Washingtonblade.com, Volume 49 Issue 38, September 21, 2018

SEPTEMBER 21,

2018

VOLUME 49

ISSUE 38

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AMERICA’S LGBTQ NEWS SOURCE

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Record number of LGBT candidates seeking office up and down ballot

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com

JARED POLIS, KYRSTEN SINEMA, NELSON ARAUJO and TAMMY BALDWIN are LGBT candidates running in November.

With the 2018 congressional mid-terms fast approaching, a record number of LGBT candidates are seeking election to all levels of government ranging from federal office to state attorney general, many under a banner of challenging President Trump.

Amid expectations of a “blue” wave of Democratic wins in November, political observers say wins for these LGBT candidates constitute a “rainbow” wave and break pink ceilings in races where no LGBT candidate has won before.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which endorses LGBT candidates, has backed 218 candidates so far in the 2018 cycle. That’s up from the 160 candidates the Victory Fund

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KEY

CONTINUES ON PAGE 16

‘These charges are serious and disqualifying’ Kavanaugh confirmation in doubt after sexual assault allegation

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com

LGBT groups are calling for a halt to BRETT KAVANAUGH’s nomination amid sexual assault allegations.

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

With Christine Blasey Ford coming forward as the individual alleging sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, LGBT groups this week joined the calls to hit the brakes on his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court and instead launch an investigation into the claims.

Sharon McGowan, chief strategy officer

for the LGBT legal group Lambda Legal, compared the allegations to the testimony of Anita Hill against now U.S. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and said they “demand a thorough investigation.”

“We are pleased that a number of senators from both parties have recognized that the Senate has an obligation to the country to delay any further consideration of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to a lifetime position on the Supreme Court until such an investigation can take place,” McGowan said. “This should not be a partisan issue. At this moment, Republicans and Democrats – men and women alike – have CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

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Comings & Goings Longtime Fox 5 anchor Will Thomas lands at Sotheby’s

By PETER ROSENSTEIN The Comings and Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at comings and goings@washblade.com.

Congratulations to Sam McClure who is the new director at the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care. The Center’s mission is to provide health information and resources to Baltimore’s LGBT community. Patrick Mutch, SAM McCLURE president and CEO said of McClure, “We were PHOTO COURTESY OF MCCLURE impressed by Sam’s dedication to the LGBT community, and her understanding of the current challenges its members face in accessing welcoming health care and other essential resources. We welcome her to the Chase Brexton team and know she will carry on the important work that our LGBT Health Resource Center does each day.”

Upon taking her new job McClure said, “Wellness means more than access to medical treatment when it’s needed. It’s also about individuals having the ability to live well and sustain themselves and their families. LGBTQ people can face barriers when trying to do this and some of them are multiplied and WILL THOMAS magnified by a shortage of informed and affirming PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMAS health care providers. Chase Brexton’s LGBT Health Resource Center is leading from this intersection of needs. I’m looking forward to leading the center’s efforts to improve healthcare access and outcomes for all LGBTQ people.” Among her first priorities will be meeting local LGBTQ community leaders in Baltimore and building on the center’s existing relationships and partnerships.

In her previous role, she was senior vice president of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, where she led affiliate relations, external affairs, public policy and advocacy, and supplier diversity teams, as well as serving as part of the organization’s executive leadership team.

McClure is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, commentator, panelist, and a subject matter expert on LGBTQ Economic Development. An award-winning strategist, she created the LGBT Business Builder initiative (a collaboration between the NGLCC and the U.S. Small Business Administration) and built local collaboration models in 13 cities. The program won a Bright Idea Award from Harvard University.

Congratulations also to Will Thomas who is joining TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. Prior to working in real estate full-time, Thomas was an Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchor on Fox 5. At Fox he helped re-launch the weeknight 11 o’clock newscast as co-anchor and developed a three anchor format for evening newscasts. He created signature on-air segments including “Will You Eat There” that focused on the D.C. region’s restaurant scene.

Thomas began his career after graduation having won first place in the national William Randolph Hearst competition during his last semester in school. He first worked at the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M., and then became an anchor-reporter at the CBS station in Austin, Texas. He was then wooed by Fox stations in Los Angeles and D.C. and, as we know, he chose D.C. When Thomas came to D.C., the station was making moves to hire younger people to infuse more energy into the newscasts. He soon received anchoring opportunities and within a couple of years became the weekend evening anchor.

