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Gay activists missing at Fenty campaign kick-off & more
A rally marking the opening of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s re-election campaign headquarters had few gay Democratic activists in the crowd. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
Gay activists missing at Fenty campaign kick-off
Few gay Democratic activists attended a rally last week that marked the opening of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s re-election campaign headquarters on Georgia Avenue, N.W.
About 300 supporters and volunteers cheered April 10 as Fenty opened his campaign with a speech highlighting his administration’s accomplishments, including reforms in education and crime fighting that he acknowledged weren’t always popular.
“We did it because it was the right thing to do,” he said, reciting a litany of policy changes and actions that would make D.C. a “world-class city.”
Among the gays seen at the event were Christopher Dyer, director of the mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, and Joe Martin, director of the mayor’s office of constituent services for Ward 4. Also present were gay civic activists John Fanning of Logan Circle and Martin Moulton, the gay president of the Convention Center Community Association.
Fanning, who works for the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation and is a former Advisory Neighborhood Commission member, said he believes Fenty will receive “solid” support from the LGBT community.
“I think the mayor has made some very tough decisions and has significantly improved city services and the delivery of them in many areas,” he said. “The mayor has always been a longtime supporter of the LGBT community and I believe that he remains very sensitive to our causes and issues.”
Don Colodny, a member of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, was one of the few club members present. He said the lack of a large gay presence at the event was not a sign that gays won’t vote for Fenty.
“It was held at 10 in the morning on a Saturday in the far side of the city,” he said, noting that the location and early hour most likely discouraged gays from attending the event. Other people noted that the event wasn’t widely publicized in the LGBT community.
In his speech at the rally, Fenty did not mention LGBT issues or the city’s same-sex marriage bill, which he signed into law in December. He also did not reference two recent city studies that show record high numbers of HIV infections among city residents, including African Americans and men who have sex with men.
He instead pointed to the more positive findings of the AIDS studies showing that the city’s aggressive programs to administer HIV testing over the past several years — and placing people who test positive into city-funded treatment — has reduced the number of AIDS cases.
“We knew we had to fight the spread of AIDS,” Fenty said. “The number of new AIDS cases, ladies and gentlemen, declined 33 percent between 2004 and 2008. We have doubled the amount of testing, distributed three-and-a-half million free condoms, [and] removed 350,000 needles from our streets.”
DC Agenda boxes stolen in Georgetown
Boxes used to distribute the DC Agenda at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, N.W., in Georgetown were discovered to be missing on three occasions in March, prompting the paper’s publisher to file a stolen property report with D.C. police.
The boxes were positioned on the sidewalk on Wisconsin Avenue in front of the United Colors of Benetton clothing store, next to distribution boxes for Politico, The Hill and Washington City Paper.
Publisher Lynne Brown said that when the first DC Agenda box disappeared at the Georgetown location, the newspaper’s distribution company quickly replaced it with another box. When that replacement box disappeared a short time later, a heavier metal box was installed, Brown said.
She noted that that box disappeared sometime before DC Agenda’s delivery person arrived to deliver the subsequent issue. Because the DC Agenda is distributed free of charge, Brown said she concluded someone appears to be taking the boxes and the newspapers inside with the intent of stopping their distribution at that location.
Brown is asking that anyone with information that might lead to the identification of the person or people responsible for stealing the boxes contact the DC Agenda’s distribution department at 202-747-2077, ext. 8080.
Virginia man sentenced for hate crime
A 27-year-old Virginia man has been sentenced to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to assaulting a group of lesbians on a sidewalk in Adams Morgan in September, a crime that police listed as a hate crime.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe handed down the sentence April 5 against Christopher McDonald, who pleaded guilty to charges of simple assault and bias-related threats to do bodily harm.
The United States Attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, dropped separate charges of possession of a prohibited weapon — a knife — and a second count of bias-related threats to do bodily harm in exchange for McDonald’s agreeing to plead guilty in February.
According to prosecutors, McDonald admitted to “confronting the women about their sexual orientation and made derogatory, profanity-laced remarks about their appearance and sexual orientation.”
In an unprovoked action, McDonald, who was born in Jamaica, “pulled out a knife and began advancing toward one of the women, saying ‘if we were in Jamaica I’d shoot you in the face for being gay,’” says a statement released by prosecutors.
Police said the incident took place on the 2400 block of 18th Street, N.W., on Sept. 7.
Under the terms of his sentencing, McDonald’s incarceration will be followed by a two-year period of supervised probation. He must also complete 50 hours of community service, obtain substance abuse treatment, and “complete courses in anger management and sensitivity to issues of sexual orientation,” according to the prosecutors’ statement.
