Local

Robert E. Barker dies at 69

Former deputy assistant director of OMB

Published

11 years ago

September 30, 2015

Joey DiGuglielmo

Robert E. Barker

Robert E. Barker, a retired deputy assistant director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and longtime volunteer for the Washington Home and Community Hospices, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, and the Whitman-Walker Clinic, died Sept. 9 in the Intensive Care Unit of the George Washington University Hospital. He died of an infection that occurred following August surgery. He was 69.

Barker was born to Samuel and Margaret Barker on Sept. 24, 1945 in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Peters Township High School in 1963 and from Wheeling Jesuit University in 1967. In his senior year at Wheeling Jesuit, Barker was elected to Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society, for his excellence in academics, leadership and commitment to the values represented by the Jesuit tradition. After a time as a seminarian at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pa., Barker joined the U.S. Army and after his tour was over in 1970, he moved to Washington where he worked as a civil servant for the U.S. Navy Department.

Barker worked for OMB from 1973 until his retirement in 2000. In his last two years at OMB, he was deputy assistant director for budget review and concepts, responsible for the preparation of the president’s budget and for tracking the president’s budget proposals through the congressional budget process. Earlier, he served as a staff member, then deputy, and then chief of the Budget Preparation Branch. In 1998, he received the prestigious Meritorious Presidential Rank Award.

Barker was a committed volunteer who provided care and support for terminally ill patients and their families. He began his volunteer work with Whitman-Walker in 1984, during the height of the AIDS crisis, serving as a case manager, team leader, and ultimately, a member of the board of directors. Since 1997, he had been a volunteer at the Washington Home and Community Hospices on Upton Street where, by the end of 2014, he had amassed a total of 3,635 volunteer hours. He received an award for excellence from the Community Hospices in 2003.

Barker was also a volunteer assistant to the music ministry at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on Rhode Island Avenue, organizing a variety of concerts and helping raise funds for completion of the church organ. He also served for several years as a board member of the Webster House Condominium on P Street N.W., where he lived.

Barker frequented 17th Street, N.W. and was a regular patron of Trio Restaurant. He cared for Marjorie C. “Margo” MacGregor, a former Trio manager, until her 2007 death.

Survivors include his brother, William Barker of Pittsburgh; and friends in Washington and elsewhere. Two of his closest friends of more than 25 years, Mary Wheeler and Robert (“Dr. Bob”) Williams, both of Washington, were frequent companions.

A funeral Mass will he held on Monday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.). In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Barker’s name may be made to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Washington Home and Community Hospices or to St. Matthew for the completion of its organ.

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Maryland

Md. lawmakers reaffirm legislative priorities

2026 General Assembly to end April 13

Published

3 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Sam Epner

The Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md.(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Maryland’s legislative caucuses outlined their legislative priorities heading into the final weeks of the 2026 General Assembly during a joint press conference on March 24.

The press conference was titled “We are Maryland,” where a representative for each of the legislative caucuses outlined priorities.

State Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) of the LGBTQ+ Caucus opened the press conference with a statement on the unity of Maryland’s caucus.

“Together we can show our state and our community a different world, one where we mutually support one another and through that support uplift every Marylander,” he said.

In a press conference on March 5, the LGBTQ+ Caucus outlined its top legislative priorities. Fair highlighted two of those bills again during the “We are Maryland” press conference.

The first of the two highlighted pieces of legislation was Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 1589.

The bills would simplify the process of updating an individual’s birth certificate and align the Department of Health and DMV systems to reflect those changes. The bill is being led by state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Anne Arundel and Howard Counties) and state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County).

The second piece of legislation is Senate Bill 950 and House Bill 1209, which would update and modernize laws and regulations around so-called conversion therapy. The bills have failed to pass either chamber thus far. They are being led by state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery County) and state Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County).

(The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a Colorado law that bans so-called conversion therapy for minors. Maryland is among the U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit the widely discredited practice for anyone under 18.)

Martinez and Lam have introduced bills in their respective chambers that would expand PrEP access in Maryland. Martinez did not attend the press conference, and Fair did not mention it when he spoke.

State Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County) represented the Black Caucus during the press conference. State Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel County) spoke on behalf of the Women’s Caucus, State Del. Teresa Woorman (D-Montgomery County) represented the Latino Caucus, and State Del. Lily Qi (D-Montgomery County) represented the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus. State Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery County) represented the Jewish Caucus, and state Del. Sean Stinnett (D-Baltimore County) represented the Muslim Caucus during the press conference.

Solomon ended the press conference by explaining the importance of all the caucuses coming out together.

“We are stronger when we’re together, and many of these issues that we have talked about, again, impact all of us,” said Solomon.

District of Columbia

Blade contributor, husband exchange vows in D.C.

Yariel Valdés and Kevin Vega held ceremony at Jefferson Memorial on March 23

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2026

Staff reports

Kevin Vega and Yariel Valdés (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Washington Blade contributor Yariel Valdés and his husband, Kevin Vega, exchanged vows at the Jefferson Memorial on March 23.

The couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2025. The Jefferson Memorial ceremony — which Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Samy Nemir Olivares officiated — coincided with the third anniversary of Yariel and Kevin’s first date.

Yariel in 2019 asked for asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution he suffered as a journalist in his native Cuba. He spent nearly a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before his release on March 4, 2020.

Yariel wrote a series of articles about his time in ICE custody that the Blade published. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2022.

Yariel and Kevin live in South Florida.

District of Columbia

‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar

Mayoral candidate cites record of longtime support for LGBTQ rights

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie held a meet and greet at Number 9 last week. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

More than 100 people filled the upstairs room of the D.C. gay bar Number 9 on Thursday night, March 26, to listen to D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie at an event promoted as an “Out for McDuffie” meet and greet session.

Several local LGBTQ activists who attended the event said they support McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, in his run for mayor while others said they had not yet decided whom to vote for in the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary election.

As of March 27, eight other Democrats were competing against McDuffy in the June 16 primary, including D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), considered McDuffie’s lead opponent. Lewis George also has a record of strong support on LGBTQ issues.

Most political observers consider McDuffie and Lewis George the two lead candidates in the race, with the others having far less name recognition.

The two lead organizers of the Out for McDuffie event were LGBTQ rights advocates Courtney Snowden, a former D.C. deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Cesar Toledo, a local LGBTQ youth housing services advocate.

“I’m a candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C. and I’m running for mayor because I love this city,” McDuffie told the gathering after being introduced by Snowden. “And now more than ever we need leadership to take us to the future,” he said, adding that he and his administration would “stand up and fight” against President Donald Trump’s efforts to intervene in local D.C. affairs.

“Our strength is in the 700,000 beautifully diverse residents of Washington, D.C.” he told the gathering. “And as Courtney said, I didn’t just show up and run for mayor and then start saying that I’m going to be an ally for the queer community, for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said, “I’ve lived my entire professional life fighting for justice and fighting for fairness.”

Following his speech, McDuffie told the Washington Blade, “We’re going to fight to protect our LGBTQ+ community every single day. That’s what I’ve spent my career doing, making sure we have a beautifully diverse and inclusive city.”

He remained at Number 9, located at 1435 P St., N.W., for nearly an hour after he spoke, chatting with attendees.