Local
D.C. Log Cabin calls for Romney endorsement with ‘qualifier’
Little noticed letter to LCR board calls for Romney-Cooper meeting
The letter signed by D.C. Log Cabin Republicans President Robert Turner II came to light one day before the national Log Cabin group was expected to announce its decision on whether or not it would endorse Romney following a lengthy period of internal deliberations. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
In an Aug. 27 letter to Log Cabin Republicans’ national board of directors, the D.C. Log Cabin Republicans chapter called on the national gay GOP group to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney with a “qualifier” that points out the differences the group has with Romney’s “anti-gay” positions.
The letter, signed by D.C. Log Cabin Republicans President Robert Turner II, was posted on the D.C. group’s website but was not publicly announced through a press release and wasn’t widely seen by activists and the media, Turner told the Washington Blade on Wednesday.
Turner’s discussion of the letter with the Blade on Wednesday came one day before the national Log Cabin group was expected to announce its decision on whether or not it would endorse Romney following a lengthy period of internal deliberations that sources have described as painful and contentious.
Turner sent his letter to Log Cabin Republicans’ national board on the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
“After a lengthy, wide-ranging, and honest discussion, our members voted overwhelmingly to encourage you to endorse the Romney-Ryan ticket,” Turner states in the letter. “However, the remaining few, as well as some members of the majority, expressed legitimate concerns as to the anti-gay positions the candidates have assumed on certain issues of significance to our community generally, and gay Republicans specifically,” Turner says in the letter.
“We realize that you are aware of these issues and assume that these will be part of your discussion as you decide the endorsement question,” Turner wrote.
“If you favor our recommendation, we ask that you accompany an endorsement with a qualifier noting the significant differences we have with the ticket on some social and civil liberties issues and an expression of Log Cabin’s intention of continuing to vigorously encourage the ticket and the party to revise their positions to more directly reflect the true values of our Grand Old Party,” Turner says in the letter.
“We also feel that our national Executive Director, who we firmly stand behind, as well as other ambassadors of the organization, should seek a private meeting with the Governor, much in the way the Austin-12 did with George W. Bush in 2000 in order to create a dialogue about our issues outside of the spotlight of the media,” Turner states in the letter.
Turner was referring to national Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper, who reportedly has been facilitating discussion between board members and leaders of the group’s chapter across the country over whether a Romney endorsement should be made.
Some of the group’s members have called for withholding an endorsement of Romney due to his anti-gay positions similar to the course the organization took in 2004. At that time, under the direction of its then president Patrick Guerrero, Log Cabin chose not to endorse the re-election of President George W. Bush in response to Bush’s support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Cooper didn’t immediately respond to an email from the Blade seeking comment on the D.C. Log Cabin group’s letter and whether the national group plans to announce its decision on an endorsement Thursday night, when it holds a national dinner in Washington.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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