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District of Columbia

Capital Stonewall Democrats host forum on proposed ranked choice voting, open primaries

Initiative 83 supporters, opponents attended event at Shakers

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Vote No On Initiative 83 leader Deirdre Brown, front left, joins pro-Initiative 83 leader Phil Pannell, front right, in a friendly toast following their sometimes-heated debate over the proposed D.C. ballot measure hosted by the LGBTQ group Capital Stonewall Democrats and held at the gay bar Shakers. Standing behind Brown and Pannell are Capital Stonewall Dems President Mike Haresign, at left, the group’s vice president, Monica Nemeth, and secretary, Howard Garrett Jr. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of D.C.’s oldest LGBTQ political organizations, hosted a forum on on Monday night, Feb. 19, on the proposed D.C. ballot measure known as Initiative 83, which calls for the city to put in place a ranked choice voting system and for party primaries to be open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliation, including independent voters.

The forum included presentations by one of the leading supporters and a leading opponent of the controversial initiative. Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights and Ward 8 community activist Phil Pannell, who serves as treasurer of Make All Votes Count DC, the lead organization advocating for Initiative 83, spoke on behalf of the initiative.

Deirdre Brown, who identified herself as a longtime Ward 3 Democratic Party member and LGBTQ community ally, spoke on behalf of Vote No on Initiative 83, the lead group opposing the initiative. 

Brown pointed out that her organization was separate and distinct from the D.C. Democratic Party, which also opposes Initiative 83 and has filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court to prevent the measure from being placed on the ballot. A judge was expected to hand down a ruling on whether the lawsuit should be dismissed or continue at a Feb. 23 hearing. 

Capital Stonewall Democrats President Michael Haresign, who introduced both speakers, told the Washington Blade after the event, which was held at the D.C. gay bar Shakers, that the LGBTQ Democratic group may not take an official position on Initiative 83. He said that if it does take a position, it would not do so until later this year if the initiative is approved for placement on the ballot in the city’s November election. 

An informal survey of local LGBTQ activists conducted by the Blade shows the LGBTQ community appears divided over Initiative 83, with prominent activists emerging as both supporters and opponents of the measure.

In his presentation in support of Initiative 83, Pannell called ranked choice voting an important electoral reform that has worked successfully in many states and cities across the country. He noted that ranked choice voting serves as an instant, automatic runoff election if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote in a primary or general election. 

As proposed, Initiative 83 would allow voters to rank candidates running for office in order of their preference. Under this system, if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote during the initial ballot counting process, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated. 

The votes cast by voters who picked that candidate as their top choice would then go to their second-choice candidate. This process would continue, under the ranked choice system, until at least one candidate emerges with at least 50 percent of the votes and is declared the winner.

The second part of Initiative 83 would allow more than 80,000 D.C. residents who currently choose not to register as a member of one of the local political parties and who are not allowed to vote in a primary, to vote in the city’s primary elections, including the Democratic primary. Political observers point out that the Democratic primary usually decides who will win the general election in D.C, where registered voters overwhelmingly elect Democratic candidates to public office. 

“In terms of ranked choice voting, it’s very basic,” Pannell told the gathering. “You have to start with , do you believe people who are elected should have a simple majority of the vote? If you don’t believe that, I’m not going to be able to convince you,” he said. 

Pannell pointed out that in recent D.C. elections, under the city’s public campaign finance law, as many as 20 candidates have run for both at-large and ward seats on the DC Council, with some of them winning with just 30 percent or even a little over 20 percent of the vote. 

Calling himself a lifelong, loyal member of the Democratic Party, Pannell criticized party leaders for opposing what he calls broadening the democratic process by allowing all residents to vote in primaries, especially independents, and for opposing a ranked choice voting system that Pannell said also broadens the electoral consensus by requiring that a candidate receive at least 50 percent of the vote to win an election.

“Initiative 83 will make politics more inclusive, less divisive,” he told the forum. “Let’s embrace it. Closed primaries are the result of closed hearts and closed minds,” he said. “Let’s open the windows and the doors … Let’s change our party for the better and vote for Initiative 83.”

Brown, who also described herself as a loyal Democratic Party member from Ward 3 and a native Washingtonian, disputed arguments by Pannell and his colleagues in support of Initiative 83, saying the democratic process is alive and well under the current D.C. electoral system and backers of Initiative 83 are waging a “propaganda campaign” to confuse voters.

