Local
Virginia Democrats nominate statewide candidates
McAuliffe, Northam and Herring will face off against anti-gay GOP ticket
Terry McAuliffe (center) at an Equality Virginia fundraiser in Arlington, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Virginia Democrats on Tuesday officially nominated three men as their party’s statewide candidates.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) defeated former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra by a 54-46 percent margin in the lieutenant governor primary. State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Leesburg) defeated former federal prosecutor Justin Fairfax by a 52-48 percent margin in the attorney general contest during the election that saw very low voter turnout across the commonwealth.
Former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe will face off against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for governor in the Nov. 5 general election after he ran unopposed in the primary.
“I look forward to coming together to ensure the Democratic ticket wins a clean sweep in November,” Chopra said in a statement on Tuesday night. “The work to bring fairness, equality, and opportunity to Virginia continues.”
“I look forward to supporting Terry McAuliffe and the rest of our very strong Democratic ticket in November,” Fairfax added.
Northam will face E.W. Jackson in the general election, while Herring will square off against state Sen. Mark Obenshein (R-Harrisonburg.)
“Today, Virginia Democrats nominated three individuals that share a common bond: a clear history of support for policies — including higher taxes, big government programs and anti-competitive regulations — that will move Virginia backwards,” Cuccinelli’s campaign spokesperson, Dave Rexrode, said in a statement after the polls closed.
Virginia Democrats and LGBT rights advocates have repeatedly criticized Cuccinelli and the GOP ticket for their opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples and other gay-specific issues.
Cuccinelli in March filed an ultimately unsuccessful challenge to a three-judge panel’s ruling that overturned Virginia’s sodomy law. He also spoke at an anti-gay marriage event at a Manassas church last October to which the Washington Blade was denied access.
Jackson, who founded Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, has previously compared gay men to pedophiles and described them as psychologically, mentally and emotionally “very sick people.” Equality Virginia pointed out to reporters last month after the Republican Party of Virginia officially nominated their statewide ticket that Obenshein opposed a measure a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee tabled in February that would have banned discrimination against LGBT state employees.
Obenshein also sponsored a measure that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed in March that bans public universities from denying recognition and funding to student groups that discriminate in their membership based on sexual orientation and other categories that federal law does not protect.
“Virginia Democrats have nominated a mainstream equality-oriented ticket, setting up a stark contrast with the most anti-gay Republican ticket in Virginia history,” state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) told the Blade on Tuesday. “Cuccinelli, Jackson and Obenshain have a clear record of division, derision and denial.”
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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.
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