Thomas said, “After a 20-year run at Fox 5, choosing to leave the station was a very difficult decision but one I did for family reasons.” He added, “I first moved to the nation’s capital thinking it would be a stopover in my career but fell in love with the Washington metropolitan area and its people.”

Thomas noted, “I am not saying goodbye to broadcasting altogether. I have created a digital studio in the District to file reports on luxury real estate including my own client listings, topical news about real estate, finance, design, lifestyle and philanthropy. I will invite my colleagues to appear to talk about some of Sotheby’s other prestigious listings.”

LO CA L N E W S

Lesbian deputy mayor to step down for new opportunity Bowser calls highest-ranking LGBT city official a ‘trailblazer’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week that Courtney R. Snowden, her Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity since April 2015, will be leaving her job as of Sept. 21 “to pursue a new career opportunity outside of District government.”

Snowden, a lesbian who has worked on LGBT rights issues in previous private sector jobs, has served in her current job as Bowser’s highest-ranking openly LGBT appointee.

The mayor’s announcement didn’t disclose where Snowden would be working when she leaves her deputy mayor’s position on Sept. 21, and Snowden couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

In a press release making the announcement, Bowser praised Snowden for her groundbreaking work in fulfilling the mission of a newly created position intended to boost economic development in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River that had the city’s highest rates of unemployment and fewer sources of employment such as small businesses compared to other parts of the city.

“Courtney R. Snowden served as the District’s first-ever Deputy Mayor of Greater Economic Opportunity, and I don’t think I could have appointed a better person to build this post from the ground up and deliver for our residents,” Bowser said. “Courtney has been a trailblazer, forging pathways to the middle class for residents who needed someone to believe in them and give them a fair shot.”

The mayor’s press secretary, La Toya Foster, told the Washington Post that Snowden’s departure was not related to Snowden being the subject of at least two ethics investigations since May 2017 and that Snowden was not asked to step down.

Although Snowden was not cited for violating ethics rules, the city’s Inspector General in the spring of 2017 named Snowden as being among several city government officials who were given preferential treatment in 2015 by then D.C. Schools Superintendent Kaya Henderson by allowing their kids to be enrolled in prestigious schools without having to be placed on a long waiting list or a lottery.

Henderson disputed claims that her actions violated ethics rules. She said Snowden was among a number of parents, including those not associated with the D.C. government, who applied for a waiver of the school waiting lists based on a program Henderson said she created for children with special circumstances.

“The opportunity to petition the school chancellor for a waiver is available to all District parents,” mayoral spokesperson Kevin Harris said at the time. “Deputy Mayor Snowden did what any parent would do by pursuing every available option when her child faced a challenge,” he said.

In separate matter, the Inspector General’s Office in November 2017 issued a report saying Snowden violated D.C. personnel rules in 2015 when she reportedly instructed her staff to engage in babysitting duties for her son during working hours. The Washington Post reported that Bowser informed the IG’s Office that Snowden “admitted her conduct was not appropriate and expressed remorse” and that the mayor remained confident in Snowden’s ability to do her job.

Robert Raben, founder and CEO of the Raben Group, a D.C.-based progressive public policy and communications firm where Snowden worked before becoming deputy mayor, said Snowden was not returning there. But he said whoever works with her would be lucky.

“Courtney sees around corners, figures out how to get to where you want to go in ways you would not have dreamed,” Raben told the Washington Blade.

“That, coupled with a singular ability to connect with anyone, and I mean anyone, of all stripes and types, makes her pretty much a rock star,” he said. “I learned an enormous amount from her.”

Prior to working at the Raben Group Snowden worked as a legislative assistant for then-U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), as a political aide for the Human Rights Campaign, and as federal and national policy manager for the New York City-based Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), where she worked on policies to prevent anti-LGBT bullying and discrimination in schools.

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D.C. Council approves ‘Nonbinary’ I.D. card bill The D.C. City Council on Tuesday gave final approval by unanimous voice vote to legislation that allows residents to choose a gender-neutral identifier on driver’s licenses and other city identification documents.

The legislation, the Nonbinary Identification Cards Amendment Act of 2017, requires the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles to “permit applicants for a license, permit, or identification card issued pursuant to this act to designate their gender as ‘non-binary’ in lieu of ‘male or ‘female.’”

The Council’s action came one year and three months after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a mayoral order directing Council member BRIANNE NADEAU the motor vehicles department to do (D-Ward 1) is the author of the non-binary essentially the same thing. The mayor’s identification measure. order, which has been in effect since June 26, WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY 2017, allows residents to choose a genderneutral “X” identifier on driver’s licenses or other city identification documents.

