Local
Mayor Gray’s GLBT liaison steps down
Richardson to take new post in administration
Jeffrey Richardson will leave his position heading the Mayor’s GLTB Affairs office to lead Serve DC, the volunteerism administration. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Jeffrey Richardson, who has served as director of Mayor Vincent Gray’s Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs since early 2011, will leave that post on Dec. 3 to become director of Serve D.C., which is also known as the Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism, according to a spokesperson for the mayor.
“It’s a significant promotion to go from a smaller office, the GLBT office, to the Serve D.C. office,” said Pedro Ribeiro, director of the Mayor’s Office of Communications.
Ribeiro told the Blade the position of director of Serve D.C. recently became vacant when Gray appointed outgoing director Patricia Evans to another city job.
He said the mayor’s office has yet to officially announce the mayor’s decision to appoint Richardson to the Serve D.C. post.
“We were looking for the most qualified person to run that office and Jeffrey fit that bill very well considering the work he’s done for the city and for the community,” Ribeiro said. “We thought he was a fantastic candidate and well deserving.”
Richardson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
According to Ribeiro, Gray is expected to name Richardson’s replacement at the GLBT Affairs Office within a week or two, adding, “We don’t want to leave that office vacant.”
Richardson, who is gay, is a social worker by trade and has worked for non-profit organizations providing social services programs in the District. At the time Gray named him as director of the GLBT Affairs office, shortly after Gray took office as mayor, Richardson was serving his second one-year term as president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group.
The GLBT Affairs Office has a staff of three, including the director. Serve D.C. has a staff of 18, according to Reed Baylin, a grant and finance assistant at the office.
The Serve D.C. website describes itself as “the District of Columbia Government agency dedicated to promoting service as an innovative, sustainable solution to the challenges we face as a community and a nation.”
The site says the agency “engages District communities by building partnerships and organizational capacity, serving as the local lead for national volunteer and service initiatives, and providing and promoting meaningful service opportunities throughout the year.”
In addition, Serve D.C. is charged with coordinating volunteer support for the city’s emergency preparedness program and works with the D.C. Commission on National and Community Service to administer a federally funded community service grants program.
“Jeff Richardson did a great job as director of the Office of GLBT Affairs and I congratulate him on his appointment to head Serve D.C.,” said D.C. gay activist Peter Rosenstein. “The mayor has made a great choice in appointing Jeff to this new position.”
Gray names gays to new physical fitness council
In a separate development, Gray on Tuesday announced at a news conference that he has appointed 17 people to serve on his newly created Mayor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Nutrition.
Among the appointees are D.C. Department of Health director Dr. Saul Levin, who is gay and who will serve as chair of the commission. Also named to the commission were Mike Everts, owner of the D.C.-based FIT Personal Training Gym; and Chuck Haney, owner of the Dupont Circle bicycle store The Bike Rack. Both men are gay.
Everts and Haney joined Levin and the other members of the commission in discussing their commitment to help D.C. residents improve their health and physical fitness during a commission meeting on Monday following the mayor’s news conference announcing the appointments.
District of Columbia
Brian Footer suspends campaign for Ward 1 D.C. Council seat
Race’s third LGBTQ candidate cites family reasons for ‘stepping back’
Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Brian Footer, who was one of three out LGBTQ candidates running for the open Ward 1 D.C. Council seat in the city’s June 16, 2026, Democratic primary, announced on Dec. 17 he has decided to “suspend” his campaign to focus on his family.
“After deep reflection and honest conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for the D.C. Council,” he said in a statement. “This moment in my life requires me to be present with the people I love most and honor the responsibilities I carry both at home and in the community,” he states. “This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one for me and my family at this time.”
Footer, a longtime Ward 1 community activist and LGBTQ rights advocate, announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 Council seat in July, one month before bisexual Ward 1 community activist Aparna Raj announced her candidacy for the Council seat on Aug. 12.
Gay Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Miguel Trindade Deramo announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 Council seat on Nov. 18, becoming the third out LGBTQ candidate in what appeared to be an unprecedented development for a race for a single D.C. Council seat.
At least three other candidates who are not LGBTQ are running for the Ward 1 Council seat. They include Ward 1 ANC member Rashida Brown, longtime Ward 1 community activist Terry Lynch, and Jackie Reyes-Yanes, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.
In his statement announcing the suspension of his candidacy, Footer said he would continue to be involved in community affairs and advocate for the issues he discussed during his campaign.