Attorneys spar over evidence rules in Wone murder case
Attorneys are still arguing over procedures and rules for the submission of evidence at the upcoming trial of three gay men charged in connection with the August 2006 murder of Washington attorney Robert Wone.
At a status hearing in D.C. Superior Court on April 5, Judge Lynn Leibovitz acted as a taskmaster to facilitate agreement between the two sides on how to deal with a mountain of evidence. Among the items of evidence is a knife that the three defendants claim an unidentified intruder used to stab Wone to death while he was asleep in a guest bedroom at their Dupont Circle home.
The defendants, Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward, have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and evidence tampering. No one has been charged with Wone’s murder.
Prosecutors have alleged in a detailed arrest affidavit that the three men, among other things, cleaned Wone’s blood off a kitchen knife they say they found beside Wone’s body as part of a conspiracy to prevent investigators from determining who killed the prominent Asian-American attorney.
Prosecutors have said they believe the actual knife used to stab Wone may have been part of a three-knife cutlery set found in Ward’s bedroom. One of the knives was missing upon police inspection.
Leibovitz scheduled another status hearing for April 23. The trial in the case is scheduled to begin May 10.
Richmond’s gay center hosts musical, comedy shows
The Gay Community Center of Richmond in Virginia is hosting three musical and comedy shows in coming weeks.
Musicians Gaye Adegbalola and Roddy Barnes will be in concert together at the Center’s event hall at 8 p.m. April 24. Gregg Johnson, a Center director, said the joint performance is expected to be “one hell of a show.”
“Gaye Adegbalola embraces and redefines the classic style of the great blues divas of the 1920s and 1930s, those of 10 fiercely independent wild women who were unashamed to lay their souls bare and unafraid to give advice,” he said. “She invokes the spirit and addresses the lyrics and improvisational techniques of the classic blues women and brings history to life.”
Johnson said Adegbalola was a founding member of Saffire the Uppity Blues Women, and is “truly the epitome of uppity.”
“Roddy Barnes is a classically trained pianist and can play any genre, but excels in the old-timey sound that works best with this music,” he said. “Experience the dynamic and compelling performance of Adegbalola and Barnes as they conjure up another era and put on one hell of a show.”
Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased at the Center or online by following a link at GayRichmond.com.
On April 25, students from Virginia Commonwealth University will stage a comedy and improvisation show at the Center’s event hall. Tickets to the three-hour event that begins at 7 p.m. are $3 and available at the door.
And early next month, Johnny Blazes will stage his “wo(n)man show” at the Center. Johnson described the performance as blending “cabaret arts with theater to create a series of vignettes that are a humorous look at gender stereotypes that pervade our world.”
Blazes has a background in theater, clowning and drag. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show May 5 are $10 and available at the door.
The Gay Community Center of Richmond is located at 1407 Sherwood Ave. in Richmond.
LGBT elder group opens D.C. office
The New York-based Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders, also known as SAGE, has opened an office in Washington, D.C., to strengthen its advocacy for LGBT elders with the federal government, the group said in a statement.
With the Washington office in place this month, SAGE “will ensure that the needs of LGBT older people are addressed in public policy and public discussion across the country,” said Michael Adams the group’s executive director.
John Johnson, the group’s director of federal government relations and currently the sole staff person in the Washington office, said the office is operating out of space rented from the National Caucus & Center on Black Aged at 1220 L St., N.W., Suite 800.
The opening of the Washington office comes after the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services awarded SAGE a contract to create and help operate an LGBT Elder National Technical Assistance Resource Center. SAGE will manage the center with a network of partners, including the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging.
Johnson, however, said the SAGE Washington office will be involved solely in advocacy work and won’t take part in operating the new elder center.
Since its founding in 1978, SAGE and its affiliate member groups have expanded significantly their support services for older LGBT people across the country, according to the group’s statement.
Maryland
FreeState Justice launches 501(c)(4) group
FreeState Equality will focus on policy and advocacy
FreeState Justice, an LGBTQ organization that provides legal services, community programs, and public education in Maryland, announced the launch of FreeState Equality on Wednesday.
The new, independent organization intends to pursue advocacy and policy work beyond the legal capability of FreeState Justice, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. FreeState Equality functions as a 501(c)(4) organization, meaning it can partake in political activity.
“We are committed to transparency throughout this process and look forward to continuing our work together in service of LGBTQ+ Marylanders,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry.
FreeState Equality will take on policy, advocacy, and civic engagement initiatives while FreeState Justice will pursue legal and direct-service work, according to Westry.