Among other things, she said it’s not an infringement of democracy by requiring people to register for a party to vote in a party primary. All they need to do is register under D.C.’s rapid registration system, vote in a primary, and then withdraw their registration at any time. She also said independent voters, who Initiative 83 supporters say have a right to vote in primaries, often do not agree with the principles of the Democratic Party.

“And normally independents will tell you I’m independent because I don’t believe in Democratic Party values. I don’t believe in Republican Party values. I don’t believe in statehood values,” she told the gathering. “So, the question becomes, is it okay for people who don’t share your values to pick your leaders? There is no other club or organization that allows people who are not members to pick their leaders. It’s just that simple,” she said.

“That’s not disenfranchising you,” Brown added. “You just have to choose whether you want to work within a party to promote their values and issues or not. And if you don’t, that’s okay, that’s your choice. But you just then don’t get to vote until we get to the general election.”

Regarding ranked choice voting, Brown cited studies conducted by independent research organizations, including universities, that she said show it “marginalizes black and brown voters,” voters in low-income neighborhoods, and voters whose native language is not English, many of whom, she said, become confused by the ranked choice voting system. 

She also disputed claims by ranked choice voting supporters that citizens already participate in a ranked choice system in everyday life, including D.C.’s ranked choice public school lottery system, and public housing system and a ranked choice voting system will be similarly easy to understand.

Brown pointed out that unlike the school lottery or public housing system, where making a mistake will not result in serious consequences, ranked choice voting usually doesn’t accommodate people who fill out the ballot incorrectly.

“If you make a mistake if you undervote, overvote, your ballot is thrown out,” she said.

Brown concluded by pointing out that financial reports filed by supporters of Initiative 83 filed with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance shows large sums of money backing the initiative are coming from out of state Political Action Committees or PACS as well as large corporations. 

During a rebuttal period, Pannell pointed to other studies he said show that minority voters, especially African American voters, do not have a problem with ranked choice voting, calling it an insult to say Black people and other minorities who would not adopt to ranked choice voting. 

He said Brown’s suggestion that there was something wrong with out of state organizations contributing money to a political cause was unfair and baseless.

“I’m the treasurer of this campaign,” he said. “And anyone who knows me knows that  I will not play tricks and trash with any political cash,” he told the forum. “And this is in the same way that we in the LGBTQ community had to get donations from outside the city when we were fighting for our rights,” Pannell said. “There is nothing wrong with getting donations from outside of D.C. Candidates do it all the time.”

Pannell drew objections from Brown and other Initiative 83 supporters at the Capital Stonewall Democrats forum when he added, “If we’re going to talk about donations, check out the donations going to the Vote No On 83 committee. And you will see that two of the most virulent opponents of marriage equality are contributors to that committee.”

Brown replied that she and others involved in the No On 83 campaign are not aware of all the political views of the hundreds of mostly small donors who contribute to their committee. She said an examination of the donors for the Make All Votes Count DC committee might also find some who at one time expressed opposition to LGBTQ rights. 

One person who attended the forum, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said they believed the two individuals Pannell was referring to, who Pannell said were officials with the D.C. Democratic State Committee, supported holding a voter referendum to decide on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized in D.C. The source said the two did not specifically oppose same-sex marriage but wanted the voters to decide the issue rather than the D.C. Council. 

As it turned out, the DC Board of Elections rejected the matter as a voter referendum on grounds that the D.C. Home Rule Charter bans voter initiatives or referendums that could lead to discrimination against minority groups, including LGBTQ people. Opponents of same-sex marriage appealed the election board’s decision to the courts and lost in a final ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld a lower D.C. court ruling agreeing with the election board’s decision. 

After Pannell and Brown concluded their remarks, Haresign opened the forum to questions from those attending the meeting in person as well as those watching on the organization’s Facebook page. The questioners who expressed their own views on Initiative 83 appeared to be divided evenly among the measure’s supporters and opponents. 

“I think the forum went well,” Haresign told the Blade. “We were able to get a high level of information,” he said. 

“If we were to take a position it would be after everything is certified and we have a full membership vote,” Haresign said, referring to Initiative 83 being certified by the Board of Elections to be on the ballot in November. 

