National
Takano on path to make history in Calif. race
Democrat would be first out gay person of color in Congress
U.S. House candidate Mark Takano (photo courtesy Takano campaign)
Mark Takano is poised to make history.
The openly gay congressional candidate is the only Democrat running in a newly created Democratic-leaning district in California. And if he wins in November 2012, the 51-year-old Japanese-American would become the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress.
“The significance of that achievement is the unique voice that an openly gay member of Congress of color can bring to the House floor and the House committee rooms,” Takano said in an interview with the Washington Blade. “It’s a double-awareness of what it means to be vulnerable.”
Takano said this “double-awareness” comes as a result of the discrimination that both Japanese-Americans and LGBT Americans have faced in this country.
In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order placing an estimated 110,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps as the United States battled Japan during World War II. Takano said his parents and grandparents were among those who were interned, and his grandmother lost the property she owned as a result of the government’s action.
The U.S. government eventually apologized for its actions. In 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed legislation apologizing for the internment and disbursing more than $1.6 billion to Japanese-Americans who had been interned and their heirs. Takano said he believes the LGBT community will achieve a similar victory in reaching full legal equality.
“They were able to right the wrong by passing the Japanese-American redress bill,” Takano said. “Watching that example gives me faith that the LGBT community is also going to prevail in their quest for full inclusion and full equality. Because I’ve watched it happen.”
Takano said he expects to take the Employment Non-Discrimination Act over the finish line during his tenure in Congress. He also said he wants to work toward repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and passage of the Uniting American Families Act.
His election to Congress would also help maintain the level of LGBT representation in the House. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the longest-serving openly gay U.S. House member, announced in November that he won’t seek a 17th term in office. Lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin is leaving the House to pursue a run for U.S. Senate.
That leaves Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) as the only incumbent openly gay U.S. House members. Mark Pocan, another openly gay candidate, is seeking to win the seat that Baldwin is vacating.
Reflecting on Frank’s retirement, Takano said he feels a tinge of sadness that he won’t be able to serve alongside the Massachusetts Democrat.
“I really hoped as the first openly gay member of Congress who is a person of color that I get to serve with the openly gay member of Congress who’s the most colorful,” Takano joked.
He said Frank’s departure should instill a “sense of urgency” in the LGBT community in the upcoming election to maintain the number of openly LGBT people in Congress.
“If we’re going to move the agenda forward, it’s going to mean that we’re going to have to ensure that we keep the members there and increase our numbers this year,” Takano said. “We have an opportunity to do so.”
But the No. 1 priority for Takano if he’s elected to represent California’s 41st congressional district is addressing what he calls the “disastrous unemployment situation” in the country. According to the Labor Department, the national unemployment stands at 8.6 percent, which is down from recent months but still a high rate of joblessness.
Takano said that has been the top concern of the donors he’s spoken to — including LGBT donors — as he makes the case for his candidacy.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the nation to continue to have this unemployment because it threatens social stability and democratic institutions,” Takano said. “If it lasts too long, we’ll see the danger of extremist politics. I have concerns that vulnerable minorities will be in danger, so as LGBT Americans, we have a strong interest in making sure that we get all Americans back to work.”
A public school teacher for 23 years specializing in British literature, Takano also said education issues are of concern to him and he wants to reduce the high-school drop out rate while increasing the numbers of students attending college. He also said his district suffers from air pollution and he wants to be an environmental advocate in Congress.
Takano is no stranger to public service. In 1990, he was elected to the Riverside Community College District’s Board of Trustees and has served on that body since then. In 2001, Takano helped shepherd through the board a measure enabling Riverside Community College employees to have domestic partner benefits.
The candidate also made earlier attempts at winning a congressional House seat. In 1992, he defeated six contenders to win the Democratic nomination for then-California’s 43rd Congressional District. Takano didn’t succeed in the general election, but lost by fewer than 550 votes against Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) in one of the closest congressional elections in California history. Takano made another unsuccessful attempt at running for the seat in 1994.
Takano is likely to claim the Democratic nomination in the congressional race. The deadline for filing is March 9, and no other Democrat has yet to enter the race. Odds are also good for Takano in the general election. The 41st congressional district is new, but had it existed in 2008, President Obama would have won there by 20 points.
Still, even though the district is Democratic-leaning, Takano isn’t in the clear because he’ll be up against a Republican opponent. Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione has thrown his hat into the race.
The Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) have already endorsed Takano. During a recent trip to D.C., Takano also secured endorsements from retiring gay Rep. Frank as well as members of the House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Jennifer Crider, a Pelosi spokesperson, said of the Democratic leader’s endorsement of Takano, “She supports Mark Takano because he is committed to reigniting the American dream by getting people back to work, helping them stay in their homes and building strong small businesses. He will be a great representative of his district as well as the LGBT and Asian-American communities.”
