Local
Marriage bill stalled by ‘holdout’ lawmaker
O’Malley reiterates support, lobbies Md. delegates
Maryland House of Delegates member Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s County), one of two lawmakers who failed to show up for an expected committee vote Tuesday on a same-sex marriage bill, said she is now ready to vote on the bill, raising hope among supporters that the legislation would be approved by the committee late this week.
But Del. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City), who joined Alston in boycotting the marriage bill vote as a means of promoting at least two unrelated bills stalled in the legislature, continued to withhold her vote on the marriage measure as of late Wednesday. Her action drew attention to the fragile coalition of lawmakers that LGBT advocates must rely on to enact same-sex marriage in Maryland.
Carter and Alston stunned backers of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on Tuesday morning by staying away from a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in which a vote on the marriage bill was scheduled to take place, and announced they would not vote on the measure until Democratic leaders pay more attention to other issues they feel are equally important.
Both Carter and Alston are co-sponsors of the marriage bill. And due to the close division of committee members on the bill, their votes are needed to secure the committee’s approval of the bill to enable it to reach the House floor for a final vote.
Carter told the Baltimore Sun that Alston joined her in staying away from what had been expected to be a committee vote in favor of the same-sex marriage bill as a means of gaining “leverage” for other, unrelated issues such as restoring proposed cuts in school funding in their respective districts.
Backers of the Civil Marriage Protection Act have only enough support on the committee to pass the bill by a one-vote margin. Carter noted that it’s still relatively early in the legislative session and other bills, in addition to the marriage bill, should be placed on the fast track.
Meanwhile, Gov. Martin O’Malley reiterated his support on Tuesday for the marriage bill, repeating his commitment to sign it if it reaches his desk.
“The governor has committed to signing the bill,” said O’Malley spokesperson Shaun Adamec. “His personal support is for full equality for same-sex couples as is enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Regardless of the label the General Assembly puts on it, the governor’s objective is to achieve equality.”
Adamec said that O’Malley has been involved in lobbying for the marriage bill and has “made phone calls in support of the bill.” O’Malley has stopped short of saying he supports marriage equality. His lieutenant governor and attorney general have both publicly endorsed full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Del. Joseph Vallario (D-Prince George’s County), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, responded to Carter and Alston’s ’protest’ action by rescheduling the vote on the marriage bill for later in the day on Tuesday, after the committee held a public hearing on as many as 16 other bills.
But at the end of the committee’s session, Carter made it known she was not ready to vote for the bill, even though she said she supports it. Vallario said he would assess the situation on Wednesday to determine when to schedule a vote on the marriage measure.
Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), a member of the committee who is gay, said Wednesday that Vallario tentatively set a committee voting session for Thursday afternoon. However, Clippinger said it was unclear whether the voting session would take place since Carter had yet to say whether she would attend.
Supporters of the marriage bill, which passed in the Maryland Senate last week, initially planned to hold off on a vote in the House until toward the end of the legislative session in April. But they moved up the vote to this week after determining a furious campaign against it by opponents might lead to the erosion of support.
Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), the bill’s author and lead sponsor in the Senate, joined a spokesperson for the statewide LGBT group Equality Maryland in expressing confidence that the committee would soon approve the bill.
“I just think you see politics going on,” said Madaleno, who is gay. “It’s a high-profile issue and you’ve got some legislators who are supporters of the bill who still say they are supporting the bill who are just trying to bring attention to issues that they care about as well.”
He added, “I remain optimistic that we’re going to have the votes needed to pass it when it gets to the floor. Obviously, the first step is getting it through the committee. And we have the majority of the committee who are co-sponsors.”
Linsey Pecikonis, communications manager for Equality Maryland, said her group also remains confident that the committee will approve the bill.
“None of the delegates that have been supporting the bill in the past – none of them have wavered in their support,” Pecikonis said. “They just want to make sure that they are drawing attention and people are aware of other issues that are going on within the committee.”
Madaleno noted that opponents of the bill would seize on the wrinkle that surfaced in the House Tuesday to advance their claim that support for the bill is eroding.
“I think that just speaks to what we have to do, and that is, do the same thing — pull out all the stops,” he said. “No one should take anyone for granted in this debate. People should be calling their delegates and asking them to vote for the bill.”
