Local
Grosso discusses first months in office
At-large councilmember said ethics and election reform remain top priorities
D.C. Council member David Grosso (D-At-Large) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) reflected upon his first seven months in office during an interview with the Washington Blade on Monday.
“It’s been a fairly exciting seven months,” Grosso said while speaking to the Blade in his office in the John A. Wilson Building. “I’ve been getting my feet wet, but also getting a well-rounded education on what happens up here.”
Grosso, who was an aide for then-D.C. Councilmember Sharon Ambrose from 2001-2006 and D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s legislative director from 2006-2007, defeated then-incumbent D.C. Councilmember Michael A. Brown last November for the at-large D.C. Council seat reserved for a non-Democratic candidate.
Grosso said ethics and election reform remain his top priority.
He and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) in February introduced a bill – the Public Financing of Political Campaigns Amendment Act of 2013 – that would allow candidates to qualify for public financing if they receive contributions of $100 or less from individual donors. Each $100 a political hopeful raises would be matched by $400 under the measure.
“It gets more individuals engaged in the political process,” Grosso said, noting Connecticut and other states have implemented similar systems. “Somebody who donates $10 or $20 can see themselves as having the same political impact as somebody who donates $1,000. It kind of just opens up the doors of the political system.”
Grosso spoke with the Blade less than a week after the D.C. Board of Ethics and Accountability filed Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) $13,600 for accepting gifts from two city contractors.
The Washington Post on July 11 reported that Barry said in a statement he voluntarily disclosed the gifts and his “character and integrity remain intact.” He denied any assertions of an ethics scandal during an interview with MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry two days later.
“I find it extremely disappointing, just in general,” Grosso, who sits on the committee charged with reviewing the allegations against Barry and determining whether the Council should investigate them, said. He also pointed out he recuses himself from votes on city contracts of more than $1 million. “Councilman Barry has shown time and time again an unwillingness to play by the same rules as everybody else. And for me I think that’s just inexcusable.”
Grosso also supports non-partisan local elections and instant run-offs in contests where no candidate wins with a majority of votes.
“That’s a huge problem in our city, especially in special elections,” he said. “You have people winning with 15, 20, 30 percent of the vote, which is not a representative democracy.”
Government has ‘obligation’ to stop anti-LGBT discrimination
Grosso pointed out LGBT rights issues also remain an important part of his agenda.
The Council last month unanimously approved a bill that Grosso introduced alongside Barry and Councilmembers Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6,) Jack Evans (D-Ward 2,) David Catania (I-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) that expands the list of people who can officiate a wedding in D.C. Grosso also co-sponsored a bill his colleagues passed that will allow transgender Washingtonians to change the gender on their birth certificates without having undergone sex reassignment surgery.
Grosso, who received an endorsement from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance during his campaign, noted the country continues to make “great strides” on LGBT-specific issues, but noted it has “a long way to go.”
“Every single day we’re going to find a new thing where discrimination was prevalent, and we’re going to have to fix it,” he said. “It’s our obligation as a government to fix those things.”
Councilman blasts AG vote, supports liveable wage bill
Grosso blasted the Council’s late night vote on July 10 to delay next year’s attorney general election that D.C. voters approved in 2010. He specifically criticized Evans and Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) — who are both running for mayor in 2014 — for supporting the postponement of the referendum’s implementation.
“These people are running for mayor and they think they can just snap their fingers and do away with the peoples’ will,” Grosso said. “But they’re going to turn around in less than a year and ask for the people’s vote. I ask, when are people going to step up and say no, enough is enough with this kind of stuff.”
Grosso, who declined to tell the Blade whether he would support D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray if he were to seek another term in office, has also signed onto a bill that Wells introduced last week that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in the nation’s capital. Grosso said he is also working on a separate measure that would legalize the drug in D.C.
Grosso on July 10 also voted for the so-called Wal-Mart bill that would require the company and other large retailers to pay their D.C. employees at least $12.50 an hour – twice the city’s minimum wage of $8.50 an hour. Gray has yet to publicly say whether he will sign the measure into law.
“We must balance the interest of attracting large retailers to our less developed Wards 5, 7 and 8, while also attracting quality jobs to support our residents and their families,” Grosso said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Maryland
Federal officials launch Title IX probe into Md. schools over trans athletes
Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Frederick Counties named in probe
On June 23, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced it is launching a Title IX investigation into three Maryland school districts and the Maryland State Department of Education for failing to enforce sex-based protections guaranteed by federal law.
The districts include Montgomery County Public Schools, Prince George’s County Public Schools, and Frederick County Public Schools.
According to the department, these districts require schools to allow boys to compete in girls’ athletics, to use girls-only locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations alongside female athletes.
