Councilmember Jack Evans, D-Ward 2 (Photo via Facebook) and Ward 7 candidate Vincent Gray (Photo: dbking, via Wikimedia) .
Just as they did when they sparred in 2014’s mayoral Democratic primary, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and former Mayor and Councilmember Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) again topped the list of office-seekers earning high praise and ratings in the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance’s (GLAA) 2016 candidate questionnaire. Luckily, though, this year they are not opponents, but allies seeking separate seats on the D.C. Council.
The biennial survey, issued to candidates seeking elected positions within the District, is used to gauge candidates’ activism and responsiveness to the major concerns of the LGBT community. Candidates are rated on a scale of -10 to +10 based on their answers to GLAA’s questionnaire, their record on LGBT issues and any advocacy on behalf of the community. All questions are based on issues broached in GLAA’s annual policy brief, “Building on Victory,” which is made available to all candidates in advance.
So far, GLAA has only rated those candidates running in the primaries for the District’s three officially recognized political parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Statehood-Green members, all of whom will select nominees in the June 14 citywide primary election. The organization is expected to release ratings for independent candidates — including incumbent Councilmember David Grosso (I-At-Large), who is running for re-election — ahead of the November general election.
Both Evans, running unopposed for re-election to his Georgetown, Dupont and Downtown-anchored district, and Gray, who is running for the Southeast D.C.-anchored seat he once held before becoming Council Chairman in 2007, earned a top score of +10 on GLAA’s rating scale, which ranges from -10 to +10. Both men have long and substantial records that indicate a commitment to LGBT rights from their years on the Council, and Gray, during his four-year tenure as mayor.
Other strong scorers on GLAA’s candidate questionnaire were Robert White, who is challenging incumbent Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) in the Democratic primary, who earned a +8.5, as well as Councilmember LaRuby May (D-Ward 8) and G. Lee Aikin, running in for the Statehood-Green nomination for one of two at-large seats, who both earned +7.5.
For the two at-large seats, challenger David Garber earned a +6.5 for agreeing with GLAA’s positions on all issues and providing substantive answers, but lost points because of his limited record on LGBT issues. Meanwhile, incumbent Orange earned a +4, which marks a significant improvement over his 2012 GLAA rating of +0.5. GLAA noted in its writeup of Orange that he has generally been an ally to the LGBT community, but did, during his 2006 campaign for mayor, call some of his primary rivals “morally unfit” for office because of their support of marriage equality. Republican Carolina Celnik, a Navy Yard resident and law firm employee who works on regulatory issues, did not return a questionnaire and was given a zero based on her lack of a record on LGBT issues.
In Ward 4, Democratic challenger Leon Andrews earned a +6, besting incumbent Democratic Councilmember Brandon Todd, who earned a +5, and Calvin Gurley, who earned a +3.5. Challenger Ron Austin did not return a questionnaire and was given a zero rating.
In Ward 7, Gray faces off against incumbent Democratic Councilmember Yvette Alexander, the only remaining councilmember who voted against marriage equality in 2009. Alexander, who earned a +5.5, showed improvement over her 2012 rating of -3.5 and has generally been an ally to the LGBT community on the Council, sponsoring and pushing through her committee legislation allowing transgender people to amend their birth certificates, require health professionals receive training to be competent in dealing with LGBT-specific health issues, and banning the practice of conversion therapy on minors. Democrats Delmar Chesley and Grant Thompson did not submit responses to GLAA’s questionnaire.
In Ward 8, May’s challengers Trayon White and Aaron Holmes earned ratings of +4 and +2, respectively, while Maurice Dickens and Bonita Goode did not submit responses to GLAA’s questionnaire.
Joseph LoGiudice, the founder and clinical director of Manhattan's Liberation Psychotherapy, an LGBTQ-centered practice, has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting two patients, including allegedly raping a man in his 30s in his office.
According to prosecutors, the patient -- who was attending therapy to cope with a sexual assault -- told LoGiudice he did not want to have sex because he was recovering from anal surgery.
At an October 1 bail hearing, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Claudia Khoury-Yacoub alleged that LoGiudice began sexually exploiting the patient shortly after he joined the therapy group in fall 2022.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has reportedly paid at least 29 accounts with histories of promoting anti-LGBTQ rhetoric for posts ahead of this year's midterm elections.
According to reporting from Uncloseted Media and The 19th, Meta pays these creators through Facebook Content Monetization, a program launched in 2024 that allows eligible creators to earn money based on the performance of their public Facebook posts, including text, Stories, Reels, longer videos, and photos.
Many creators celebrated the program's launch, with some reporting a major increase in their earnings. But critics say the program encourages inflammatory posts and so-called "rage bait" to increase engagement.
A new AI-generated attack ad supporting Jennifer Balkcom, the Republican nominee for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, accuses Democratic nominee Jamie Ager of hosting a barn dance with drag queens and children.
The ad, paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee and approved by Balkcom, was posted to the North Carolina Republican Party's official X account on October 22.
The ad shows Ager speaking into a microphone, with a Progress Pride flag hanging on a barn wall behind him. "Wanna know what we need more of in Washington, D.C.? Barn dances!" he says, as ABBA's "Dancing Queen" starts playing.
You must be logged in to post a comment.