Council member Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), author of the non-binary identification measure approved by the Council this week, praised Bowser for putting the genderneutral policy into effect by a mayoral directive. But Nadeau said the legislation was needed to ensure that the policy would not be repealed by a future mayor without having to obtain approval by the Council.

“Gender is a spectrum and some of our residents do not identify as male or female,” Nadeau said in a statement at the time she and five of her Council colleagues cointroduced the bill last year shortly before Bowser issued her directive.

“Current licenses force residents to conform to gender that don’t accurately reflect their identity,” she said. “This bill changes District identification documents so they can accurately reflect the needs of our residents.”

At the time Bowser’s directive took effect on June 26, 2017, D.C. became the first jurisdiction in the nation to have its motor vehicles department allow residents to choose a gender-neutral identifier on a government-issued driver’s license or identity card. Less than one month later, on July 3, 2017, Oregon became the first state to allow a gender-neutral option on its identity documents.

Bowser has said she would sign the non-binary license and identification measure passed by the Council. Upon her signature, the legislation must undergo a 30 legislative day review by Congress before it becomes law similar to all D.C. approved legislation.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Food & Friends names new executive director Food & Friends, the D.C.-based nonprofit organization that has provided homedelivered meals to people with serious illnesses, including HIV and AIDS since 1988, announced on Tuesday that it has named Carrie Stoltzfus, its current deputy director, as its next executive director.

Stoltzfus will succeed Craig Shniderman, who has served as the organization’s executive director for nearly 24 years. Shniderman announced last December that he planned to step down from his executive director’s post on Dec. 31, 2018 to pursue “avocational interests and some new professional experiences” rather than retire.

Stoltzfus holds a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

She has been with Food & Friends for 15 years. In her current role as deputy executive director her responsibilities include leading a team that oversees client services, volunteer services, nutrition, kitchen and groceries, and delivery, according to a statement released by Food & Friends.

“Carrie brings passion for our work, deep concern for our staff, volunteers, clients and donors, and respect for everyone who is a part of the Food & Friends family,” said Peter Glassman, president of the organization’s board and head of the search committee that selected Stoltzfus.

“Food & Friends Board of Directors undertook a vigorous national search for its next leader, with aid from search consultants at Russell Reynolds Associates who screened more than 100 applications,” the statement released by the group says. “After meeting a substantial number of outstanding candidates from around the country, the Board of Directors determined that the best candidate was within the organization and selected Carrie Stoltzfus on Sept. 13,” the statement says.

LO CA L N E W S “I am excited to take on this new opportunity as Food & Friends continues to fill an essential role in our community and as it evolves to work in lockstep with the broader public health sector to serve even more of our Washington area neighbors,” Stoltzfus said in the statement.

The group says it currently prepares and delivers nearly one million meals each year to clients free of charge across 5,300 square miles in a region that includes D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The group says over 5,500 volunteers help it serve more than 2,800 people annually.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

DC Appleseed names Pannell 2018 Community Partner Honoree

The DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a local nonprofit public policy advocacy group, has named longtime D.C. LGBT rights and community activist Phil Pannell for its 2018 Community Partner Honoree Award. The award will be presented to Pannell at the organization’s annual Awards Reception to be held Sept.

25 at the Arena Stage.

Pannell serves as executive director of the nonprofit Anacostia Coordinating Council. He is cited by DC Appleseed PHIL PANNELL is set to receive the 2018 Community Partner Honoree as a distinguished community activist Award from DC Appleseed. of nearly 40 years in D.C., with a focus on communities east of the Anacostia WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY River. He has received over 100 awards for community service related work, including the U.S. President’s Call to Service Award in 2012.

He also currently serves as president of the Congress Heights Community Association and the Anacostia/Bellevue/Congress Heights AARP Chapter No. 4870. In addition, he serves as treasurer of the Friends of the Parkland-Turner Neighborhood Library and the as vice chair of the board of the Community College Preparatory Academy Public Charter School. He is an outspoken supporter of the LGBT Youth advocacy group Check It Enterprises, which is located in Anacostia.

DC Appleseed spokesperson Renee Johnson called Pannell “our amazing honoree.”

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Hogan to attend Log Cabin dinner Log Cabin Republicans last week announced Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan would attend its annual dinner that is scheduled to take place in D.C. on Oct. 2.

