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
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. mayor
Group also backed D.C. Council, Congressional delegate, AG candidates
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, announced on May 14 that it has endorsed D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) for mayor in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George along with former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) are considered by political observers to be the two leading candidates among the seven candidates competing in the Democratic primary election for mayor.
Both have strong, long-standing records of support on LGBTQ issues, indicating Capital Stonewall Democrats members, like LGBTQ voters across the city, are likely choosing a candidate based on non-LGBTQ related issues.
In a May 14 statement, the group announced its endorsements in seven other Democratic primary races, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who is running unopposed in the primary. Also endorsed is D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who is one of five Democratic candidates competing for the position of D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is among the four candidates competing with White for that post, and who like White has a strong record of support on LGBTQ issues.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race for which incumbent Anita Bonds is not running for re-election, Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed community activist and LGBTQ ally Oye Owolewa in a nine candidate race.
For the Ward 1 D.C. Council election, in which five LGBTQ supportive candidates are competing, the group did not make an endorsement because none of the candidate received a required 60 percent of the endorsement vote cast by Capital Stonewall Democrats members, according to the group’s former president, Howard Garrett.
The statement announcing its endorsements shows that it decided to list its “Preferred Ranking” of each of the Ward 1 Democratic candidates as part of the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system. It lists gay candidate Miguel Trindade Deramo as first, bisexual candidate Aparna Raj second, Jackie Reyes Yanes third, Rashida Brown fourth, and Terry Lynch fifth.
In the remaining ward Council races, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Councilmember Matt Fruman (D-Ward 3), who is running unopposed for re-election; Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member who is being challenged by two opponents; and Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who is running unopposed for re-election.
The group also chose not to make an endorsement in the special election for another At-Large D.C. Council seat that became vacant when then-Independent Councilmember McDuffie resigned to enable him to run for mayor as a Democrat. Under the city’s Home Rule Charter adopted by Congress, that at large sweat is restricted to a “non-majority party” candidate, meaning a non-Democrat.
The three candidates running for the seat, all Independents, include incumbent Doni Crawford, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year; former D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman; and Jacque Patterson. All three have expressed support on LGBTQ related issues.
“The organization’s endorsement process included candidate questionnaires, public forums, and direct voting by active CSD members,” the statement announcing its endorsements says. “Each endorsement reflects the collective voice of 173 LGBTQ+ Democrats who voted in the process and are committed to building lasting political power in the District,” according to the statement. “Candidates that reached 60 percent support received the endorsement.”
Garrett, the group’s former president, acknowledged that with nearly all candidates running in D.C. elections expressing strong support for the LGBTQ community, many if not most of the group’s members most likely chose a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ related issues.
He said he believes Lewis George, who he is supporting and is viewed as a progressive candidate who self-identifies as a Democratic Socialist, compared to McDuffie, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat, captured the group’s endorsement based on the view that she is the best person to lead the city going forward.
“I believe that Capital Stonewall members voted for Janeese Lewis George because we’re tired of the status quo and we need a new, bold leader to not only move our city forward but also to stand up to Donald Trump and his administration,” Garrett told the Washington Blade.
McDuffie’s LGBTQ supporters, including former Capital Stonewall Democrats presidents David Meadows and Kurt Vorndran, have argued that McDuffie’s positions on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ issues, show him to be the best candidates to lead the city at this time and In future years.
The group’s endorsement of Lewis George comes one week after GLAA DC, a nonpartisan LGBTQ advocacy group, awarded her its highest candidate rating of +10.
District of Columbia
Pride faith services in Washington, D.C.
Almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are religious
Are you an LGBTQ person of faith or someone exploring spirituality? It is more common than people realize. According to a Williams Institute study published in October 2020, almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the United States are religious. This may seem counterintuitive as any LGBTQ people have complicated relationships with faith because of very real histories of abuse, trauma, and violence.
This violence still continues in the United States, especially following the Supreme Court’s March 2026 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, who ruled Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violates the First Amendment, but not everyone has encountered this violence, nor do people who have faced it, separate themselves completely from religion. Many people may seek out affirming faith traditions which are prevalent in the DMV area.
For individuals seeking out faith services during Pride 2026, please check out the list below, which will be updated as more events are publicized.
Memorial Service for SaVanna Wanzer
May 17th at 1 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church (400 I St SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Westminster Presbyterian will host a celebration of life for legendary DC trans rights activist and founder of DC Trans Pride and Black Trans Pride SaVanna Wanzer who was a long-time member of the church. Live music will begin at 12:15 pm before the start of the memorial service. The service will be livestreamed on the Westminster DC Facebook page. A meal will follow the Sunday service.
There will also be a celebratory vigil held on Saturday, May 16th from 6:30-8 pm for friends and family at the church led by LGBTQ organizer Rayceen Pendarvis.
May 23th at 11 am
Downtown Westin (999 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001)
This intimate conversation is hosted by Janeé Lee, founder of Queer Ministry, between Black trans and queer people who are surviving religious trauma and navigating their relationship with the church. The workshop, hosted as part of Trans Pride DC, is a chance for people to share their stories at the intersection of queerness and spirituality and to walk away with a spiritual healing guide with affirming scriptures and inclusive theology.
DC Black Pride Worship Service
May 24th at 10 am
Remnant Christian Center (120 West Hampton Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD)
Hosted by The Community Church of Washington DC-UCC, this service will feature speakers and sessions on Black queer faith and unity, including host and speaker Robert D. Wise Jr. for a powerful Pentecost Unity Service. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in and white.
June 5th at 7 pm
Sixth & I (600 I Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001)
Join Rabbi Jenna will be leading an inclusive, musical service celebrating the diversity of Jewish life in Washington, DC. Happy Hour, which is limited to people 21 and older, will start at 6 pm. The service will start at 7 pm, with dinner at 8:15 pm. The service is free but registration is required, and the kosher-style pescatarian meal does cost money. Register online here.
June 14th at 5 pm
Black Cat (1811 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009)
Muslim Pride is a community-led and funded grassroots performance series centering queer and trans Muslim artists through music, drag and dance. The series was originally founded in 2020 as a way to create affirming spaces where faith, culture, and queerness can coexist. This year’s series features Mercedes Iman Diamond. This year, Muslim Pride expands to Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles. Buy tickets here.
Pride Celebrations and Sunday Worship Service
June 14th all day
Riverside Baptist Church (699 Maine Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Join Riverside Baptist Church for a day-long Pride celebration beginning with Pride Weekend/Musical Theater Sunday worship service at 10 am. Later that morning and early afternoon, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the church will be hosting a Pride Pageant, a technicolor celebration featuring a runway showcase, line dancing, food, and refreshments.
June 22nd at 7 pm
St. Mark’s Episocpal Church (301 A Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003)
Join this interfaith service celebrating affirming faith traditions and intertradition dialogue hosted by queer and trans faith leaders. The interfaith service has been hosted annually for over 40 years, and first began back in the 1980s with faith leaders and queer people of faith coming together to mourn and pray at the site of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall. Learn more about the history of the interfaith service here.
June 23rd at 6 pm
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (3513 N St NW, Washington, DC 20007)
Holy Trinity will be hosting its 6th annual Pride Mass. After its debut this past summer, the Pride Mass choir will be singing at the Pride Mass in June, and following the Mass, there will be an annual reception with ice cream and other goodies. Learn more about attending the reception and Holy Trinity’s LGBTQ+ Ministry.
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LGBTQ community must say NO to Janeese Lewis George
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