Under D.C. election rules, the board’s certification would come after the lawsuit is dismissed or settled and after Initiative 83 supporters obtain the required number of petition signatures to place the measure on the ballot.  

Pannell urged Capital Stonewall Democrats members and others in the LGBTQ community to sign the petition to get the measure on the ballot, even if they don’t support it, saying voters should be given the right to decide the issue.

Brown disagreed, saying “I’m asking you if you believe in I-83, then go ahead and sign the petition. But if you do not, I’m asking you not to sign the petition.”

The video recording of the Capital Stonewall Democrats forum can be accessed here:

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District of Columbia

Aparna Raj expected to become second LGBTQ member of D.C. Council

Winner of primary would also be first Asian American to serve on body

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Ward 1 D.C. Council candidate Aparna Raj (Photo courtesy of Raj)

Ward 1 D.C. Council candidate Aparna Raj, who describes herself on her campaign website as a “renter, union member and queer woman of color,” emerged as the winner in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.

She won in a five-candidate race with 52 percent of the vote in the fourth round of the vote count under the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system.

In a ward with an overwhelming majority of voters registered as Democrats, Raj, who identifies as bisexual, is expected to win in the November general election to become the Council’s second LGBTQ member.

She is running against two lesser-known candidates – Republican Jett James Jasper and Statehood Green Party candidate Jude Crannitch.

Her victory would mark the first time since 2015 that the Council has had two LGBTQ members. At 32, she would also become the Council’s youngest member and its first Asian-American member. She was born and raised in West Chester, Pa., in a family that came to the U.S. from India.   

The current gay D.C. Council member, Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), won the June 16 Democratic primary against two lesser-known opponents with 77.5 percent of the vote and is expected to easily win re-election in the November general election.

Gay healthcare leader Jim Graham, who for many years served as executive director of D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Clinic, served as the Ward 1 Council member from 1999 to January 2015. Graham lost his re-election bid in 2014 to incumbent D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau  (D-Ward 1), who chose not to run for re-election this  year. Graham passed away in June 2017.

Gay attorney David Catania served on the Council from 1997, when he won in a special election as a Republican, until 2015 after becoming an independent and giving up his Council seat to run for mayor in 2014. He lost his mayoral bid to incumbent D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Raj, who also identifies as a democratic socialist, is among D.C. Democratic mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George and Democratic At-Large D.C. Council candidate Oye Owolewa who are also democratic socialists and who won in the primary and are expected to win in November.

Political observers have said their primary victories and expected victories in the general election indicate many D.C. voters are seeking candidates with a perceived liberal, leftist perspective to address concerns, among other things, over the high cost of living, especially housing and rental costs.

Like nearly all candidates running for public office in D.C., those identifying as democratic socialists, especially Raj, have expressed strong support on LGBTQ issues.

Raj currently serves as communications manager for a progressive policy advocacy organization called Local Progress, which represents local elected officials throughout the country “fighting for racial and economic justice,” according to its website.

In an interview with the Washington Blade, Raj said she believes many LGBTQ D.C. residents are facing the same economic hardships as non-LGBTQ residents, and she plans to address those issues if elected.

“You know, we see it in D.C., in New York, in Philly, in Colorado, that it is getting very difficult for people to live and afford necessities like housing and childcare,” she told the Blade. “And over the past two years, where it felt like establishment Democrats on a national level were unwilling to stand with immigrants or queer and trans people, democratic socialists have been constantly fighting for everybody – for immigrants, for people of color, for queer and trans people, for women, for people who need abortions – things like that,” she said.  

“I think that D.C. has done a really important and good job of trying to protect LGBTQ+ residents across D.C. in the face of the Trump administration,” Raj added.

“But I think especially with the Supreme Court decision around trans people and with just always the ongoing threat that the Trump administration could start bearing down on, like transgender affirming care and things like that, the next Council is going to have a really important task behind it to make sure that we’re trying to protect queer and trans people across D.C. as much as possible – including by making sure the Office of Human Rights has the support that they need,” she said.

Raj said the economic policies she plans to push for will help small businesses, including LGBTQ-owned businesses such as bars.

