District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats host forum on proposed ranked choice voting, open primaries
Initiative 83 supporters, opponents attended event at Shakers
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of D.C.ās oldest LGBTQ political organizations, hosted a forum on on Monday night, Feb. 19, on the proposed D.C. ballot measure known as Initiative 83, which calls for the city to put in place a ranked choice voting system and for party primaries to be open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliation, including independent voters.
The forum included presentations by one of the leading supporters and a leading opponent of the controversial initiative. Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights and Ward 8 community activist Phil Pannell, who serves as treasurer of Make All Votes Count DC, the lead organization advocating for Initiative 83, spoke on behalf of the initiative.
Deirdre Brown, who identified herself as a longtime Ward 3 Democratic Party member and LGBTQ community ally, spoke on behalf of Vote No on Initiative 83, the lead group opposing the initiative.
Brown pointed out that her organization was separate and distinct from the D.C. Democratic Party, which also opposes Initiative 83 and has filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court to prevent the measure from being placed on the ballot. A judge was expected to hand down a ruling on whether the lawsuit should be dismissed or continue at a Feb. 23 hearing.
Capital Stonewall Democrats President Michael Haresign, who introduced both speakers, told the Washington Blade after the event, which was held at the D.C. gay bar Shakers, that the LGBTQ Democratic group may not take an official position on Initiative 83. He said that if it does take a position, it would not do so until later this year if the initiative is approved for placement on the ballot in the cityās November election.
An informal survey of local LGBTQ activists conducted by the Blade shows the LGBTQ community appears divided over Initiative 83, with prominent activists emerging as both supporters and opponents of the measure.
In his presentation in support of Initiative 83, Pannell called ranked choice voting an important electoral reform that has worked successfully in many states and cities across the country. He noted that ranked choice voting serves as an instant, automatic runoff election if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote in a primary or general election.
As proposed, Initiative 83 would allow voters to rank candidates running for office in order of their preference. Under this system, if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote during the initial ballot counting process, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated.
The votes cast by voters who picked that candidate as their top choice would then go to their second-choice candidate. This process would continue, under the ranked choice system, until at least one candidate emerges with at least 50 percent of the votes and is declared the winner.
The second part of Initiative 83 would allow more than 80,000 D.C. residents who currently choose not to register as a member of one of the local political parties and who are not allowed to vote in a primary, to vote in the cityās primary elections, including the Democratic primary. Political observers point out that the Democratic primary usually decides who will win the general election in D.C, where registered voters overwhelmingly elect Democratic candidates to public office.
āIn terms of ranked choice voting, itās very basic,ā Pannell told the gathering. āYou have to start with , do you believe people who are elected should have a simple majority of the vote? If you donāt believe that, Iām not going to be able to convince you,ā he said.
Pannell pointed out that in recent D.C. elections, under the cityās public campaign finance law, as many as 20 candidates have run for both at-large and ward seats on the DC Council, with some of them winning with just 30 percent or even a little over 20 percent of the vote.
Calling himself a lifelong, loyal member of the Democratic Party, Pannell criticized party leaders for opposing what he calls broadening the democratic process by allowing all residents to vote in primaries, especially independents, and for opposing a ranked choice voting system that Pannell said also broadens the electoral consensus by requiring that a candidate receive at least 50 percent of the vote to win an election.
āInitiative 83 will make politics more inclusive, less divisive,ā he told the forum. āLetās embrace it. Closed primaries are the result of closed hearts and closed minds,ā he said. āLetās open the windows and the doors … Letās change our party for the better and vote for Initiative 83.ā
Brown, who also described herself as a loyal Democratic Party member from Ward 3 and a native Washingtonian, disputed arguments by Pannell and his colleagues in support of Initiative 83, saying the democratic process is alive and well under the current D.C. electoral system and backers of Initiative 83 are waging a āpropaganda campaignā to confuse voters.
Among other things, she said itās not an infringement of democracy by requiring people to register for a party to vote in a party primary. All they need to do is register under D.C.ās rapid registration system, vote in a primary, and then withdraw their registration at any time. She also said independent voters, who Initiative 83 supporters say have a right to vote in primaries, often do not agree with the principles of the Democratic Party.