District of Columbia
Lewis George holds strong lead over McDuffie in D.C. mayor’s race
Gay Council member Parker wins in Ward 5; bi candidate leads in Ward 1
D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) was leading former D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) in the D.C. primary race for mayor late Tuesday night by a margin of 52.79 percent of the vote compared to 36.57 percent for McDuffie with 64 percent of the votes counted, according to information released by the D.C. Board of Elections at 11:55 p.m.
A Board of Elections spokesperson informed the media by email that the board had stopped its vote counting shortly before midnight and would resume its counting Wednesday morning, June 17.
The late-night returns showed Lewis George and McDuffie were far ahead of the other five candidates competing in the Democratic primary for mayor, with candidate Rini Sampath, who self-identifies as queer, receiving 2.93 percent of the vote.
Of the remaining Democratic mayoral candidates, former Council member Vincent Orange received 3.73 percent; businessman Gary Goodweather received 3.0 percent; and civic activists Hope Solomon, 1.09 percent; and Ernest Johnson 0.53 percent.
Election board spokesperson Sarah Graham noted in her email to the media that the initial vote percentages released Tuesday night were counted under the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system, which was in place for mayor, D.C. Council, D.C. congressional delegate, and D.C. attorney general. She said the follow-up “round-by-round tabulation results” when voters’ second, third, fourth and possibly fifth choices are counted under the ranked choice system, they are estimated to be released between Sunday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 24.
“The final round-by-round tabulation results will be released on or after June 26, 2026,” she stated. The ranked-choice system does not go into effect if a candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote.
Lewis George and McDuffie have strong records of support on LGBTQ issues, and Goodweather expressed strong support for LGBTQ issues during the campaign. The Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest LGBTQ political group, endorsed Lewis George for mayor.
Although the election board had yet to declare a winner in the mayor’s race, with 36 percent of the votes cast not yet counted, Lewis George delivered a rousing speech at her election-night event at the Howard Theatre that many of her supporters considered a victory speech. Among those attending the event and expressing the belief that Lewis George was the expected winner was Capital Stonewall Democrats President Stevie McCarty.
“There’s still a lot of votes to count, but I feel very confident and it looks really good,” he said in referring to Lewis George and the LGBTQ community members who supported her campaign.
Like the other races for D.C. Council, the D.C. congressional delegate seat, and D.C. attorney general, most if not all of the candidates had either expressed support for LGBTQ rights or had strong records of support, like McDuffie and Lewis George. LGBTQ activists have said that meant LGBTQ voters would be choosing a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ rights issues.
In other races, D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, was far ahead of two Democratic challengers, with 76.37 percent of the vote. Challengers Bernita Carmichael and Bridgete French received 15.28 percent and 7.57 percent respectively.
Political observers believe Parker is the strong favorite to win re-election in November against a Republican and a Statehood Green Party candidate.
In the Ward 1 D.C. Council race, where five LGBTQ supportive candidates were competing for the seat being vacated by Democratic incumbent Brianne Nadeau, who is not running for re-election, community activist Aparna Raj, who identifies as bisexual, was leading gay candidate and LGBTQ rights activist Miguel Trindade Deramo by a margin of 46.7 percent to 20.27 percent in a five-candidate race.
The other candidates were Rashida Brown, 17,18 percent; Jackie Reyes Yanes, 9.98 percent; and Terry Lynch, 5.75 percent.
In the race for the D.C. delegate seat to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is being vacated by retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), D.C. Council member Robert White (D-At-Large) was leading in a five-candidate race with 63.16 percent of the vote. His leading opponent, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) had 21.45 percent of the vote.
The vote count for the other candidates was 7.66 percent for Kinney Zalene; 4.55 percent of Trent Holbrook; and 2.8 percent for Greg Jaczko.
In other D.C. Council races Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Council member Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3) were unopposed in the Democratic primary and are considered strong favorites to win re-election in November.
Nine Democrats competed for the At-Large D.C. Council seat being vacated by Council member Anita Bonds (D), who is not seeking re-election. Community activist and local pharmacist Oye Owolewa, who was endorsed by Capital Stonewall Democrats, was leading in the Democratic primary with 33.77 percent of the vote.
The vote count percentage for the other candidates were: Lisa Raymond, 15.22; Kevin Chavous, 13.84; Greg Jackson, 10.95; Candis Nelson, 7.67; Dwight Davis, 6.02; Dyana Forester, 3.72; and Leniqua Jenkins, 3.0.
