Local
Comings & Goings
Helping Clinton in Ohio; lawyer named ABA fellow
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Caleb S. Carter who has just been named Coordinated Campaign Field Organizer in the Akron region of Ohio for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Carter will be responsible for organizing and mobilizing volunteers into a team that will phone bank, canvass and host events related to the general election. The team he will work with will be doing voter registration and working to turn out voters for Clinton on Election Day. āThe larger the turnout the better both for Hillary and down ballot Democrats,ā Carter said.
Carter is a young activist with a lot of experience. He is attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and hopes to earn his bachelorās in political science. He was the lead coordinator of Birmingham Students for Hillary and office manager of Hillary for America in Birmingham. He also served as vice president of the UAB College Democrats.
Carter was also involved in the community with non-political work. He volunteered at the Autumn Care Nursing and Rehabilitation (Mocksville, N.C.) for three years. He was also a campus organizer for the UAB Gender and Sexual Diversity Programs. Thanks, Caleb, for all your hard work and good luck in Ohio.
Congratulations to DonaldĀ C.Ā Davis, a senior litigation associate at Ackerman Brown PLLC, a regional law firm serving the needs of individualsĀ andĀ businesses in the greater Washington metropolitan area. Davis was selected as a member ofĀ the American Bar Association Business Law Section Fellows Program for the 2016-2018 class. The goal of the program is to give each fellow an opportunity to become involved in the work of the Business Section. Davis was also elected to the board of directors of the LGBT Bar Association of the District of Columbia.Ā In addition, he is a member of the executive committee of the board serving in the capacity of secretary.Ā The LGBT Bar Association of the District of Columbia is an affiliate of the National LGBT Bar Association.
Davis was asked to participate in the CVS Health Executive Learning Series for Diverse Suppliers at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies in Providence, R.I. The series is designed to help diverse suppliers gain capacity building skills by offering training opportunities to expand skill level and growth potential in areas such as marketing, finance, leadership and human resources.
DavisĀ obtained a Juris Doctor from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2007 and was named to the list of 40 LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of SMYAL.
Congratulations also to Tommy Wrenn who has been appointed development program assistant at the Public Justice Foundation (publicjustice.net). The foundationās staff attorneys team with private attorneys around the country to fight injustice and preserve access to the courts for ordinary people.
Wrenn is a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and moved to D.C. in the summer of 2014 to serve as a White House intern. Since leaving the White House, he has worked for peace and justice organizations, including the Friends Committee on National Legislation,Ā a Quaker advocacy organization.
Maryland
Vogel finishes second in primary race for Trone’s congressional seat
Gay Maryland lawmaker lost to April McClain Delaney
GAITHERSBURG, Md. ā Gay Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Tuesday finished second in the Democratic primary for Congressman David Trone’s seat.
Vogel lost to April McClain Delaney by a 39.2-26.7 percent margin with 52 percent of the votes counted.
The Montgomery County Democrat spoke to supporters at the South House Garden in Gaithersburg after he conceded to Delaney.
“I wished her well and pledged that I will do everything in my power and nature that we hold this seat in November, elect a Democratic senator in November and re-elect President Joe Biden,” said Vogel.
Vogel was born in Uruguay. He would have been the first Latino, the first gay man and first Gen Zer elected to Congress from Maryland if he would have won in November.
Delaney will face Republican Neil Parrott, an anti-LGBTQ former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, in November.
Maryland
Alsobrooks defeats Trone in Md. Senate primary
Prince George’s County executive to face Larry Hogan in November
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks on Tuesday defeated Congressman David Trone in the Democratic primary to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
Alsobrooks defeated Trone by 53.8-42.1 percent margin. She will face Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan in November.
“On Nov. 5, 2024, we are going to defeat Larry Hogan, keep Maryland blue, and keep our Senate under Democratic control,” said Alsobrooks on her X account after she defeated Trone.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), U.S. Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser are among those who congratulated Alsobrooks.
“Tonight we celebrate, and tomorrow we keep fighting to get her elected as Maryland’s next U.S. senator in November,” said Robinson on her X account.
Virginia
Man convicted of murder in Fairfax was propositioned by male victim
Defendant faces possible 40-year prison term
A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury on May 9 found a 31-year-old man guilty of second-degree murder for the June 10, 2023, stabbing death of a Fairfax City, Va., man after the man propositioned him for sex, according to a statement released by the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney.
The statement says Aaron Robertson had been charged with killing Luis Barahona Reyes, 50, in an apparent act of revenge after the two men got off a bus in Fairfax City and Barahona Reyes asked Robertson if he would like to engage in sex.
āRobertson and Mr. Barahona Reyes were unknown to each other when they got off the same bus on Draper Street in Fairfax City around 11 p.m. on the night of June 9, 2023,ā the statement says. āAfter a brief conversation, Robertson lured Mr. Barahona Reyes to a parking lot behind 9715 Fairfax Blvd, where Robertson knocked the victim unconscious,ā the statement continues.
āRobertson later returned to the scene in the early morning hours of June 10, where he proceeded to beat, stab, and eventually kill Mr. Barahona Reyes,ā it says. āRobertson then left and returned a third time to clean up the scene and try to dispose of the victimās body.ā
The statement adds, āSubstantial forensic evidence introduced at trial connected Robertson to the murder, including the victimās blood on his shoes and Robertsonās own DNA under the victimās fingernails.ā
It notes that additional evidence linking Robertson to the murder was obtained from surveillance camera footage and witness accounts from nearby Wawa and 7-Eleven stores showing him entering and leaving the stores multiple times to wash his hands.
āProsecutors argued that Robertson attacked and killed the victim because Mr. Barahona Reyes propositioned Robertson for sex in their first encounter after getting off the bus,ā the statement says.
āIām personally dismayed this type of crime could happen in this day and age, especially in a community like Fairfax County that prides itself on being welcoming,ā said Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney Steve Descano in the statement. āMr. Barahona Reyesā death is tragic, and the fact that he may have been killed for his sexuality only further adds to the injustice,ā he said.
Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 26 and faces up to 40 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction.
The Washington Post reports that during Robertsonās trial, a portion of a recording of a confession that Robertson gave to Fairfax City police was played in court. The Post reports that Robertson stated in his confession that after he returned to the scene where he had knocked Barahona Reyes unconscious, Barahona Reyes āslowly got up,ā pulled out a knife and lunged at Robertson.
It was at that time, Robertson said in his confession, he became fearful of his life and was able to grab the knife away from Barahona Reyes and stabbed him multiple times, slammed his head on the ground, and strangled him, according to the Postās story on the trial and conviction.
The Post story adds that Robertsonās attorney urged the jury, based on what he said was Robertsonās fear for his life, to hand down a verdict of manslaughter rather than first-degree murder as requested by prosecutors. As it turned out, the jury handed down a lesser but still serious verdict of second-degree murder.