Local
Two gay candidates seek office in Delaware
Former judge could be one of few open gays in nation to win statewide office
Mitch Crane would become one of just a few out gays in the nation to win election to a statewide office if he wins in Delaware.
A gay former judge running for the office of Delaware Insurance Commissioner and a gay Realtor running for the State Senate in a district that includes the popular gay resort town of Rehoboth Beach have a good chance of winning their races, according to political observers.
Attorney and longtime consumer advocate Mitch Crane, who served as an elected judge in Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1987 before moving to Delaware 11 years ago, is challenging incumbent Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart in Delaware’s Sept. 11 Democratic primary.
Crane is the former president of the statewide LGBT rights group Stonewall Democrats of Delaware and is a longtime LGBT rights advocate.
If he wins the primary and goes on to beat his Republican challenger in November, Crane would become one of just a few out gays in the nation to win election to a statewide office.
Meanwhile, Rehoboth Beach Realtor and LGBT rights advocate Andy Staton is considered to have a good shot at winning a state Senate seat in the newly created 6th senatorial district that includes Rehoboth Beach and the adjoining coastal cities of Dewey Beach and Lewes and the nearby city of Milton.
So far no candidate has emerged to challenge Staton in the Democratic primary in September. The filing deadline for a primary challenger is July 10. Should he capture the Democratic nomination, as many political observers in Sussex County, Del., expect, he is considered the odds-on favorite to win the general election in November in a district where Democrats far outnumber Republicans.
Crane and Staton have been endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a national group that helps raise money for LGBT candidates for public office. The two have also been endorsed by Delaware Stonewall Democrats and other political groups and Democratic leaders in the state.
Although the two candidates have strong records on LGBT issues, both have long been involved in a wide range of other issues that supporters say makes them strong, viable candidates.
Andy Staton, a Rehoboth Realtor, would become the first openly gay member of the Delaware Legislature if he wins his race for Senate.
Staton heads the Staton Group real estate firm that’s affiliated with the Prudential Gallo company in the Rehoboth Beach area. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) appointed Staton to the Delaware Real Estate Commission, where he currently serves as chair. Markel also appointed him to the Delaware Economic Financial Advisory Council, which monitors the state’s revenue and expenditures.
Staton also serves on the board of the Sussex County Family YMCA, the Beebe Hospital Advisory Board and the Camp Rehoboth Leadership Council. Camp Rehoboth is an LGBT community center and non-partisan advocacy group.
“I will focus on job development and health care,” Staton told the Blade. “I will focus on transportation services and I’m focusing on long-term planning for this area to preserve the wonderful community that people have moved into,” he said.
Crane served as regulatory counsel and acting director of consumer services at the Delaware Department of Insurance from March 2007 to January 2011, when he resigned following disagreements over policy issues with Weldin Stewart, who heads the agency.
He had been appointed to the Department of Insurance posts by Matthew Denn, Weldin Stewart’s predecessor as State Insurance Commissioner. Denn left the insurance commissioner’s job in 2009 after being elected lieutenant governor.
“She ran as a consumer advocate, which was good then, and then in a year she turned into an insurance industry advocate,” Crane said. “I told her if things didn’t change I was going to leave, and I eventually left,” he said.
“And then a few months later some people in the party approached me about running. I was at first hesitant but then decided to do it, Crane said.”
Crane’s supporters say his record as a strong advocate for consumers in the field of insurance places him in a strong position in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary, even though a Democratic incumbent ordinarily would be expected to win. Crane and his supporters say Weldin Stewart is viewed by political insiders as a weak candidate.
“It is the job of the insurance commissioner to keep insurance premiums as low as possible by recruiting the best insurance companies to do business in our state,” Crane says in a statement on his campaign website.
“The Insurance Commissioner is the only elected official whose job is to protect the insurance consumer. That job is not currently being performed,” he said. “If elected, I will stand up for the consumer as I have done all my professional life.”
Marla Blunt-Carter, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Insurance, said Weldin Stewart would not comment on “criticisms presented by political challengers” at this time.
“The Delaware Department of Insurance website, delawareinsurance.gov, highlights the accomplishments of the department under her leadership,” Blunt-Carter told the Blade in an email. “It also demonstrates her commitment to Delaware consumers as well as her role of providing excellence in insurance regulation.”
In a statement released last week, the Victory Fund noted that in addition to being elected as a judge, Crane won election in Pennsylvania in the 1980s and 1990s as a city council member in Chester County, which is considered a Philadelphia suburb.
“Mitch has years of experience as an elected official and a judge,” said Victory Fund spokesperson Denis Dison, who noted that Crane served with distinction as an official at the Delaware Department of Insurance. “He is eminently qualified to serve as the state’s Insurance Commissioner, which would make him one of just a few openly LGBT candidates to be elected to a statewide office anywhere in America.”
Dison said Staton’s “long record of public and community service makes him an excellent candidate for the Delaware Senate,” adding, “If he wins, Andy will become the first openly LGBT candidate elected to the Delaware Legislature, and we are proud to support his campaign.”
Speculation has surfaced that a lesbian Democratic activist in Milton, Del., Marie Mayor, plans to run for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Mayor is co-owner of Lavender Fields Forever, a farm and store specializing in lavender-related products. Mayor didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
Virginia
Man went on ‘homophobic rant’ inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a “homophobic rant” inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
“Last night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,” the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. “He then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,” the posting continues.
“Our manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,” the message says. “We want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,” the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being “drunk in public” and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
“On Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,” a Vienna police statement says. “Upon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,” according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldn’t immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
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