While both organizations adhere to similar values, they will feature separate leadership, operations and compliance.
FreeState Equality is hosting its first launch fundraiser on Dec. 10 at the Brass Tap in Baltimore. The event, held from 5-7 p.m., will feature insight from FreeState Equality staff about how Maryland policy can support the state’s LGBTQ community.
Attendees can purchase fundraiser tickets on Zeffy for $25 general admission, which includes a free first drink. The organization also welcomes additional donations.
By LEE O. SANDERLIN, PAMELA WOOD and BRENDA WINTRODE | Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman and first person of color to hold her position, stepped down from her leadership post Thursday, effective immediately.
Jones, 71, has been a member of the legislature since 1997 and ascended to the top role in 2019 following the death of longtime House Speaker Michael E. Busch.
Jones held a meeting with top House Democratic leaders Thursday afternoon, sources said, at which she informed them of her decision. In a statement, Jones described the changes of life’s seasons and said she was ready to focus on what lies ahead.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Activists praise Mayor Bowser’s impact on city, LGBTQ community
‘She made sure LGBTQ residents knew they were seen, valued, loved’
Members of D.C.’s LGBTQ community offered their thoughts on the impact Mayor Muriel Bowser has had on them, the city, and LGBTQ people in statements and interviews with the Washington Blade in the week following Bowser’s announcement that she will not run for re-election in 2026.
Bowser’s Nov. 25 announcement came during the third year of her third four-year term in office as mayor and after she served as a member of the D.C. Council representing Ward 4 from 2007 to Jan. 2, 2015, when she took office as mayor.
The LGBTQ activists and mayoral staffers who spoke to the Blade agreed that Bowser has been an outspoken and dedicated supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ-related issues starting from her time as a Council member and throughout her years as mayor.
Among them is one of the mayor’s numerous openly LGBTQ staff members, Jim Slattery, who has served in the Cabinet-level position as the Mayor’s Correspondence Officer since Bowser first became mayor.
“As Mayor Muriel Bowser’s longest serving LGBTQIA+ staffer – dating back to her first term as the Ward 4 Council member – and a proud member of her Cabinet since day one of her administration, I have had the opportunity to witness her at work for the people she serves and leads,” Slattery said in a statement. “Noteworthy is that throughout the entirety of my 27 years in District government, I have always been able to do so as an out and proud gay man,” he stated.
Slattery added that he has witnessed first-hand Bowser’s “absolute belief” in supporting the LGBTQ community.
“She has led on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, on shelter for vulnerable members of our community, housing for older members of the community, and has been a reliable and constant presence at events to LGBTQIA+ residents,” Slattery said. Among those events, he said, have been World AIDS Day, the D.C. Pride Parade, the 17th Street LGBTQ High Heel Race, and WorldPride 2025, which D.C. hosted with strong support from the mayor’s office.
Ryan Bos, CEO & president of Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events and served as lead organizer of WorldPride 2025, praised Bowser for being a longtime supporter of that organization.
“She played a very supportive role in helping us as an organization grow and to be able to bring WorldPride to Washington, D.C.,” Bos told the Blade. “And we commend her years of service, And our hope is that she helps us to continue to advocate for the support from the D.C. government of the LGBTQ+ community, especially during these times,” Bos said.
Bos, who was referring to the Trump administration’s hostility toward LGBTQ issues and sharp cutbacks in federal funds for nonprofit organizations, including LGBTQ organizations, said Capital Pride Alliance appreciated Bowser’s efforts to provide city funding for events like WorldPride.
“She provided support through the event process of WorldPride and ultimately along with the D.C. Council provided necessary funding to ensure WorldPride was a success,” Bos said. “And we are proud that we are able to show that Capital Pride and WorldPride had such a large economic impact for D.C. and the D.C. government,” he added.
Marvin Bowser, Mayor Bowser’s gay brother who operates a local photography business and has been active in the D.C. LGBTQ community for many years, said he has also witnessed first-hand his sister’s support for the LGBTQ community and all D.C. residents since the time she became a Council member and even before that.
Among his vivid memories, he said, was his sister’s strong support for the marriage equality law legalizing same-sex marriage in D.C. that the Council approved in 2009 under then-Mayor Adrian Fenty.
“I remember the first time she was standing up and giving clear and unequivocal support to the community when that law passed,” Marvin Bowser told the Blade. “And she was front and center in speaking very strongly in support of marriage equality,” he said.
Marvin Bowser also credits his sister with expanding and strengthening the then-Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, among other things, by appointing advocate Sheila Alexander Reid as the office’s director in 2015.