āAnd normally independents will tell you Iām independent because I don’t believe in Democratic Party values. I donāt believe in Republican Party values. I donāt believe in statehood values,ā she told the gathering. āSo, the question becomes, is it okay for people who donāt share your values to pick your leaders? There is no other club or organization that allows people who are not members to pick their leaders. Itās just that simple,ā she said.
āThatās not disenfranchising you,ā Brown added. āYou just have to choose whether you want to work within a party to promote their values and issues or not. And if you donāt, thatās okay, thatās your choice. But you just then donāt get to vote until we get to the general election.ā
Regarding ranked choice voting, Brown cited studies conducted by independent research organizations, including universities, that she said show it āmarginalizes black and brown voters,ā voters in low-income neighborhoods, and voters whose native language is not English, many of whom, she said, become confused by the ranked choice voting system.
She also disputed claims by ranked choice voting supporters that citizens already participate in a ranked choice system in everyday life, including D.C.ās ranked choice public school lottery system, and public housing system and a ranked choice voting system will be similarly easy to understand.
Brown pointed out that unlike the school lottery or public housing system, where making a mistake will not result in serious consequences, ranked choice voting usually doesnāt accommodate people who fill out the ballot incorrectly.
“If you make a mistake if you undervote, overvote, your ballot is thrown out,ā she said.
Brown concluded by pointing out that financial reports filed by supporters of Initiative 83 filed with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance shows large sums of money backing the initiative are coming from out of state Political Action Committees or PACS as well as large corporations.
During a rebuttal period, Pannell pointed to other studies he said show that minority voters, especially African American voters, do not have a problem with ranked choice voting, calling it an insult to say Black people and other minorities who would not adopt to ranked choice voting.
He said Brownās suggestion that there was something wrong with out of state organizations contributing money to a political cause was unfair and baseless.
āIām the treasurer of this campaign,ā he said. āAnd anyone who knows me knows that I will not play tricks and trash with any political cash,ā he told the forum. āAnd this is in the same way that we in the LGBTQ community had to get donations from outside the city when we were fighting for our rights,ā Pannell said. āThere is nothing wrong with getting donations from outside of D.C. Candidates do it all the time.ā
Pannell drew objections from Brown and other Initiative 83 supporters at the Capital Stonewall Democrats forum when he added, āIf weāre going to talk about donations, check out the donations going to the Vote No On 83 committee. And you will see that two of the most virulent opponents of marriage equality are contributors to that committee.ā
Brown replied that she and others involved in the No On 83 campaign are not aware of all the political views of the hundreds of mostly small donors who contribute to their committee. She said an examination of the donors for the Make All Votes Count DC committee might also find some who at one time expressed opposition to LGBTQ rights.
One person who attended the forum, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said they believed the two individuals Pannell was referring to, who Pannell said were officials with the D.C. Democratic State Committee, supported holding a voter referendum to decide on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized in D.C. The source said the two did not specifically oppose same-sex marriage but wanted the voters to decide the issue rather than the D.C. Council.
As it turned out, the DC Board of Elections rejected the matter as a voter referendum on grounds that the D.C. Home Rule Charter bans voter initiatives or referendums that could lead to discrimination against minority groups, including LGBTQ people. Opponents of same-sex marriage appealed the election boardās decision to the courts and lost in a final ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld a lower D.C. court ruling agreeing with the election boardās decision.
After Pannell and Brown concluded their remarks, Haresign opened the forum to questions from those attending the meeting in person as well as those watching on the organization’s Facebook page. The questioners who expressed their own views on Initiative 83 appeared to be divided evenly among the measureās supporters and opponents.
āI think the forum went well,ā Haresign told the Blade. āWe were able to get a high level of information,ā he said.
āIf we were to take a position it would be after everything is certified and we have a full membership vote,ā Haresign said, referring to Initiative 83 being certified by the Board of Elections to be on the ballot in November.
Under D.C. election rules, the boardās certification would come after the lawsuit is dismissed or settled and after Initiative 83 supporters obtain the required number of petition signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
Pannell urged Capital Stonewall Democrats members and others in the LGBTQ community to sign the petition to get the measure on the ballot, even if they donāt support it, saying voters should be given the right to decide the issue.
