBTQ community champions
The Center for Black Equity, the D.C.-based international network of LGBTQ activists and organizations that advocate for Black LGBTQ communities and organize Black Pride events worldwide, will hold its annual 2026 BE Gala in D.C. on Oct. 3.
The event, to be held at the Conrad Washington Hotel at 950 New York Ave., N.W., among other things, will honor at least a dozen “distinguished Black individuals” and organizations that champion Black LGBTQ communities, according to a statement released by the Center for Black Equity.
“The honorees will receive awards recognizing extraordinary leadership, advocacy, and service across civil rights, public health, the arts, media, entrepreneurship, and community life,” the statement says.
“With an elegant atmosphere and a bold mission, this unforgettable evening brings together advocates, allies, and change makers committed to equity and joy,” the statement says in referring to the Oct. 3 BE Gala.
The statement notes that tickets for the event, which serves as a fundraiser for the Center of Black Equity, begin at $250 for individuals and include dinner and two drinks. It says reserved tables for eight were being offered for $2,000, and “Premier” tables for eight were selling for $2,500 and include seating near the stage.
“The BE Gala is more than an evening of celebration,” according to the statement. “It is an opportunity to honor Black LGBTQ+ leadership while investing in the work of the Center for Black Equity.”
Kenya Hutton, the Center for Black Equity’s CEO, told the Washington Blade the name “BE” for the gala is not an acronym. “The name is rooted in the idea of being: being seen, being celebrated and being fully and authentically yourself,” he said.
“BE Gala creates a space to celebrate Black LGGTQ+ people for who they are, the lives they lead and the impact they make,” he added.
The Center for Black Equity until 2012 was called the International Federation of Black Prides and was founded by organizers of D.C.’s Black Pride celebration.
Its current website includes a statement saying it’s mission is to “promote a multinational LGBTQ+ network dedicated to improving health and wellness opportunities, economic empowerment, and equal rights while promoting individua and collective work, responsibilities, and self-empowerment.”
The 2026 Center for Black Equity award honorees as announced in its statement released this week are:
Courtney Snowden: Welmore Cook Advocacy & Service Award
Clover Barnes: Ernest Hopkins Public Health Leadership Award
Nikki Alexander: Unsung Hero Award
Darryl G. Moore: Center for Black Equity Leadership Award
The Freelux Project: Center for Black Equity Small Business Award
Tori Cooper: Earline Budd Transgender Leadership Award
Bishop Steven R. Sawyer: Bishop Kwabena Rainey Cheeks Spiritual & Community Leadership Award
Rev. Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey: Bishop Kwabena Rainey Cheeks Spiritual & Community Leadership Award
Monroe Alise: Trans Power in Media Award
Justin N. Stewart: National Black Pride Image Award
Marlene McNeese: Curtis L. Etherly Jr. Ally Award
Venton Jones: Eleanor Holmes Norton Civil Rights & Justice Award
In Our Own Voices, Inc.: Ruth Ellis Community Impact Award
District of Columbia
Being a female firefighter comes with unique risks, and rewards
Well-fitting gear can be a safety issue
Firefighters are known for running into danger to save lives, but they may face another danger after the fire is out. Studies on firefighter health point to rising concerns about cancer risk, mental health struggles, and exposure to toxic “forever chemicals” found in firefighting foam and protective gear.
Nearly 40 percent of firefighters report “clinically significant levels” of anxiety or depression and 10 percent report this level of posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a national survey of public safety workers published last year in the journal Psychological Services. Lawmakers from several states are also pushing for stronger federal protections and compensation for firefighters exposed to hazardous chemicals on the job.
Female firefighters can also face a higher risk of injury, heat-related illness, and even greater carcinogen exposure due to ill-fitting equipment that wasn’t designed for their bodies. Their risk of psychological and workplace stress is higher, as well, due in part to the isolation of being in a slim minority in fire departments across the country. Only 5 to 9 percent of firefighters are women.
To understand the risks and rewards of being a female firefighter, Youthcast Media Group interviewed Connie Reid, a firefighter with the DC Fire and EMS Department. Meredith McQuerry, an associate professor of textile science at Florida State University who studies how to improve firefighting gear and other personal protective equipment to better protect women in the fire service, also responded to student questions via email. Reid’s and McQuerry’s responses have been edited for clarity and length.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR CAREER, AND WHAT DREW YOU TO IT?
REID: I’ve been a firefighter for seven years. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a firefighter or police officer, but I do have uncles that were firefighters, so I leaned towards the firefighter side. So I’m happy I made that decision.
McQUEERY: During my PhD, a colleague and I realized we never saw any female firefighters come through our research center. We began looking in the literature and found very few studies focused on PPE for women in the fire service.
DOES FIREFIGHTING GEAR ACTUALLY FIT WOMEN, AND DOES IT MATTER?
REID: In D.C., if you have an issue, you just send an email, and we have people who will properly size us. I don’t think any female that I know has complained about gear not fitting.