According to Bethesda Today, Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson Liliana Lopez said “MCPS remains committed to providing safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for all students and to complying with applicable federal and Maryland laws and regulations. As the matter is now under review by the Office for Civil Rights, we have no further comment at this time.”
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey states that allowing students access to sex-separated programs and facilities based on gender identity is “deeply troubling.”
“54 years after Title IX was signed into law, the Trump administration remains steadfast to enforce its promise to protect women and girls. We will fully investigate these allegations and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with federal law,” Richey said in a statement.
According to the press release from the Department of Education, the violation falls under a Trump-Vance administration rewrite of Title IX, which aligned the sex-based protections “with biological reality, not ideological fantasy.”
This comes after the NCAA released a statement in February stating that people assigned male at birth cannot participate in women’s sports teams. The NCAA stated, “The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and students assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is also currently deliberating on a case regarding transgender athletes in youth sports and their ability to play on teams that align with their gender identity, with the decision expected in the coming days.
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].
Congratulations to Paul Marengo who has been appointed the new executive director of the Equality Chamber of Commerce.
The Equality Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to advancing economic opportunities, business growth, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, professionals, and allies. Through networking, education, and community engagement, the Chamber works to create a thriving and inclusive business environment for all.
On behalf of the Chamber, Edmund Morris said, “We are thrilled to welcome Paul Marengo as executive director. His passion, vision, and dedication to fostering inclusive business environments make him the ideal leader to guide the Chamber into its next phase of growth and success.”
Marengo has been a nonprofit fundraising executive for more than 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Promethean Fundraising, a grassroots consulting firm that provides assistance, tools, and empowers emerging nonprofits to become competitive fundraisers. His clients have included The Chamber, Ragtag Film Society, and The Cherry Fund. He has served as a grant reviewer for the Maryland State Arts Commission, Virginia Commission for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
District of Columbia
Nearly 6,000 turn out for Pride Night Out at the Nationals
Gay Men’s Chorus sings National Anthem
“Just shy of” 6,000 people purchased tickets for the Wednesday, June 24, 21st annual Pride Night Out at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, which the Nationals said is the longest running LGBTQ Pride event in Major League Baseball, according to a Nationals spokesperson.
The event was organized with the Nationals by Team D.C., the local LGBTQ sports group that organizes similar Pride Nights for other professional D.C. area sports teams.
“It was a good time had by all as the Nationals celebrated the LGBTQ+ community during the Nationals 21st Pride Night Out, presented by Team D.C.” the Nationals said in a statement.
Nationals spokesperson Erica George said the overall game attendance was 27,200.
Similar to recent past years, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington sung the National Anthem at the start of the game, drawing loud cheers from people throughout the stadium.
The Nationals lost the game to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-4. Although most of the LGBTQ attendees of the event, held in the right-field mezzanine section of the stadium, were cheering for the Nationals, a sizeable number also cheered for the Phillies.
Miguel Ayala, one of Team D.C.’s lead organizers, said he noticed fans displaying Pride flags and recognized LGBTQ people in all parts of the stadium, indicating significantly more LGBTQ people and their supporters attended the game beyond the close to 6,000 or more who purchased the specific Pride Night Out tickets.
“It was a great excitement last night,” he told the Washington Blade on the day following the event. “I saw a lot of big crowds of our people, I saw everybody I can think of in the community. And it was really great to see the turnout.”
Also, like in previous years, Team D.C. along with the Nationals helped to organize a pre-game show on the large concourse platform area next to the stadium seating area involving a drag show led by local drag performer Shi-Queeta Lee.
“During pregame ceremonies, the Nationals Pride employee resource group was recognized on the field,” the statement released by the Nationals says. “Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a physician and public health leader who has had a profound impact on the LGBTQ+ community and those living with or vulnerable to HIV, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the guest of Team D.C.,” the statement says.
It adds that Team D.C.’s scholarship recipient Spencer Doll made the ceremonial call to “Play Ball.”
As if all that were not enough, a Nationals employee who entertains during the Nationals pre-game shows on the field dressed as a giant eagle named “Screech” wearing an eagle’s head mask appeared in the seating area where the Pride Night Out crowd was seated and mingled with the LGBTQ fans, many of whom posed for photos with Screech.
Buttigieg says false police report temporarily separated him from his children
11 years after Obergefell, marriage equality remains under scrutiny
Federal officials launch Title IX probe into Md. schools over trans athletes
Comings & Goings
‘Leviticus’ demonizes homophobia for gripping queer horror yarn
Abelardo de la Espriella elected Colombia’s next president
Capital Pride draws tens of thousands to D.C.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Festival and Concert
