Local
Gay congressmen thank supporters at Stein Club inaugural reception
Takano, Pocan join LGBT Democrats in toast to Obama victory
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Gay U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) joined about a hundred LGBT Democratic activists from across the country at an inaugural reception Saturday night hosted by D.C.’s Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
Takano and Pocan, who won election to their first term in Congress in November, said people attending the event were among the large number of LGBT supporters from across the country that gave money and provided long distance phone banking help to their campaigns.
“Let me just say what’s so gratifying about this election and being the first openly gay member of Congress from the state of California is that you helped me win in a part of the state that was known to be very socially conservative,” Takano told the gathering.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Pocan, who won the seat that lesbian House member Tammy Baldwin gave up to wage her successful race for the U.S. Senate, coasted to victory in November in a strong Democratic district in Madison, Wisc., after winning a hotly contested Democratic primary.
“I really appreciate all of the help that you gave for all of our seven folks who got elected his year because it’s nice to increase our numbers in the House and to have Tammy Baldwin in the Senate,” Pocan said.
He was referring to the all-time high figure of seven openly gay or bisexual members of Congress who either won re-election or election in November.
Gay incumbent Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) won their re-election bids. Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Kyrsten Siema (D-Ariz.), who’s openly bisexual, joined Takano and Pocan in winning their seats as first-term House members.
Stein Club President Martin Garcia led a toast at the gathering in celebration of President Obama’s election to a second term and to what he said was the promise of continued advances in the fight for LGBT equality.
“We have folks from all over the country here with us celebrating the election of President Barack Obama,” Garcia said. “And Mark Takano and Mark Pocan, it was fantastic to have them there.”
Pocan, who introduced his husband, Phil Frank, told of how he and Frank were greeted by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) during a picture-taking session at the time he and other House members were sworn into office.
“He bounced back and forth to take pictures and we get ready and he comes up and I say I want to introduce you to my husband, Phil,” Pocan said. “Oh – he smiled. And he had a look like light bulbs went on in his head.”
Pocan said he expects that he, Baldwin and the other gay House members will continue to educate and enlighten their congressional colleagues and others they interact with.
“So all the hard work that we do to try and fight for real equality, having members at the table and having folks like you working for different organizations and working at the Capitol doing the job that you do – that’s how we’re ultimately going to get things done,” he said.
Takano said it was a testament to his skilled campaign manager, a hardworking campaign staff, and his aggressive outreach to the large number of Latino and African American voters in his district who, in the past, had supported Republican candidates, that he won his race
In what to some was an unexpected turn of events, Takano said, “the first openly gay member of Congress in the state of California was not elected from San Francisco, was not elected from Los Angeles, was not elected from San Diego, but was elected from an area that has not sent a Democrat to Congress in 20 years.”
Among those attending the event was Stein Club co-founder Paul Kuntzler, 72, who said the first presidential inauguration he attended was that of President John F. Kennedy in January 1961. Kuntzler said he was a volunteer in the Kennedy campaign in Michigan in 1960 at the age of 18.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
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Comings & Goings
