District of Columbia
44 known LGBTQ candidates running for D.C. ANC seats
Just 12 of 33 LGBTQ incumbents seeking re-election

At least 44 known LGBTQ candidates are running for seats on the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in the Nov. 8 D.C. election, with at least one LGBTQ ANC candidate running in each of the city’s eight wards.
Only 12 of the 44 candidates are incumbents seeking election to another two-year term after 21 of the 33 known current LGBTQ ANC commissioners elected to office in 2020 chose not to run again this year.
Those who decided not to run again, including longtime gay ANC commissioners Mike Silverstein of the Dupont Circle ANC and John Fanning of the Logan Circle ANC, are among a record number of ANC members from across the city who chose not to seek reelection this year.
Gay law librarian Kent Boese, a longtime commissioner representing the city’s Park View neighborhood in Ward 1, withdrew his candidacy for reelection earlier this year when D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson nominated Boese to become executive director of the D.C. Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. Boese, whose nomination was expected to be confirmed by the Council on Oct. 31, will assume the important role of overseeing the fiscal and administrative operations of the ANCs across the city.
In 2020, a record number of 47 known LGBTQ candidates ran for ANC seats, as reported by the then-ANC Rainbow Caucus. The caucus, which consisted of LGBTQ commissioners and others listed as allies, has since become inactive, making it more difficult to identify LGBTQ ANC candidates.
Nevertheless, the Washington Blade and the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the national group that provides financial support for openly LGBTQ candidates running for public office, were able to identify at least 44 known LGBTQ ANC candidates running in the Nov. 8 election. Out of that total, 28 are running unopposed.
Four of the LGBTQ contenders are running as write-in candidates in one of the record number 56 ANC single member districts in which no candidate is running on the ballot. Another LGBTQ contender, Zachary Ammerman of Ward 5, is running as a write-in candidate against an incumbent commissioner.
Under the D.C. Home Rule Charter, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners serve as unpaid elected officials charged with making recommendations to the city government on a wide range of neighborhood issues, including the approval of liquor licenses for bars and restaurants and zoning regulations. City officials are required to give “great weight” to the ANC recommendations, but the government officials are not required to accept the recommendations.
There are a total of 40 ANCs located throughout the city with each having between two and 10 single member districts representing the city’s diverse neighborhoods. There are currently a total of 345 single member districts citywide known as SMDs.
Like past election cycles, the largest number of LGBTQ ANC candidates running this year, 13, are running in Ward 2, with most running in the ward’s Dupont Circle and Logan Circle neighborhoods. Seven of the LGBTQ candidates are running in Ward 1 and Ward 5; five are running in Ward 6; four in Ward 7; two in Ward 3; and one each in Wards 4 and 8.
Twenty-five of the 44 LGBTQ candidates have been endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Following is a list of the LGBTQ ANC candidates and the single member districts and neighborhoods in which they are running. The candidates marked with an asterisk have been endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory fund.
1A04 Jeremy Sherman* (unopposed) – Columbia Heights
1A05 Stephen Coleman Kenny* (unopposed) – Columbia Heights
1A09 James Turner (unopposed) – Columbia Heights
1B01 Larry Handerhan (incumbent/unopposed) – LeDroit Park
1B02 Sean Holihan (Unopposed) – U Street/Shaw
1B03 Jamie S. Sycamore* (unopposed) – Columbia Heights/U Street
1C01 Howard Bauleke* (incumbent/unopposed) — Adams Morgan
1E01 Bradley Gallagher (write-in) – Park View
1/e03 Michael Wray (incumbent/unopposed) – Park View/Pleasant Plains
1E07 Brian Footer * — Howard University/Pleasant Plains
2A04 Ed Comer * — Foggy Bottom
2B02 Jeffrey Rueckgauer (incumbent/unopposed) – Dupont Circle
2B03 Vincent E. Slatt* (unopposed) – Dupont Circle
2B06 Matt Johnson (unopposed) – Dupont Circle
2B09 Christopher Davis (unopposed) – Dupont Circle/U Street
2C01 Michael D. Shankle (incumbent/unopposed) – Penn Quarter
2C02 Rebecca Strauss* — Downtown
2F04 Brian McCabe* (unopposed) – Logan Circle
2F05 Christopher Dyer (write-in/unopposed) –Logan Circle
2F06 Matt Fouracre* (write-in/unopposed) – Logan Circle
2F07 Brant J. Miller (unopposed) – Logan Circle
2G02 Alexander M. ‘Alex’ Padro (unopposed) — Shaw
2G04 Steven McCarty * — Shaw
3C01 Hayden Gise* (she/her) (unopposed) — Woodley Park
3F01 Ryan Cudemus-Brunoli* (unopposed) — Cleveland Park
3F05 James Tandaris (incumbent) — Van Ness
4B04 Evan Yeats (incumbent/unopposed) — Takoma
5A01 Zachary Ammerman* (write-in) — Lamond Riggs
5A01 Duvalier Malone* (he/him) — Lamond Riggs
5B02 Nandini Sen* (unopposed) — Brookland
5B04 Ra Amin* (incumbent) — Brookland
5D05 Salvador Sauceda-Guzman (incumbent/unopposed) — Trinidad
5F06 Joe Bishop-Henchman* (unopposed) — Eckington
5F07 Michele Keegan (she/her) — Eckington
6A03 Nicole ‘Nikki’ Del Casale* (she/they) — H Street/Capitol Hill
6A06 Robb Dooling (incumbent/unopposed) – H Street/Capitol Hill
6B03 David Sobelsohn* (unopposed) — Capitol Hill
6D02 Ronald Collins (incumbent) –Southwest
6E02 Charles Panfil* (write-in/unopposed) — Mt. Vernon Square
7B02 Jamaal Maurice McCants-Pearsall* (he/him) (unopposed) — Good Hope
7B03 Travis Swanson* (incumbent/unopposed) — Randle Highlands
7D09 Shane Seger* (he/him) — Capitol Hill
7C04 Anthony Lorenzo Green (incumbent/unopposed) — Deanwood
8F03 Andrew McCarthy-Clarke* (write-in) — Navy Yard
District of Columbia
Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw
School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ‘warmth, humor, kindness’

