Local
Log Cabin endorses Mara
Republican hopeful for Council seat emerges as rival to gay-backed Dem candidates
Patrick Mara (Photo courtesy of Mara)
The D.C. Chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT political group, voted unanimously on Wednesday to endorse GOP candidate Patrick Mara in the city’s April 26 special election to fill an at-large seat on City Council.
Mara, a member of the city’s board of education from Ward 1, expressed strong support for LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage, in an unsuccessful race for a D.C. Council seat in 2008 and in his successful school board race last year.
“Patrick is an amazing candidate and a great friend not only to Log Cabin, but also to the entire LGBT community,” said Log Cabin D.C. President Robert Turner II.
Although Turner didn’t mention it in a Log Cabin press release announcing the Mara endorsement, Mara has surfaced as one of the lead rivals to Democrat Sekou Biddle, considered by most pundits as the frontrunner in the nine-candidate race for the at-large seat.
Biddle has the backing of most of the city’s establishment politicians, including Mayor Vincent Gray and D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown (D-At-Large). He also received the endorsement of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political groups, and is backed by many of the city’s prominent LGBT activists.
“He is the only candidate who actually testified in support of bringing marriage equality to the District,” Turner said of Mara in the Log Cabin press release. “Recent events have shown that the Council needs a watchdog looking out for taxpayers, and we believe Patrick Mara will provide that oversight.”
Robert Kabel, the openly gay chair of the D.C. Republican Committee, called Mara “the only candidate for the April 26 special election who has a proven record on gay and lesbian issues.” He noted that Mara “vigorously” lobbied Republican members of Congress last year against a Republican proposal to overturn the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Gay Democrats backing Biddle note that Biddle expressed strong support for the city’s same-sex marriage law as it moved through the City Council for approval in 2009 and has been an outspoken backer of LGBT issues on the school board.
But they acknowledge that Biddle could be hurt by his endorsements from Gray and Brown following the sensational revelations over the past two months that media reports have labeled as scandals swirling over the heads of Gray and Brown.
Brown’s request for, and his decision later to return, two city funded and “fully loaded” Lincoln Navigator vehicles for his use as Council chair drew widespread criticism from voters in all parts of the city.
Gray, meanwhile, has come under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office over allegations that a top official in his election campaign allegedly paid another candidate to denounce Mayor Adrian Fenty, Gray’s main rival in the election, at candidate forums across the city.
Gray’s mayoral staff later hired the rival candidate, Sulaimon Brown, for an $110,000 city job before firing him from the job when news surfaced that Brown had a past record of more than one arrest, including an arrest for an assault charge that was later dismissed. Other allegations surfaced that high level officials in Gray’s new administration hired relatives to fill various city jobs in a possible violation rules prohibiting nepotism.
Mara’s campaign initially seized on the scandals surrounding Gray and Kwame Brown, with Mara calling on voters to elect an “independent voice” to the Council to monitor what his campaign called an out-of-control Democratic political machine.
But Mara faced ethics questions about his own campaign when the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics earlier this month disclosed it had discovered at least 160 forged signatures on Mara’s nominating petitions required for placement on the ballot. Board officials said the forged signatures were found on petitions turned in by petition circulators who were paid for their services by the D.C. Republican Committee.
Although the city’s election law gives the election board authority to disqualify all nominating petitions if some are “tainted by fraud,” the board ruled that Mara submitted more than 3,000 valid signatures needed to place him on the ballot, and that he should not be penalized for the actions of the paid circulators.
With Mara’s placement on the ballot confirmed, his supporters – both gay and straight – are hoping he can put together a winning coalition of moderate and progressive Republican and independent voters that will outnumber the voters Biddle must obtain in a field of six Democratic candidates.
Biddle’s supporters say his popularity among Democratic voters is much stronger than that of his Democratic rivals and he likely will receive enough Democratic votes to put him over the top.
Others note that voter turnout in special elections has always been very low, making the outcome unpredictable. If Mara can attract votes from gay Democrats and independents he might be able to pull off an upset victory in a close race, according to some political observers, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans among the city’s registered voters by a margin of nearly ten to one.
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
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.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
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