Additionally, Takano also won the endorsement of fellow Japanese-American Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the most senior U.S. senator. Takano said Inouye’s support is significant because the senator rarely endorses a Democratic candidate before a primary is held.
In a statement provided to the Washington Blade, Inouye said, “Mark Takano has served this newly created congressional District as a classroom teacher, college board trustee and community leader for more than two decades. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives I am confident that Mark will work hard to create quality jobs, improve public education and preserve national security. I have known Mark for some time and I am pleased to endorse his campaign for Congress.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, following growing criticism over how she and the Department of Justice handled a range of issues, including matters related to sex offender and Trump ally Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump announced Bondi’s removal on Truth Social, where he also said Todd Blanche will serve as acting head of the Justice Department.
“Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year,” Trump wrote on the platform. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime across our country, with murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”
Trump was seen as recently as Wednesday with the now-former attorney general at a Supreme Court hearing on citizenship.
The decision contrasts with Trump’s previous public praise of Bondi, the 87th U.S. attorney general and former 37th attorney general of Florida, who served in that role from 2011-2019 before joining the Trump-Vance administration. He has frequently lauded her loyalty and said he speaks with her often. Bondi was also one of president’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Privately, however, Trump had grown frustrated that Bondi was not “moving quickly enough” to prosecute critics and political adversaries he wanted to face criminal charges, according to multiple sources. The New York Times reported that her inability to charge former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James with any crimes is a large factor in the president’s choice to fire her from the government’s primary law enforcement agency.
The move comes as Trump has sought to minimize public turmoil within his administration, avoiding the perception of a revolving-door Cabinet that defined his first term.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who unsuccessfully ran for governor, has emerged as a leading contender to lead the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies.
“He’s our secret weapon,” Trump said of Zeldin in February during a White House event promoting the coal industry, adding, “He’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
Bondi has also growing faced scrutiny from Congress.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of certain files, where she declined to answer key questions during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in February.
The Tampa native has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights through her roles in government. As Florida attorney general, she fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, arguing it would cause “serious public harm,” pushing forward a legal battle that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She also asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
More recently, Bondi established a “Title IX Special Investigations Team” within the Justice Department focused on restricting transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams and accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity. She also told Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to turn over the medical records of anyone under 19 who received gender-affirming care.
Her removal follows Trump’s decision last month to oust another controversial female Cabinet figure, Kristi Noem.
The White House
VIDEO: Gay journalist detained for booing Trumps at ‘Chicago’ opening night
Eugene Ramirez booed first family at Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended the opening night of “Chicago” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday. They were greeted by a mix of cheers, applause, and some audible boos.
Among them was Eugene Ramirez, a gay Washington resident, who later shared his account of the night after being briefly detained by security for booing the president and giving a thumbs-down gesture — an expression of what many would call a textbook definition of constitutionally protected speech to criticize the government.
Ramirez attended the opening night performance with a group of friends, hoping to catch a final show before the center undergoes two years of major changes under Trump oversight. The musical, based on a 1926 play of the same name, has become synonymous with Broadway success.
With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, “Chicago” has cemented itself as a cultural staple — known for its signature Fosse choreography, stripped-down staging, and sleek, campy aesthetic. The story follows Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, women who murder their husbands but — with the help of the manipulative, charismatic, and narcissistic attorney Billy Flynn — walk away scot-free.
It remains the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, and its 2002 film adaptation famously won the Academy Award for Best Picture. On this night, however, the production also became the backdrop for a very modern moment of political protest.
“I accompanied five friends to opening night of ‘Chicago’, as a way to enjoy a final performance in the Kennedy Center as we know it,” Ramirez began to recount to the Washington Blade, describing the moment his group settled into their seats inside the ornate Opera House theater.
Just before the performance began, the twice impeached president and first lady appeared in the balcony box, drawing immediate attention from the audience below. Theatergoers stood, cheered, clapped, and waved, while Ramirez made a different choice.
While accounts of the crowd’s reaction have varied, Ramirez said his response was intentional, immediate, and within his rights. Moments after booing and giving a thumbs-down while recording on his iPhone, security intervened.
The video of Ramirez booing the Trump’s is here:
“Within moments, the director [of security] and another guard approached and escorted me to a side area where several other security guards were waiting,” he said. “I was detained until everyone was seated and the lights dimmed.”
As he was escorted away, Ramirez said his instincts as a journalist kicked in. A former lead anchor for Sinclair’s national evening news broadcast, he said the situation immediately felt off — or more aptly put — as if he could see the strings being pulled from someone attempting to control the narrative.
