Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed a slate of candidates ahead of the June 16 primary election.
The local LGBTQ political club endorses candidates who receive support from at least 60% of its active members. Before endorsements are made, candidates typically complete a questionnaire and participate in public forums with LGBTQ Democratic voters.
Candidates do not have to identify as LGBTQ to receive an endorsement, but they must demonstrate a commitment to LGBTQ equality in the District.
The club endorsed Democratic Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) for mayor and Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large) for delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
They also endorsed several incumbents, including Attorney General Brian Schwalb and D.C. Councilmembers Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), and Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s sole LGBTQ member.
To replace the retiring Anita Bonds, club members backed D.C. Shadow U.S. Representative Oye Owolewa. For Brianne Nadeau’s open Ward 1 seat, no single candidate earned 60% of the vote, which would normally result in no endorsement. But because ranked-choice voting is being used this year, Capital Stonewall Democrats instead released a preferred ranking of candidates.
The club recommended that Ward 1 voters rank ANC 1B Commissioner Miguel Trinidade Deramo, who is gay, first; communications manager and tenant organizer Aparna Raj, who identifies as queer, second; Jackie Reyes Yanes, former executive director of the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs and the Office of Community Affairs under Mayor Muriel Bowser, third; ANC 1E Commissioner Rashida Brown, fourth; and nonprofit leader and neighborhood activist Terry Lynch, fifth.
“Our endorsements are about more than candidates in any single election. They’re about the future of D.C.,” club president Stevie McCarty said in a statement. “We’re proud to support leaders who understand that LGBTQ+ rights are not optional, who have listened and built community with our members, and who are ready to turn values into action.”
This year’s elections are particularly notable because several open-seat races are creating opportunities for new leadership. Incumbents including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting member of Congress, and D.C. Councilmembers Anita Bonds (D-At-Large) and Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) are not seeking reelection.
Additionally, Independent At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, who is running for mayor, has already resigned from his seat, triggering both a special election to fill the remainder of his term and a general election in which a non-Democrat must replace him. As a result, the Council is expected to feature several newcomers next January.
As Capital Stonewall Democrats noted in a news release, the offices on this year’s ballot — from mayor and councilmember to attorney general and congressional delegate — will shape policy and funding priorities affecting District residents. For LGBTQ people targeted by the current presidential administration, having strong allies is especially important.
“At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack across the country, D.C. has a responsibility to lead,” McCarty said in a statement. “That means electing leaders who will protect our community, expand opportunity, and ensure no one is left out of the future we’re building.”
The club is encouraging voters to engage early and learn more about the candidates by consulting OutVoteDC.org, the Capital Stonewall Democrats-run website billed as “the District’s most comprehensive LGBTQ+ voter guide” for the primary election.
“Elections aren’t abstract — they’re about real outcomes in people’s lives,” McCarty said. “When we vote, we’re choosing what kind of city we want to live in. And we’re making sure our community has a voice in that decision.”
"We seek to celebrate and try to lift up as many students as we can," says Charles Roth, chair of the Team DC Scholarship Committee. Each year, Team DC, an umbrella organization for LGBTQ sports clubs across the region, awards $2,500 scholarships to several area high school student-athletes to support their college education.
The scholarships will be handed out at Team DC's annual Night of Champions Gala, taking place on Saturday, April 18, at the Georgetown Marriott. The evening, which features a reception, dinner, and both silent and live auctions, raises critical support for the organization and its year-round community efforts.
"Team DC is the network of LGBTQ+ sports in the D.C. metro area," says Miguel Ayala, president of the nonprofit, which has served as the umbrella organization for LGBTQ sports since 1990.
"We represent over 49 different teams and leagues -- everything from kickball, football, and volleyball, which are some of our larger groups, to things like birding, rodeo, and billiards, and even recreational or group activities that you might not think of as sports," he says.
The organization serves as a resource for LGBTQ sporting and recreational groups, helping them navigate the logistics of running a league -- everything from establishing bylaws and a governing board to setting up a website and social media accounts to promote schedules and off-field events like social mixers or fundraisers.
Ladies might still love Cool James, but they've found a place in their hearts for their girl Cardi B. Single ladies, married ladies, ladies who love ladies, all kinds of grown-and-sexy ladies were at Capital One Arena for the D.C. date of the Grammy-winning rap diva's "Little Miss Drama Tour."
Yes, plenty of guys, and gays, pulled up, too, but it was "the ladies!" that Cardi addressed most often once she took the stage a Madonna-like ninety minutes past the advertised start time (said with love, no shade, from one who's seen Madonna on tour four times).
Pre-show, the Cap One crowd got a good warmup from the track-suited DJ spinning hip-hop and R&B. Although, based on my section -- and the lady in super-short schoolgirl attire twerking on her man while strangers shouted, "Work, bitch!" -- people came already warmed up by other means.
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