McQUERRY: Wearing protective clothing designed for the opposite sex can lead to restricted mobility, greater opportunity for thermal and particulate exposure, and a lack of functionality that can mean life or death, such as accessing a tool in a pocket that is completely closed off due to anthropometric differences.
There is a culture in the fire service, and especially for women in a male-dominated field, that suppresses the likelihood of advocating for better-fitting gear. While not within our area of expertise, we have done our best to raise awareness for the need for properly fitting gear for women in the fire service and to champion their self-advocacy.
Female firefighters report the inability to throw a ladder, step onto the truck, or cinch their pants down adequately due to ill-fitting protective clothing and equipment. One example is the interference between the helmet and the self-contained breathing apparatus which prevents many female firefighters from looking upward to throw a ladder without first twisting their neck sideways to avoid the lid of the helmet knocking into the respirator bottle. This type of modification can lead to acute and long term injury.
ARE THESE PROBLEMS MOSTLY ABOUT COMFORT? WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SAFETY RISKS OR DANGERS THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN GEAR DOES NOT FIT PROPERLY?
McQUERRY: All firefighters need properly fitting PPE as the primary threats center around carcinogen exposure, musculoskeletal injuries, and heat-related illnesses. For example, you have to work harder to do the same task in ill-fitting, mobility restrictive gear, which leads to faster metabolic heat production and build-up in the suit, quickening the onset of fatigue and other HRI.
Our previous work led us to hypothesize that oversized gear for women allowed for more particulate ingress in the interface areas including the collar/hood, sleeve/glove, boot/pant, and coat/pant areas. A recently funded study is allowing us to quantify this by correlating the gear fit of women’s structural turnout gear with their cancer biomarkers collected via urinalysis pre- and post-live fire burns.
HOW DO FIREFIGHTERS TRAIN TO STAY SAFE DURING DANGEROUS SITUATIONS?
REID: So we have trainings all the time. Safety is the number one priority of the job. They make sure they let us know all the time. We have annual trainings. We have quarterly trainings. We have online training if you need refreshers.
We are both on a medical side and a fire side so as a D.C. firefighter, you come in, and they teach you. You bring a positive attitude and just determination, because some people really don’t understand it’s not just physical, it’s mental. You have to be mentally prepared.
WERE THERE ANY FINDINGS IN YOUR RESEARCH THAT SURPRISED YOU?
McQUEERY: Yes, we were surprised to find in our nationwide survey [of 2,000 people] a few years ago that 15 percent of U.S. structural and 21 percent of wildland female firefighters sometimes or always leave off an essential item of their PPE due to limited mobility. Specifically, the turnout coat and pants or wildland shirt and pants were the most noted for being intentionally not worn, which is very surprising and concerning.
HAVE FIRE DEPARTMENTS OR EQUIPMENT COMPANIES STARTED MAKING IMPROVEMENTS SINCE YOUR STUDY, AND IF SO, WHY DO YOU THINK FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT HAS TAKEN SO LONG TO ADAPT TO WOMEN FIREFIGHTERS?
McQUEERY: It wasn’t until the post-Me Too movement that our research in this area was able to gain traction and support. It is a decades (or centuries) old problem of there not being enough “market share” for the 5-11 percent of the fire service. However, we have seen tremendous growth and innovation in this area since we began our funded research in 2019. Now, nearly every single structural firefighting manufacturer offers women’s protective clothing.
When we began this research, only two manufacturers offered women’s turnout gear. Now, to our knowledge, all but one [seven out of eight] does, which is a significant advancement across the industry. There is still much work to do in fine tuning these designs to fit the specific anthropometrics of female firefighters.
DO YOU WORRY ABOUT THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF BEING A FIREFIGHTER?
REID: Do I worry? I wouldn’t say worry. I’m more mindful of it, because the material of today is different from years ago. It burns faster, and then there’s more chemically made things than like natural resources. So I’m aware of that. They also have training teaching us about things like that. And there’s smoke exposures, there’s a health risk like sleep deprivation or sleep disruption.
WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION OR TRAINING DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A FIREFIGHTER?
REID: So there’s a few routes to get onto the job. The cadet route would be … you have to be 18 to 21 years old, you have to be a D.C. resident, have a high school diploma from a D.C. school (public or private), or have a GED, and you have to have at least a learner’s permit at the time that you are applying for the job. To be a recruit, you have to be at least 18 years old, have a full driver’s license, (not just a permit), and you also have to have a high school diploma or GED. The third way [is as] a paramedic, and you have to come on the job with your paramedic license.
WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN CONSIDERING THIS PATH?
REID: I would say, welcome. Come on the job. We need females. I always think it’s awesome when we get young ladies that are interested in the fire side. A lot of females just only want to do EMS. There’s nothing against EMS, but the fire side is pretty cool, too. Don’t sell yourself short, just try to do both of them. It’s a very rewarding job. You have to also mentally prepare yourself and physically prepare yourself. But I think the job is a great experience. I wish I would have started younger myself.
Mariyah Matthews is in the class of 2027 at Bard High School Early College DC, one of Youthcast Media Group’s journalism class partners. Sarah Gandluri is a YMG intern who is studying political science and global studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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