“Journalism is a vocation, not just a job. I immediately knew there wasn’t just an uncomfortable interaction with security,” he said. “The Kennedy Center is a federally funded cultural institution, and being questioned about speech related to the president in that setting felt like something the public should know about.”
Ramirez explained the difference between a standard visit by a public official and this performance: the president’s appearance wasn’t just ceremonial; it was very clearly a media moment.
“The White House press pool was there, and it was clear this was an effort to manage the president’s image in the media,” Ramirez continued. “The irony was not lost on me that this was happening on opening night of ‘Chicago’, a musical about manipulating the press to shape public perception.”
According to Ramirez, the explanation he received from Kennedy Center Director of Safety and Security Karles C. Jackson Sr., was brief, but illuminating.
“He said, ‘they don’t want booing,’ and even called out my thumbs-down gesture. He never clarified who ‘they’ were, but whether it was the administration or the Kennedy Center, the distinction felt meaningless,” he explained. “Mr. Jackson ultimately told me he was just trying to do his job, shook my hand, and allowed me to return to my seat once the lights dimmed and the overture started playing.”
Ramirez said he didn’t blame the guard individually, noting the broader context of the Kennedy Center’s uncertain future and the pressures staff were under.
“With the center closing in the coming months, some of these security guards being pressured to restrict our freedom of speech may only have a few weeks of work left.”
He believes the decision to remove him was driven less by disruption than optics, particularly given the presence of the press.
“It was very clearly about protection — whether protecting the president from visible dissent, or his image before the media present. There was no disruption as almost everyone was standing and reacting loudly to the arrival of the president and first lady, with cheers, applause, and hand gestures. The difference was that my reaction, unlike most, was negative.”
Drawing on his experience covering public officials, Ramirez said the incident felt more about controlling perception than security.
“Usually, law enforcement may monitor or intervene if there’s a disruption, but here there was no disruption at all. Simply expressing dissent in a public, cultural space drew the attention of security. It made it feel less like a matter of decorum and more like an effort to control the narrative around the president,” he said. “It’s about what happens when dissent is treated as disruption rather than a right.”
“The show hadn’t started. I threatened no one. Billy Flynn would have approved of the optics. The rest of us should be paying attention.”
Ramirez framed the incident as part of a broader constitutional concern, one that is plaguing the Trump-Vance administration as they continue to reject rules and normalcy set forth by other reserved presidents.
“Being singled out by security at a federally funded institution for expressing dissent shouldn’t be brushed off; it undermines the First Amendment,” he said, looking at it slightly distanced from it now. “Being of Cuban heritage, and a journalist, it’s a right I’m not willing to give up readily.”
“Publicly funded cultural institutions should allow visible dissent, even in politically charged moments,” he added. “Of course, I understand the need to manage disruptions during a performance, but that was not the case here.”
The themes of “Chicago”, a long-running satire about media manipulation and public perception, added another layer of irony to the experience, Ramirez explained.
“The satire truly leapt off the stage! A show about controlling the narrative, manipulating the press, and covering up truths by leaning on showmanship and distractions. The show is decades old, but could’ve been written today. We’re being razzle-dazzled daily and it’s getting harder to tell fact from fiction, no matter where you get your news.”
He, being gay, also acknowledged how hard it must have been for the performers on stage, assuming that at least some in the cast were also members of the LGBTQ community — and artists — two things Trump doesn’t always get along with.
“It was not lost on me that many of the actors on that stage, that the president and first lady presumably applauded, are members of the LGBTQ community which this administration has rolled back protections for under the guise of religious liberty and free speech, resulting in blatant discrimination.”
He pointed to a particular number that felt surreal given the circumstances.
“Its ‘Razzle Dazzle’ number celebrates keeping audiences off balance; at its climax, a massive American flag descends as the song celebrates blinding audiences to what is real. Watching that scene after being detained for a thumbs-down was surreal.”
Ramirez said the show’s closing lines were especially sharp given the presidential audience and what he just experienced.
“At the end of the show,
Velma says: ‘You know, a lot of people have lost faith in America.’
Roxie replies: ‘And for what America stands for.’
Velma: ‘But we are the living examples of what a wonderful country this is.’
Roxie: ‘So we’d just like to say thank you and God bless you.’
They had both just gotten away with murder!”
His closing lines, however, were a bit more pointed than “scintillating sinners” Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly’s were in the show.
“Democracy only works when citizens are allowed to boo,” he said. “Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center, ‘Chicago’ made that point better than I ever could.”
The Blade reached out to the Kennedy Center but did not receive a comment back.
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