Brown disagreed, saying āIām asking you if you believe in I-83, then go ahead and sign the petition. But if you do not, Iām asking you not to sign the petition.ā
The video recording of the Capital Stonewall Democrats forum can be accessed here:
District of Columbia
Billy Porter, Keke Palmer, Ava Max to perform at Capital Pride
Concert to be held at annual festival on June 9
The Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.ās annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced this week the lineup of performers for the Sunday, June 9, Capital Pride Concert to be held during the Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
Among the performers will be nationally acclaimed singers and recording artists Billy Porter and Keke Palmer, who will also serve as grand marshals for the Capital Pride Parade set to take place one day earlier on Saturday, June 8.
The Capital Price announcement says the other lead performers will be Ava Max, Sapphira Cristal, and the pop female trio ExposƩ.
āThe beloved pop icons will captivate audiences with upbeat performances coupled with their fierce advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, echoing the vibrant spirit of this yearās theme, āTotally Radical,āā according to a statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
āWith Billy Porter and Keke Palmer leading the parade as Grand Marshals, weāre not only honoring their incredible contributions to the LGBTQ+ community but also amplifying their voices as fierce advocates for equality and acceptance,ā Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said in the statement.
āThe concert and festival serve as a platform to showcase the diverse array of LGBTQ+ talent, from the chart-topping hits of Ava Max to the iconic sounds of ExposĆ© and the electrifying performances of Sapphira Cristal,ā Bos said in the statement. āCapital Pride 2024 promises to be a celebration like no other.ā
The concert will take place from 12-10 p.m. on the main stage and other stages across the four-block long festival site on Pennsylvania Avenue.
District of Columbia
200 turn out for āLove Festā Drag Story Hour at Freddieās
Performer reads stories to kids and parents as three protest outside
Between 200 and 250 people, including parents and their children, turned out on Saturday, May 4, for a āLove Festā Drag Story Hour brunch hosted by the Arlington, Va., LGBTQ establishment Freddieās Beach Bar and Restaurant.
Local drag performer Tara Hoot, who read childrenās stories and handed out coloring books to the kids attending the event, was joined by members of the Gay Menās Chorus of Washington, which sang several songs before Hoot began reading from childrenās books in keeping with the tradition of drag queens conducting Drag Story Hour events across the country.
The May 4 event at Freddieās in the Crystal City section of Arlington took place four weeks after the start of a similar event hosted by Freddieās was delayed by a bomb threat, forcing those who had arrived to exit through a rear door and wait in a parking lot as Arlington police conducted a search of the premises with a bomb sniffing dog. No trace of a bomb was found.
All the customers, including parents and their kids, were invited back inside and the show took place as planned.
No similar threat occurred at the May 4 event. But three male protesters assembled on the sidewalk next to the parking lot behind the Freddieās building, with one of them shouting from a bullhorn passages from his Bible that he said indicated the Drag Story Hour event was an āabomination.ā
The three protesters were outnumbered by nearly a dozen counter protesters who were members of the Rainbow Defense Coalition, an LGBTQ organization. They carried bright, rainbow-colored umbrellas while chanting messages of support for the Drag Story Hour event.
Freddie Lutz, Freddieās Beach Bar owner, called the event a āsmashing successā that brought an āoutpouring of love from the community.ā Lutz released a flier on social media promoting the Love Fest event shortly after the earlier event interrupted by the bomb threat as a showing of love “to stop the hate.”
“Join us for the next story time brunch dressed in your favorite rainbow/hippie outfit” and “carry your favorite homemade signs of support,” Lutz said in his promotional flier. He came to the event dressed in what he called his hippie protest outfit.
Lutz said while the protesters did not interrupt the event, he was concerned that their shouting was scaring some of the kids as they and their parents walked by the protesters to enter Freddieās.