An email that Log Cabin Republicans sent to its supporters describes Hogan as a “special guest.” The email also notes Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will deliver the keynote address.

Hogan, who took office in 2015, will face off against former NAACP President Benjamin Jealous in November.

A poll that Gonzales Research and Media Services conducted last month found Hogan is ahead of Jealous by a 52-36 percent margin. The Washington Post on Aug. 27 reported Hogan’s re-election campaign account has $9.3 million, compared to the $385,000 the Jealous campaign has on hand.

Hogan in May signed into law a bill that bans so-called conversion therapy to minors in Maryland.

Hogan before his 2014 election said he would not seek to repeal Maryland’s same-sex marriage law that voters upheld two years earlier.

Hogan specifically mentioned sexual orientation — but not gender identity — in his first executive order that outlined ethics standards for executive branch employees. He later signed an amended version of the mandate that included transgender-specific language.

Two pro-LGBT bills — one that allows trans Marylanders to change their name and gender on their birth certificates without surgery and another that ensures lesbian couples have equal access to fertility treatments — became law in 2015 without Hogan’s signature.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Biden urged to run in 2020 at HRC dinner

Former Vice President JOE BIDEN spoke at HRC’s national dinner last week.

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Attendees at the annual Human Rights Campaign national dinner Saturday night urged former Vice President Joseph Biden to challenge President Trump in 2020 amid speculation he is mulling a run for the White House.

As Biden approached the podium at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, he was greeted with calls of “Run, Joe, Run!” and “2020!” In response, Biden didn’t convey any thoughts about the upcoming presidential election, but thanked the audience and proceeded with his remarks.

During his speech to the estimated 3,500 attendees at the dinner, Biden expressed regret over not speaking out sooner against President Trump after leaving the White House at the end of the Obama administration.

“Barack and I agreed we would be quiet for the first year to let the new administration get up and running,” Biden said.

Making the sign of the cross over chest, Biden added, “God forgive me.”

After the white supremacist rally last year in Charlottesville, Va., Biden said he felt compelled to break his vow of silence because he “could not remain silent.”

“This is about basic decency,” Biden said. “The idea that goons could come out of fields at night with lighted torches, carrying Nazi flags, chanting the same, exact antiSemitic bile that was chanted in the streets of Nuremberg and Berlin and every other German city in the 30s.”

After tamping down boos from the audience, Biden lambasted Trump for his remark that there were “good people” on both sides.

“We are in a fight for America’s soul and we have leaders…who at the time when that occurred, when these guys were accompanied by white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan and those who objected, making a comparison, saying, ‘There are good people in both groups,’” Biden said. “What has become of us? Our children are listening and our silence is complicity.”

Accompanying Biden on stage was his wife, former second lady Jill Biden, who was also critical of Trump. In a veiled criticism of the current president, Jill Biden said, “I hate bullies.”

“There is nothing that makes either of us more angry than a bully,” Jill Biden said.

Echoing his wife later in the evening, Joe Biden said, “The president uses the White House as a literal bully pulpit.”

Consistent with his other speeches to LGBT audiences, Biden commended the LGBT rights movement for its accomplishments and repeated his characterization of LGBT rights as the “civil rights issue of our day.”

Biden decried anti-transgender legislation in state legislatures and the lack of federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. On the international front, Biden spoke out against violence against LGBT people around the world in places like Chechnya, El Salvador, Malaysia and Tanzania as well as attempts to undermine LGBT rights in Romania.

“Any person of conscience regardless of their religious or partisan beliefs should be able to agree that discrimination and violence against any person in any form is simply intolerable, illegal, wrong,” Biden said.

Biden wasn’t the only 2020 prospect who spoke at the dinner. Also addressing attendees was former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who now chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that seeks to elect Democratic candidates ahead of the 2020 Census.

Holder recalled the LGBT accomplishments of the Obama administration, including the Justice Department’s refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and assessing legal spousal benefits to same-sex couples after the 2013 ruling against the anti-gay law.

“And yet, our work is far from over,” Holder said. “The unfortunate fact is that in 2018, America’s long struggle to overcome injustice, to eliminate disparities and to eradicate violence continues. The age of bullies and bigots is not fully behind us and much of the

progress that we made together now hangs in the balance.”

Holder said the gains made by gay and lesbian Americans aren’t yet “solidified” and those achievements aren’t yet extended to transgender people — something the Trump administration has made more complicated.

