Brian Footer, the chairman of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1E, has suspended his campaign for the open Ward 1 seat on the D.C. Council — typically the final step before exiting a political contest.
Footer launched his campaign in July, seeking to succeed retiring Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D).
With no incumbent running for reelection, a crowded field has emerged, including Rashida Brown, Footer’s fellow ANC 1E commissioner and an endorsee of Nadeau; Jackie Reyes-Yanes, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs; community activist Terry Lynch; ANC 1B Commissioner Miguel Trinidade Deramo, who, like Footer, is openly gay; and Aparna Raj, a tenant organizer, pro-union activist, and former chair of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, who is bisexual.
Footer got off to a strong start, raising more than $10,000 in the three weeks between announcing his candidacy and the July 31 campaign finance filing deadline. As of December 10, he had raised more than $114,000 and reported more than $106,000 in cash on hand, making him the race’s second-highest fundraiser behind Raj.
But Footer said that while he would remain involved in the community and continue advocating on issues raised by Ward 1 residents during the campaign, he needed to suspend his bid to focus on his family and responsibilities at home.
“When I decided to run for DC Council, it was because I believe Ward 1 deserves leadership equal to the moment we are living in — a moment defined by rising costs, uncertainty for small businesses, and neighbors who want to feel both safe and supported,” Footer said in a statement. “I believed then, as I do now, that our community deserves new ideas, new energy, and a government that meets people where they are.
“This campaign has always been about something larger than a single candidate. It has been about a belief that our city can rise to the challenges before us if we lead with empathy, creativity, and a commitment to working together, even if we disagree. And that belief remains unchanged.”
The statement concludes: “After deep reflection and honest conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for DC Council. This moment in my life requires me to be present with the people I love most, and to honor the responsibilities I carry both at home and in the community. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one for me and my family at this time.
“I want to be clear: I am stepping back from the race, not the work. 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. And I will continue showing up as a partner in the work of building a stronger Ward 1.”
Erik Bottcher has received an endorsement from Equality PAC, the political action arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, as he runs to succeed longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who plans to retire at the end of next year.
The openly gay Democrat, who represents Chelsea and won re-election to the New York City Council in last month’s municipal elections, is running for Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District, which Nadler has represented -- through multiple redistricting cycles -- since 1992.
Shortly after filing paperwork in October, Bottcher shattered a state record for the most money raised within 24 hours, pulling in $683,241.
A year ago, the National LGBTQ Task Force was girding to "hold the line," in a sense. Donald J. Trump had just won the presidential election with a plurality -- 49.8% -- of the popular vote, setting the stage for a January inauguration that would install an administration expected to be oppressively hostile to the country's LGBTQ community, particularly the Transgender community, as well as efforts promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The sweeping scope of that hostility, from discharging all Trans service members from the U.S. military to the pettiness of erasing rainbow crosswalks, transpired at breakneck speed.
History was made in Pennsylvania several weeks ago, when Erica Deuso became not only her town's first transgender elected official, but the first transgender mayor to be elected in Pennsylvania history.
Deuso's identity -- and the historic nature of her candidacy -- were not the focus of her campaign for mayor of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Instead, the 45-year-old focused on kitchen-table issues and the nuts and bolts of governing a small city in an exurban county outside Philadelphia.
"After I won my primary, The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story about it, noting, 'This person could be the first trans mayor in Pennsylvania.' But that's not what I was running on," says Deuso. "Everybody I met was really focused on what was in it for their families. What was I going to do about flooding? What am I going to do about public safety? And I kid you not, the first person who approached me, after I found out that I won, was talking to me about a speed bump in their neighborhood."
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