“I support making sure that workers have the stability that they need with dignified wages and with benefits,” she said. “And at the same time finding ways to cut costs for small businesses – whether exploring commercial rent stabilization, pushing back on costs of utilities, helping raise revenue by bringing back Streeteries and things like that,” she said.

The following interview has been edited for length. For the full interview, visit washingtonblade.com.

BLADE: As you may know, the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which endorsed you and gay candidate Miguel Deramo in the June 16 primary, issued a statement after the primary saying they are pleased that you will likely become the first female LGBTQ member of the D.C. Council. But with that as a backdrop, are you aware of any other news media outlet aside from the Washington Blade that have identified you as an LGBTQ candidate as you self-identify on your campaign website as a queer woman of color? We  are not aware of any other media  reports on your LGBT identity.

RAJ: I think – I can’t list them off – but I think other publications have included the fact that I’m bi and I consider myself queer and their outreach about it.

BLADE: With that as a backdrop, where do you see things stand now going forward to the next D.C. Council session that you are expected to be on, where do you see things stand for LGBTQ residents of Ward 1 as well as citywide?

RAJ: I think that D.C. has done a really important and good job of trying to protect LGBTQ+ residents across D.C. in the face of the Trump administration. But I think especially with the recent Supreme Court decision around trans people and with just always the ongoing threat that the Trump administration could start bearing down on, like transgender affirming care and things like that, the next Council is going to have a really important task behind it to make sure that we’re trying to protect queer and trans people across D.C as much as possible – including by making sure the Office of Human Rights has the support that they need.

Trying to invest in and supporting housing vouchers, especially for LGBTQ+ youth, who are often more faced with homelessness than other youth. And that we are supporting schools and health clinics to make sure that LGBTQ+ students and patients are able to feel safe in good institutions.

BLADE: To go back to the D.C. primary election, a single Republican candidate named Jett Jasper ran unopposed for the Ward 1 Council seat. Do you know anything about him?

RAJ: Yeah, Jett and I have been in a debate back in March with all of the Democratic primary candidates … and he and I went around a little bit. So, I’ve met him.

BLADE: One of the interesting outcomes of the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary is the victories of candidates who like you and mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George — and at least two others — identify as democratic socialists. What message do you see that as providing the city?

 RAJ: I think it is an important message that I think people see democratic socialist candidates as the candidates who will fight for them in the face of a cost-of-living crisis that is driving people out of D.C. and in the face of the Trump administration that’s threatening our community.

BLADE: What response do you have to those, including some in the business community, who have said the policies proposed by democratic socialist candidates would hurt the city’s economy and create budget problems that can harm a lot of people, including the LGBTQ community?

RAJ: I would say that the economic crisis that we’re seeing right now is a result of a combination of conservative, neoliberal economic policies at the local level and of the fascists in office at the federal level. You know, we are in tough economic times, not because of democratic socialism but because of rigid capitalism right now.     

And I think we learned  from the ‘80s and Reagan that trickle-down economics doesn’t work. And so, when people are suffering, when people are getting laid off, when people are getting health care funding cut, what we need to do at the local level is invest in people and make sure that our recovery is centered on making sure that people have housing, making sure that people have health care, making sure people have food assistance, instead of just giving money to the top and hoping that it tickles down.

BLADE: The city’s chief financial officer has said the city may be facing a significant budget deficit in the next fiscal year possibly because of congressional action in cutting the city’s budget. What are your thoughts on that?

RAJ: I think there are all these options ahead of us. I think what this past year has shown us is that D.C. needs to have a much more proactive relationship on the Hill. And especially next year we will likely be coming into a Democratic Congress. We need to be advocating for ourselves in building those relationships with Congress members, with senators. I think we took a very localized approach prior to the Trump administration.

And that put us on the defense with a lot of the budget cuts and things they were bringing to us. And now is the time when we need to proactively advocate for D.C. and advocate for eventually statehood so that we have totally the economy that we need. And in the meantime, there are a number of revenue raisers available to us that we have not been exploring. They are mainly trying to implement a business activity tax that would affect specifically large businesses that don’t pay franchise tax in D.C.

They are exploring a capital gains tax. Trying to put or institute a wealth tax, trying to put in a tax like in New York where people who  have secondary residences here would be taxed on those secondary residences. And so, we have options available to us. And I think it’s a matter of if we have the political will or whether our Council is willing to explore those in the next year or two.

