Local
D.C. police chief assailed at hate crimes hearing
Representatives of the LGBT community and the head of the D.C. police union told a City Council hearing on Nov. 20 that District Police Chief Cathy Lanier has failed to take adequate steps to curtail hate crimes targeting gays and transgender people.
Kris Baumann, chair of the Fraternal Order of Police, and officials with five local LGBT organizations said Lanier has turned down their repeated request to assign more officers to the department’s highly acclaimed Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, whose ranks have been reduced from seven to two members since Lanier became chief in 2007.
“What the chief has done is decimate that unit,” said gay activist Peter Rosenstein.
Lanier took strong exception to that assessment, telling the Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary that she is expanding the GLLU and other special liaison units in the department by assigning officers “affiliated” with the units to each of the department’s seven police districts.
She said her plan calls for assigning a total of 57 officers or supervisors to all four of the special liason units, including the GLLU. She said about 20 of the 57 would be assigned to the GLLU, making it far more responsive to the community than a seven-member centralized unit.
Lanier told the committee she would keep her promise to LGBT activists to retain a small, centralized GLLU office.
But Baumann and Chris Farris, co-chair of Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, each said Lanier has “systematically” dismantled the GLLU’s operations under the promise of replacing it with a decentralized unit that she has yet to produce more than two years after she first proposed the reorganization.
“I am unfortunately significantly less optimistic today about this city’s willingness to tackle the difficult issue of hate crimes than I was a year ago,” Farris told the committee.
“I do not see what I think is needed – most importantly, leadership at the top, and a firm commitment to roll up our sleeves and treat the issue as it must be treated – holistically,” he said. “This means the MPD, the U.S. Attorney’s office, the D.C. Public School system, the mayor, and this City Council must all be unequivocally committed to the fight.”
Farris questioned recent police data showing the number of LGBT-related hate crime has decreased since 2006. He said he believes the decrease is due to a lack of reporting that came about as a result of GLLU’s reduction in staff and its inability to push more aggressively for reporting hate crimes.
Lanier and Assistant Chief Diane Grooms testified that a long-awaited training course for prospective GLLU officers would begin shortly. Lanier said she has found from her own conversations with LGBT officers that they prefer to remain in their regular units in the police districts rather than be “pigeonholed” in a special gay related unit.
She angered some of the activists attending the hearing when she said she didn’t believe they represent the views of LGBT people in the neighborhoods across the city.
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee, said he would continue to monitor the department’s response to hate crimes against all city residents. He and the LGBT representatives that testified at the hearing noted that anti-LGBT hate crimes in the city far outnumber hate crimes targeting other groups.
A report released last week by Mayor Adrian Fenty and Lanier, “Bias-Related Crime in the District of Columbia,” shows that “sexual orientation” related hate crimes comprised more than 70 percent of the total number of hate crimes in the city each year from 2005 through 2009.
So far this year, out of a total of 36 reported hate crimes, 30 were classified as “sexual orientation” related hate crimes.
Alison Gill, an official with the D.C. Trans Coalition, and Julius Agers, a transgender activist, told the committee they were pleased that Fenty and Lanier published the bias-related crime report – three years after the report was due under rules set by the City Council.
But the two said they were troubled that the report did not break down the statistics to show the number of hate crimes specifically targeting transgender people in the city. They noted that a number of widely reported anti-trans hate crimes have occurred in the District in recent years.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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