Ward 8 candidate Sheila Bunn earned GLAA’s top rating
On Wednesday, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of Washington, D.C. released its ratings for candidates running in the April 28 special elections for the Ward 4 and Ward 8 seats on the D.C. Council, with few standouts amid the crowded field in each race.
Topping the list of overall ratings was Ward 8 D.C. Council candidate Sheila Bunn, a Democrat who previously served as the deputy chief of staff to former Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). Bunn earned a +9 on a scale of -10 to +10. The next two highest-rated candidates were Ward 4 Council candidates Dwayne Toliver and Edwin Powell, who received a rating of +7 and +6.5, respectively.
A nonpartisan political civil rights organization that lobbies on behalf of pro-LGBT legislation GLAA’s ratings are determined based on a candidates’ political history, their advocacy, and their responses to a LGBT-issue related questionnaire. The questionnaire is largely based on GLAA’s policy brief, Building on Victory, which outlines the organization’s priorities. All candidates are urged to read the policy brief prior to responding to GLAA’s questionnaire. Points are awarded for being in agreement with GLAA, the substance of answers explaining the candidates’ position, a candidates’ prior record on LGBT rights, and a championship point for demonstrating leadership in fighting for a priority of the LGBT community. Of all 25 candidates running in the special elections, not a single one was able to earn the championship point.
Seven of 12 candidates for Ward 4 and five of 13 candidates for Ward 8 did not return GLAA’s questionnaire, which was previously mailed to candidates, nor did they provide any information on their support of pro-LGBT policies. As a result, those five candidates were awarded a rating of zero. Of the 13 candidates who did respond, most agreed with the bulk of GLAA’s positions. However, they were not awarded points for substance.
In Ward 4, presumptive favorite Brandon Todd, who previously served as Mayor Muriel Bowser’s constituent services director during her time as a councilmember, earned a +5.5 for what GLAA referred to as a “solid questionnaire,” but demonstrated little in way of a record of support for LGBT issues. Acquanetta Anderson (+3) and Renee Bowser (+2.5) also received similar evaluations. All five candidates who returned questionnaires in that race are Democrats.
In Ward 8, there was a steeper drop-off after Bunn, with Democrats Marion C. Barry, the son of the former mayor, and “S.S.” Sandra Seegers both earning +4.5 for agreeing with GLAA’s positions on most issues but demonstrating little in the way of a record on those issues. Bowser-endorsed Democrat LaRuby May was next, with a rating of +4, followed by Democrat Eugene Kinlow and Independent Keita Vanterpool, who both earned +3.5. Democrat Stuart Anderson earned +3 and Jauhar Abraham earned +2.
According to a news release from GLAA, most candidates hedged on their answer to whether they would support the “Death with Dignity Act of 2015,” a bill sponsored by Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) that would essentially allow people with terminal illnesses to engage in physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia by taking controlled medication to end their lives. Many candidates said they would want proper safeguards or would defer to their constituents on whether to support the bill, with Powell and Barry giving the most substantial explanations.
While GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections, this is not the last candidates will hear of the rating, as some candidates choose to campaign on their rating as evidence of their support for LGBT rights, particularly in front of groups like the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s top LGBT partisan political organization, which will offer its own endorsement of candidates later this month.
For more information on GLAA, or to read candidates’ responses to the GLAA questionnaire, visit glaa.org.
A Florida man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Girlalala, a 21-year-old transgender TikTok influencer, after allegedly shooting her during what appears to have been a dispute between the couple.
Broward County Sheriff's Office deputies say 25-year-old Shanoyd Whyte Jr. shot Girlalala shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, November 14, while the two were sitting in a car on the side of the road in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
According to Miami-based WPLG, video from a nearby Tesla shows a man believed to be Whyte getting out of the driver's side of a sedan as Girlalala tries to exit the passenger side. He appears to grab her by the hair and force her back inside before pacing outside the car with a cellphone in hand.
December 8 will be a big day for Cheyenne Jackson. That's when he'll take to the fabled stage at Carnegie Hall -- with his mother.
"This is a little scoop," he confides during a recent Zoom call. "My mom and my sister are going to join me on stage, and we're going to sing a trio. We haven't sung together in years. My mom, who's a retired widow living in Southern California, is going to get a gown on, get her hair done. It's going to be a family affair, and I'm so honored they're doing it. It's going to be so emotional."
The show, which Jackson says will feature "an incredible set list -- it's daunting, it's challenging," is deeply personal, reflecting "a lot of themes that come from my life."
Racers, start your engines. RuPaul’s Drag Race has revealed the 14 new queens set to grace the runway for its 18th season as they vie for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a grand prize of $200,000.
Premiering January 2 on MTV, the season will be accompanied by another run of RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, where viewers get the chance to get an inside look at all the tea being spilt behind the scenes of the hit show.
The new season will also feature a bit of a twist from the outset. Unlike the recent spate of season-premiere episodes that feature a talent show -- remember Season 15, when the judges were somehow unimpressed with Irene the Alien’s keen ability to make a glass of ice water? -- the competition appears to be starting with a sewing challenge.
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