BLADE: One issue raised by the local LGBTQ group GLAA D.C. is whether candidates for the D.C. Council would support decriminalizing sex work among consenting adults. Did you address that in their candidate questionnaire?  

 RAJ: Yes, I do support decriminalizing sex work. I think there are a number of reasons. Sex work disproportionately impacts transgender women, especially trans women of color. And it leads to health and safety issues when we criminalize sex work. People can’t seek the healthcare that they need. People can’t report violence that they are facing. And so, I support decriminalizing sex work as part of a crime reduction in a way to allow people to be able to keep themselves safe.

BLADE: Regarding economic issues and local businesses, we now have at least 20 gay or LGBTQ bars or nightclubs in the city. Some have said they would be negatively impacted by the so-called tip wage issue that could require them to pay a full minimum wage. What are your thoughts on that? 

RAJ:  My perspective is like – Ward 1 has like seven or eight LGBTQ businesses and also there are also so many small businesses in general that I want to make sure that we support. And we can both support small businesses and workers at the same time. I support making sure that workers have the stability that they need with dignified wages and with benefits. And at the same time finding ways to cut costs for small businesses – whether exploring commercial rent stabilization, pushing back on costs of utilities, helping raise revenue by bringing back Streeteries and things like that.

BLADE: One of the Ward 1 LGBTQ business owners, David Perruzza, owner of the LGBTQ bars Pitchers and A League of Her Own, has said he has been negatively impacted by high rents.   

RAJ: Yeah, exactly. So, I think rent is one of the biggest costs that small businesses face. And within D.C. there are a lot of vacant store fronts, and commercial rent stabilization is a very new idea. And landlords look at it differently. But I think it is a way we should look at supporting small businesses.

BLADE: Do you have any thoughts on how our new mayor should address and continue the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which has been in place now for 20 years?  The new mayor will have to decide whether to retain or appoint a new director of that office.

RAJ: I can’t speak to those specific decisions. But I’m really excited to work with our incoming mayor, because she has been a really strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community over the years. And I trust that she will maintain and support the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. I would also like to see the continued support of the expansion of a lot of the programs of that office. and especially supporting organizations and supporting a possible LGBTQ fund for services and organizations in D.C.

BLADE: Will the budget issue play a role in that?

RAJ: Yeah – but I think especially right now in the political moment we’re in with the Trump administration, to just make sure we’re celebrating the trans and queer communities and maintaining or expanding programs at that office will really be important.

BLADE: Do you have any thoughts on the criticism Mayor Bowser has received from some local activists who say she has not spoken out strongly enough against the Trump administration’s attempts to curtail D.C. home rule while her supporters argue that she has helped to discourage Trump from taking further action to curtail D.C. home rule?

RAJ: From my perspective in Ward 1, I have seen nearly a year of my neighbors getting disappeared and living in terror. And I don’t believe that that is worth any sort of hypothetical threat of what Trump might do in our trying to protect home rule. I understand wanting to be strategic. But our responsibility as elected officials is to stand up for our communities whenever they are under threat.

BLADE: Are the individuals you are referring to who disappeared and who are under threat immigrants?

RAJ: Yes.

BLADE: Is there anything else you might want to say regarding your constituents in Ward 1, particularly the LGBTQ constituents?

RAJ: I’ll just add maybe one last note. We talk about the affordability crisis and that again bears down on the queer and trans community especially. A lot of people are struggling with housing costs and utilities. A lot of queer and trans people specifically are more likely to live in poverty and not make enough in wages. And so, we are trying to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that I think impacts the LGBTQ+ community as well.

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District of Columbia

Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats  

Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort

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Voters wait in line outside the Stead Park Recreation Center in Dupont Circle on Nov. 5, 2024. Capital Stonewall Democrats has launched a campaign to get more LGBTQ people elected to D.C.'s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.

The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.

Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.

Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.

“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.

“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.

The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.  

The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.

The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.   

The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.

A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.

“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.

The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.

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District of Columbia

Mary’s House founder, CEO retires

Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors

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Imani Woody and Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which provides grant funding to Mary's House, pose inside Mary's House following the 2025 ribbon cutting ceremony. Woody has retired as Mary's House's CEO. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.

Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.

The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.

“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.

“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.

It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”

The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.

“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”

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