āI went out back and tried to talk to one of them and it was kind of like talking to a brick wall,ā Lutz told the Washington Blade. āHe was screaming at the parents that were crossing their kids on the crosswalk,ā Lutz said. āAnd I said, youāre screaming at those kids, youāre scaring them.ā
Lutz said the man told him he was yelling at the parents, not the kids. āAnd I said, no youāre not. The kids are hearing you. Youāre scaring them.ā
Added Lutz, āAnd to have such a fun-loving, happy show and then walk out on the sidewalk to that is very disheartening. Itās really sad. I told him my God is a forgiving and loving God.ā
One of the protesters, who declined to disclose his name, said he and his two fellow protesters came to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
āWe want them to know this is an abomination to the Lord,ā he told the Blade. āWe want them to know those children donāt have a voice and theyāre being brainwashed in there. Weāre here to call out their sin.ā
Stephanie Krenrich, who brought her two-year-old daughter to the event, said she strongly disputes the claims of the protesters.
āI brought my daughter here because I think that it was a beautiful and wonderful show, and it was great for her,ā she said. āAnd I think itās pretty offensive when people come to Arlington and tell parents what to do, especially for something so beautiful and so fun and so wholesome,ā she told the Blade.
āSo thatās why I brought her,ā Krenrich said. āI think that itās really important that we stand up for our values and people just being themselves, being happy and being them.ā
Among those who attended the event were four elected officials from Arlington ā Virginia State Sen. Barbara Favola, Virginia State Del. Adele McClure, Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffee, and Arlington and Falls Church Stateās Attorney Parisa Dehgani-Tafti.
Also attending was Nick Benton, editor and publisher of the LGBTQ supportive Falls Church, Va., News Press; and Kellen McBeth, president of the LGBTQ group Equality Arlington.
āIt was fantastic to see so many people come out to support Freddieās, to support the LGBTQ+ community,ā McBeth said. āIt was a great event and weāre happy to be a part of it.ā
District of Columbia
Another successful Taste of Point fundraiser
Scholars praise financial, networking support
The Point Foundation hosted its annual Taste of Point DC fundraising event on Thursday with nine participating restaurants, a drag performance, and a silent auction.
The event was hosted on the rooftop of the Room & Board on 14th Street, with an afterparty at Shakers. Point donors, scholars, and alumni circled the rooftop eating chips and guacamole from Mi Vida and drinking Pinot Grigio from Barkada.
After about an hour of mingling the events began with event committee member, Kelly Horton and Kevin Kim Wright, chief of staff welcoming the crowd and speaking about the importance of their presence during this pivotal time in queer youth history. Then, Wright welcomed BIPOC Scholar Katherine Guerrero Rivera, saying she was a model of a Point scholar.
āWeāre always impressed with all of our scholars and Katherine is another example of a student who is deeply engaged in their campus life and a myriad of projects, everything from creating her own podcast to being a part of a number of student organizations.ā Wright said.
Rivera said that the Point Foundation scholarship helps her resist the pressure to drop out. She pointed out that just over 50 percent of Latina students who attend college graduate.
āThe Point BIPOC Scholarship is not just financial support, Point has connected me with hundreds of people like me studying on campuses across the country.ā she said.
Rivera is a criminology major and poetics minor at University of Maryland and said she hopes to use her degree to bring knowledge to her community through art and advocacy. She said it is important for her to take academic jargon and make it accessible to her community.
āToo often, the history of LGBTQ and people are ignored and silenced during our education,ā she said. āI want to use my access to higher education and the chance to develop my creative skills to bring light to societal issues.ā
She finished her speech with applause for the audience, then Horton came back with drag queen Tara Hoot to discuss ways donors could continue to support the Point Foundation.
After the lineup of events Wright said he felt great about the event, because it was a celebration of Pointās scholars.
āSome are interning for United States senators, some are volunteering for leading national non-profits, so to be able to celebrate all thatās being done here is truly amazing,ā
Wright continued, thanking the D.C. restaurant community for consistently showing up in force to support Point.
āThis really helps to paint the picture that this movement is growing,ā he said. āPeople believe in this mission to provide LGBTQ young people with the opportunity to pursue their higher education goals, to improve their leadership abilities and then go on to make a significant impact on society.ā
CLICK HERE to see more photos from Taste of Point.
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