District of Columbia
Bowser calls for ‘extraordinary’ response to reduction in D.C. budget
Impact on city funding for LGBTQ programs and grants unclear
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on April 15 issued an executive order calling for “extraordinary actions,” including “significant cuts in District Government services,” to address a decision by Congress to cut the city’s current budget by $1.1 billion.
The nine-page executive order points out that these actions became necessary after the U.S. House of Representatives has so far declined to vote on a free-standing bill approved by the U.S. Senate last month that would restore the $1.1 billion D.C. budget cut initially approved by the House.
In addition to large-scale cuts in city services, the mayoral order says the congressionally imposed city budget cut will bring about city “hiring freezes, financial impacts to employees, reductions and terminations in contracts and grants, and closures of District Government facilities.”
The order adds, “These are unprecedented actions given that the District itself adopted and is able to implement a fully balanced budget, but they are necessary due to the Congressional cut to the District’s budget and its inaction in timely fixing its legislative error.”
The House adjourned this week on a recess until the end of April, and congressional observers say it is unclear whether the majority Republican House will take up the Senate bill to undo the D.C. budget cut when the House returns from its recess. President Donald Trump has called on the House to approve the bill to restore the full D.C. budget.
Among the D.C. LGBTQ organizations and those providing services to the LGBTQ community that receive D.C. government funding and that could be impacted by the budget cuts are Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 set to take place in D.C. next month; and Whitman-Walker Health, one of the city’s largest private healthcare organizations that provides medical services for LGBTQ clients.
Also receiving city funding are the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for LGBTQ people; and the LGBTQ youth advocacy and services organization SMYAL.
Spokespersons for the four organizations couldn’t immediately be reached to determine if they knew whether the soon-to-be implemented budget cuts would have an impact on the city funding they currently receive.
In response to questions from news reporters during an April 15 press conference call to discuss the Bowser executive order, Jenny Reed, director of the D.C. Office of Budget and Performance Management, said details on specific programs or funding allocations set to be cut would not be known until the mayor submits to the D.C. Council her Supplemental FY 2025 budget along with her proposed FY 2026 budget.
Reed was joined at the press briefing by Lindsey Parker, Mayor Bowser’s chief of staff; and Tomas Talamante, director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
They and other city officials have said the impact of the congressionally imposed city budget cut was expected to be lessened but remain highly problematic by Bowser’s decision to invoke a 2009 law that allows the city to increase its own spending without approval by Congress under certain circumstances.
The mayor has said under that law, the city would need to cut its FY 2025 budget by $410 million rather than by $1.1 billion. It couldn’t immediately be determined whether House Republicans, who initiated the requirement that the D.C. budget be cut by $1.1 billion, would challenge the mayor’s plan to invoke the 2009 law to reduce the size of the budget cut.
“Without the ability to fully execute the Fiscal Year 2025 budget as adopted and approved by the District, this gap will force reductions in critical services provided by our largest agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department,” the mayor’s executive order states.
“The District will continue to work with members of the House of Representatives to urge them to vote to fully restore the District’s Fiscal year 2025 budget and will continue to work with President Trump to strongly encourage the House of Representatives to take that action,” the order says.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
District of Columbia
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
Mayor, Council members join LGBTQ activists in 4th annual event
Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Since its inception four years ago by Mayor Bowser, the event has served as the official kickoff of D.C. Pride month, which culminates this year with the annual Capital Pride Parade on June 20 and Pride festival on June 21, which takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
“As I like to say, we’re celebrating Pride month in the gayest city in the world,” Bowser told a crowd that included city officials and Council members joining her on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
“Fifty-one years of Pride in the future 51st state,” she said, adding, “And both movements are rooted in the same belief – every person deserves to be seen, heard, and fully represented.”
Among those who spoke at the event in addition to Bowser were Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb; and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
“This year is special,” Bowles told the gathering. “It’s special because we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs,” he said. “For two decades this office has helped make Washington, D.C. one of the most welcoming and affirming cities in the world.”
He added, “We have expanded LGBTQ services across agencies, invested millions of dollars into community organizations, championing culturally competent care and training, supporting LGBTQ supportive businesses and workers and celebrated our history.”
Schwalb said his Office of the D.C. Attorney General continues to safeguard the city’s laws protecting residents against discrimination but expressed concern about “high court” rulings that he said continue to roll back civil rights, voting rights, and human rights.
He said, “We’re seeing cases limiting medical care for transgender youth while at the same time green lighting so-called conversion therapy.” He pointed to cases or policies “excluding transgender girls from participating in sports and excluding story books with LGBTQ characters from our school libraries.”
He said his office is committed to protecting all residents, including LGBTQ residents, from all forms of discrimination. “And that includes the right to be our authentic selves, to freely express our identities and ourselves to be who we are and to love who we love.”
Mendelson, who also expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community and for the upcoming Pride events, said 10 of the Council’s 13 members were attending the Pride flag raising event, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5).
“I’m just here with gratitude,” Parker told the Washington Blade. “There’s a lot to be grateful for and a lot more to fight for,” he said. “And so, raising this flag is a reminder that our government is here to serve all of our residents regardless of how you identify or who you love.”
Shortly after Mendelson spoke, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who is running for mayor in the city’s June 16 primary, arrived at the event, becoming the 11th Council member to turn out for the event.
Among those also attending the event were Ryan Bos and June Crenshaw, the two top officials of the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Bowser, who is not running for re-election this year and will be stepping down as mayor in January 2027, thanked those attending the Pride flag raising event for playing a role in an all-inclusive city.
“We speak with one clear voice – that D.C. is a welcoming city,” she said in her remarks. “But also, we know that our work has been robust, but it is not done. We fly this flag in front of the John A. Wilson Building because it tells a story,” she said.
“It tells a story of a city that takes care of itself,” she added. “And we take care of each other. We are a city that is diverse and welcoming.”
Serving as the event’s master of ceremony and who introduced Bowles as the first speaker was longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot.
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
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JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