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.
Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shaw’s friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.
“Patrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,” Martinez said. “He was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.”
In an Instagram posting, Shaw’s colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.’s Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.
“Patrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,” his colleagues said in their posting. “His daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.”
The posted message adds, “Patrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.”
The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Victim threatened with assault, called ‘faggot’ as he left Capitals game

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.
A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.
The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.
“Suspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ‘faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,” the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and “snatching” the phone from the victim’s hand.
“Suspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,” the report continues. “Suspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ‘if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.’” The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.
It lists the incident as a “Threats To Do Bodily Harm” offense that is a suspected hate crime.
“Anyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,” according to a separate police statement released April 23.
The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.
D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.
District of Columbia
Wanda Alston Foundation names new executive director
Longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo to succeed June Crenshaw

The Wanda Alston Foundation, the D.C.-based organization that has provided housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth since its founding in 2008, announced it has appointed longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo as its new executive director.
In an April 22 statement, the organization said that as part of a planned leadership transition launched in November 2024, Toledo will succeed June Crenshaw, who Alston Foundation officials and LGBTQ community activists say has led the organization with distinction in her role as executive director for the past nine years.
In a statement released last November, the foundation announced Crenshaw was stepping down from her role as executive director after deciding to “to step into her next chapter.”
“June’s leadership has been truly transformative,” said Alston Foundation Board Chair Darrin Glymph in the group’s April 22 statement. “We are immensely grateful for her dedication and equally excited for the energy and experience that Cesar brings to lead us into this next chapter,” Glymph said.
“A seasoned LGBTQ+ advocate, Cesar brings over a decade of experience leading national campaigns, shaping public policy, and building inclusive communities,” the statement released by the group says. “Most recently, he served as the National LGBTQ+ Engagement Director for the Harris for President Campaign and has built a career focused on advancing equality and equitable education,” it says.
Biographical information about Toledo shows that immediately prior to working for the Harris For President Campaign, he served since April 2023 as deputy director for Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC), a political group that helps to elect candidates for public office committed to quality education for all students, including minorities, people of color and LGBTQ youth.
Before joining DFER DC, Toledo served as political director for the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where he assisted in electing out LGBTQ candidates to all levels of public office across the U.S.
“I’m really excited about joining the Wanda Alston Foundation,” Toledo told the Washington Blade. “After a decade of working at the intersection of politics and policy and advancing political candidates and equitable education here in D.C., I wanted to shift my career to direct services to the most vulnerable folks in the LGBTQ+ family and our homeless youth,” he said.
Among other things, he said he would push for increasing the Alston Foundation’s visibility and mainlining its services for LGBTQ youth at a time when the national political climate has become less supportive.
A statement on its website says the Alston Foundation was founded in 2008 “in memory of Wanda Alston, a fierce LGBTQ+ activist, national advocate, and government official who was admired by District residents.”
The statement adds, “The foundation opened the first housing program in the nation’s capital in 2008 providing pre-independent transitional living and life-saving support services to LGBTQ+ youth.”
In a separate statement, the Alston Foundation announced it would hold a “thank you” celebration of appreciation for June Crenshaw from 6-8 p.m. on May 20 at Crush Dance Bar located at 2007 14th Street, N.W. in D.C.
“Let’s come together to celebrate her dedication and commitment for everything she has done for the LGBTQIA homeless youth population,” the statement says.
-
Federal Government2 days ago
HHS to retire 988 crisis lifeline for LGBTQ youth
-
Opinions2 days ago
David Hogg’s arrogant, self-indulgent stunt
-
District of Columbia2 days ago
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
-
Opinions2 days ago
On Pope Francis, Opus Dei and ongoing religious intolerance