Reid, who for many years prior to becoming director of the GLBT Affairs office was founder and publisher of the national lesbian publication Women In The Life, had the reputation of a “rock star,” according to Marvin Bowser.
He recalls that Mayor Bowser also played a lead role in D.C.’s bid to host to the quadrennial international LGBTQ sports competition Gay Games for 2022.
D.C lost its bid for the 2022 Gay Games after the Federation of Gay Games selected Hong Kong to host the event in an action that Marvin Bowser says was unfair and based on the effort to hold the Gay Games for the first time in Asia even though D.C. had a stronger bid for carrying out the event.
“Everything she’s done for the community has been very visible and from the heart,” he said of Muriel Bowser. “And in my personal relationship with her, she has also been nothing but absolutely supportive of me and my partner over the years,” he said.
“And we were just at her house helping her put up Christmas decorations,” he added. “And so, it’s been wonderful having her as a sister.”
Veteran D.C. LGBTQ advocate Japer Bowles, who serves as the current director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, discussed the mayor’s record on LGBTQ issues in his own statement to the Blade.
“Mayor Muriel Bowser has been an unwavering champion for D.C.’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual community and movement,” he said. “Her more than 20 years of leadership brought consistent and historic investments for our LGBTQIA+ youth, seniors, veterans, and residents experiencing homelessness as well as impactful violence-prevention initiatives,” he added.
“Under her leadership, the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs grew into a national leader, delivering more than $10 million in community grants for LGBTQIA+ programs and managing 110 Housing Choice vouchers,” Bowles said in his statement.
“Because of her work, we are stronger, safer, more visible, and, proudly, ‘the gayest city in the world,’” he said in quoting Bowser’s often stated comment at LGBTQ events about D.C. being the world’s gayest city.
In a statement that might surprise some in the LGBTQ community, gay D.C. small business owner Salah Czapary, who served from 2022 to 2024 as director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture as a Bowser appointee, criticized some of the city’s non-LGBTQ related polices under the Bowser administration as being harmful to small businesses.
Bowser appointed Czapary, a former D.C. police officer, to the nightlife office position shortly after he lost his race as an openly gay candidate for the Ward 1 D.C. Council seat held by incumbent Brianne Nadeau.
“Mayor Bowser led D.C. through turbulent years and major growth, and we can all be proud of her leadership on many fronts,” Czapary said in a statement to the Blade. “She is also setting an example that more leaders should follow by stepping aside to allow a new generation to lead,” he said. “But as we turn the page, we must be honest about what the next mayor should deliver,” he says in his statement.
Without mentioning Bowser by name, he went on to list at least four things the next mayor should do that implied that Bowser did not do or did wrong. Among them were treating the D.C. Council as a “true governing partner,” not letting residents and small businesses “feel the weight of outdated, slow, and unresponsive systems,” and the need for leadership that “values competence over loyalty.”
He added that a “reversal” by the city of the city’s streetery program that was put in place during the COVID pandemic to allow restaurants to install outdoor seating into street parking lanes, was a “roll it back” on progress for small businesses.
He concluded by stating, “LGBTQ rights and inclusion are among the many fronts on which we can be very proud of the mayor’s leadership.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to an offer by the Blade to give the office an opportunity to respond to Czapary’s statement.
A significantly different perspective was given by Sheila Alexander Reid, who said she was proud to serve as director of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Affairs Office during the first six-and-a-half years of Bowser’s tenure as mayor.
“I watched her evolve from a newly elected mayor finding her footing into a confident, seasoned leader who met every challenge head-on and time after time slayed the competition,” Alexander Reid said in a statement to the Blade.
“With each year in office, her voice grew stronger, more grounded, and more fearless,” her statement continues. “And she needed that strength, because being a Black woman mayor is not for the faint of heart, But Mayor Bowser never backed down. Instead, she showed the city what courageous, compassionate leadership truly looks like.”
Alexander Reid added that Bowser funded a new LGBTQ Community Center facility, expanded a workforce development program for the transgender community, and “made D.C. the first jurisdiction in the nation to require LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for healthcare providers.”
She also pointed to the mayor’s LGBTQ “safety nets” through low-barrier shelters and housing vouchers and her support for LGBTQ celebrations like the 17th Street High Heel Race.
“But what inspired me most was this,” Alexander Reid stated. “At a time when some elected officials across the country were retreating from LGBTQ support, Mayor Bowser was doing the opposite. She leaned in, she doubled down. She made sure LGBTQ residents knew they were seen, valued, protected, and loved by their city.”
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