In the Ward 6 D.C. Council race, Democratic incumbent Charles Allen, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter who received the Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsement, was far ahead of his two Democratic challengers with 74.43 percent of the vote. Gloria Ann Nauden had 18.68 percent, and Michael Murph had 6.51 percent.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ rights who also received the Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsement, had 90.34 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, with his sole opponent J.P. Szymkowicz receiving 9.15 percent.
In the special election to fill the At-Large Council seat that must go to a non-Democrat under the city’s Home Rule Charter, and which was vacated by McDuffie when he decided to run for mayor as a Democrat, former Council member Elissa Silverman was leading with 54.75 percent of the vote. Incumbent Council member Doni Crawford, who was temporarily appointed to the seat, was in second place with 34.81 percent of the vote. A third candidate, Jaque Patterson, had 19.27 percent. All three candidates ran as independents.
In the separate D.C. Republican and D.C. Statehood Green Party primaries held on June 16, all the offices for which a candidate from those two parties were on the ballot ran unopposed. No Republican candidate ran for D.C. mayor in the primary. With a large majority of D.C. voters being registered as Democrats, no Republican or Statehood Green Party candidate has won election to public office in D.C. for at least the past 10 years or longer. No known LGBTQ Republican or Statehood Green Party candidate was on the ballot in the June 16 primary.
Delaware
57 towns in 57 hours: Rep. McBride kicks off re-election campaign
Touts record of championing bipartisan legislation
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) officially kicked off her re-election campaign this week with a grueling tour of her state that saw her visit 57 municipalities in just 57 hours.
The tour culminated Monday evening in Rehoboth Beach with a packed crowd at the Convention Center. At least 400 attendees stood patiently in a line that wrapped around the block and snaked down Rehoboth Avenue. Once inside, a DJ entertained the ebullient crowd that kept busy batting beach balls around the venue.
The crowd featured a large LGBTQ presence that cheered speakers including state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, state Sen. Russ Huxtable, and Delaware Democratic Party Chair Evelyn Brady, who introduced McBride.
McBride took the stage to Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” and the lyrics “I get knocked down, but I get up again.” In her remarks, she touched on a record of introducing more bipartisan legislation than any other freshman lawmaker and touted an award her office won for providing superior constituent service.
“People want leaders who are focused on lowering costs, solving problems, and delivering results,” she said. “That’s exactly what I’ve worked to do in Congress, and that’s why I’m running for re-election – to continue delivering for and defending Delaware.”
McBride is the first transgender member of Congress and is Delaware’s sole representative in the U.S. House. She will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. Rev. Earl Cooper — a former Democrat McBride defeated two years ago — is running for the GOP nomination. The state primary election is Sept. 15 and the general election is Nov. 3.
District of Columbia
D.C. nude dance club Archibald’s to feature male strippers beginning Pride weekend
Popular downtown venue to debut new lower floor gay ‘underworld’
Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club, which has offered adult entertainment in the nation’s capital involving nude female dancers since it first opened in 1969 at 1520 K St., N.W., will offer nude male dancers beginning Saturday night, June 20, according to co-owner Thom Naylor.
The female dancers will continue as usual on the upper two floors of Archibald’s three-story building, according to Naylor, who released a flier promoting the opening of the male dancer venue as an event “for Gay Pride.”
He told the Washington Blade he expects a dozen male dancers to perform beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday when D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride Parade will take place earlier in the day.
Following its opening night for the male dancers, Naylor said he plans to continue offering male nude dancers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. The club is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
“I want to have an official Champagne grand opening probably in July,” he said referring to the male dance venue. “This is like a soft opening just to get going and to get everybody acclimated.”
The decision by Archibald’s to offer nude male dance entertainment for an LGBTQ clientele will mark the first time such entertainment will take place in D.C. since March 2020, when the LGBTQ nightclub Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, which featured nude male dancers, was forced to close at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The owner of the building at 1824 Half St., S.W., discontinued the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets lease a short time later to demolish the building and construct a high-rise residential condominium.
Naylor, who identifies as gay, said he has long believed nude male entertainment should be available in D.C. for a gay clientele as well as anyone else interested in that type of entertainment.
“So, we decided to go with three days in the summer and then come September go into a full swing when we’re open five days a week,” he said, referring to the male dancers.
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