“I want to be clear: I am stepping back from the race, not the work,” he says in his statement. “Public service has always been my calling. I will continue advocating for affordability, for safer streets, for stability for small businesses, and for a government that responds to people with urgency and respect,” he wrote. “And I will continue showing up as a partner in the work of building a stronger Ward 1.”
Footer concluded by thanking and praising his campaign supporters and calling his campaign suspension a “transition,” suggesting he is not likely to resume his candidacy.
His campaign press spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking if Footer might later resume his campaign or if his latest action was in effect an end to his candidacy.
“To everyone who knocked on doors, hosted conversations, donated, shared encouragement, and believed in this campaign, thank you,” he says in his statement. “I am deeply grateful for every person who helped this campaign take root,” he added. “This isn’t an ending, it’s a transition. And I’m excited for the work ahead, both in Ward 1 and at home with my family.”
Longtime gay D.C. Democratic Party activist Peter Rosenstein said in a statement to the Blade, “I respect Brian Footer’s decision to end his campaign for Council. It is not easy to run a campaign in D.C. and there are many others running in Ward 1.” He added, “While not living in Ward 1, I thank Brian for all he has done and clearly will continue to do for the people in the ward.”
Local
LGBTQ, LGBTQ-friendly congregations to hold holiday services
Bet Mishpachah’s Hanukkah service to take place on Friday
LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly congregations in D.C. will hold services and other events throughout the holiday season.
Bet Mishpachah on Friday will hold its Sparks in the Dark Happy Hour at Spark Social on 14th Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. It’s Chanuka Shabbat Service will begin at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m.
Hanukkah began on Sunday and will end on Dec. 22.
Two gunmen on Sunday killed 15 people and injured more than two dozen others when they opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Jake Singer-Beilin, Bet Mishpachah’s chief rabbi, in a Facebook post mourned the victims.
“We grieve for the victims and send heartfelt prayers of healing for those who were wounded,” he wrote.
“This Chanuka, our lights will shine brightly in the darkness, but our hearts will be heavy with mourning for those who were murdered on Bondi Beach while observing what should have been a joyous day,” added Singer-Beilin. “We will still celebrate our Festival of Lights and we will commit ourselves to illuminating and repairing our broken world. Let us channel the bravery of the Maccabees who found hope where there seemed to be none, and who fought to create a better future. We must do the same.”
LGBTQ Catholic group to hold annual Christmas Day Mass
Dignity Washington’s Christmas Day Mass will take place at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church (1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on Dec. 25 from 6-7 p.m. Parishioners can attend in person or watch it online via Facebook.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C.’s Christmas Eve service will take place at the church (474 Ridge St., N.W., on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church (1517 18th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist from 5-6 p.m. A Christmas Eve dinner will take place in the Parish Hall from 6-8:30 p.m. The church’s Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist will occur on Dec. 25 from 10-11 a.m.
Washington National Cathedral throughout the holiday season has a number of services and events scheduled. These include the virtual Gospel Christmas Service on Dec. 21 from 6-7:30 p.m., the Family Christmas Service on Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to noon, the Christmas Eve Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 24 from 10-11:45 p.m., and the Christmas Day Festival Holy Eucharist on Dec. 25 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16th St., N.W.) in Dupont Circle will hold its Christmas Eve Family Service on Dec. 24 at 4:30 p.m. Its Carols and Candlelight Service will take place at 8 p.m.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum to celebrate Kwanzaa
The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (1901 Fort Place S.E.) in Anacostia will mark the first day of Kwanzaa on Dec. 26 with storytelling and drumming with Mama Ayo and Baba Ras D from noon to 2 p.m. The museum will hold a series of other events through the 6-day celebration of African American culture that ends on Jan. 1.
The Creative Suitland Arts Center (4719 Silver Hill Road) in Suitland, Md., on Friday will hold their Almost Kwanzaa: A Creative Kind of Holiday event from 6-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
Joseline Peña-Melnyk elected Md. House speaker
Family immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic
By PAMELA WOOD | Moments after being elected speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Tuesday, state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk stood before the chamber and contemplated her unlikely journey to that moment.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the Peña family lived in a small wooden house with a leaky tin roof and no indoor plumbing. Some days, she said, there was no food to eat.
When she was 8 years old, the family immigrated to New York City, where Peña-Melnyk was dubbed “abogadito” or “little lawyer” for helping her mother and others by translating at social services offices.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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