“There are still hearts to open, there are laws to change and the need for leaders to reflect or even seem to grasp our nation’s core values,” Holder said. “Instead of trying to build consensus toward our common goals, they try to build walls and stoke fear and anger among voters for short-term political advantage.”

Also speaking at the dinner was Virginia State Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), the first openly transgender elected official seated to a state legislature, and Nelson Araujo, who’s running to become secretary of state in Nevada and could be the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in the United States.

The night also featured performances by transgender activist and artist Shea Diamond and Ocean’s Eight co-star Awkwafina. The recipient of the HRC National Equality Award was actress Anne Hathaway.

CHRIS JOHNSON

Judge denies Trump request to lift trans military ban U. S. District Court Judge Jesus G. Bernal issued a ruling Tuesday, Sept. 18 denying the Department of Justice’s request to lift the preliminary injunction he issued last December halting President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban transgender individuals from openly serving in the military. It was the fourth nationwide preliminary injunction after Federal courts in Maryland, Washington and the District of Columbia previously issued injunctions against the ban last year.

The California lawsuit, Stockman v. Trump, was filed last Nov. 20 by seven transgender individuals either serving in the armed forces or intending to enlist, Equality California, and the California Attorney General.

“Discriminating against capable soldiers because of their gender identity does not represent the values of our great nation,” Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Dec. 27, 2017 after the injunction was issued. “We are pleased that today’s ruling proves that discrimination against transgender Americans will not be tolerated. The President’s disgraceful ban on transgender people serving in the military not only compromises our national security, but it marginalizes transgender Americans who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep us safe.

We are proud to be part of the fight to protect the rights of this honorable group of brave people defending our country.”

Bernal’s decision means the preliminary injunction will remain in place, allowing transgender individuals to continue serving in the military. In his ruling, Bernal noted that the ban was discriminatory and unlawful: “In the history of military service in this country, “the loss of unit cohesion” has been consistently weaponized against open service by a new minority group,” Bernal wrote in his order denying the motion. “Yet, at every turn, this assertion has been overcome by the military’s steadfast ability to integrate these individuals into effective members of our armed forces. As with blacks, women, and gays, so now with transgender persons.

“The military has repeatedly proven its capacity to adapt and grow stronger specifically by the inclusion of these individuals. Therefore, the government cannot use ‘the loss of unit cohesion’ as an excuse to prevent an otherwise qualified class of discrete and insular minorities from joining the armed forces.”

“Today’s ruling upholds our nation’s values and interests. The Trump administration’s transgender military service ban does not,” Becerra said in a statement. “President Trump’s despicable ban weakens our national security and erodes the fundamental value of equality that makes our nation great. Our service members, regardless of gender identity, are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect us. We are proud to continue the fight to protect their liberties despite the federal government’s disregard for equality and the rule of law.”

“Anyone willing to risk their life to protect our country should be treated fairly and with dignity and respect,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur. “As long as President Trump continues to double down on this unpatriotic and discriminatory ban, we’ll continue to fight him with everything we’ve got — and we have a pretty good track record of winning.”

STAFF REPORTS

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NATIONAL NEWS

Proudly running for the LGBT community in California Bisexual Katie Hill takes on anti-LGBT Steve Knight

By KAREN OCAMB LOS ANGELES — The Congressional Leadership Fund, retiring Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan’s SuperPAC, is littering the Los Angeles airwaves with opposition ads so ridiculous they may well help get out the Democratic vote. The ads targeting young, out bisexual Katie Hill, a candidate for California’s 25th Congressional District, are downright laughable.

CLF’s latest ad against Hill, “Expensive,” for instance, closes with: “Liberal Katie Hill. Immature. Out of Touch. Expensive.”

And in their effort to paint Hill, 30, as “immature,” they show her as a real person laughing. But just as voters once preferred a candidate with whom they could imagine having a beer, like George W. Bush, in this hostile climate, women, young people and surely LGBT voters would much prefer someone with whom they can joke around than a ridged right-winger.

Hill’s campaign ads have been sunny and likeable, with a devastating opposition ad featuring her Republican opponent, longtime anti-LGBT Rep. Steve Knight on camera saying he thinks Social Security is a “bad idea.”

What a stark difference in values. Hill, the daughter of a registered nurse and police officer, is a CSUN graduate with a master’s in Public Administration. As executive director of People Assisting the Homeless, she grew the organization from a local non-profit to the state’s largest non-profit provider of homes for the homeless. She commuted to PATH offices in Silver Lake from her rescue animal farm in Agua Dulce, near Santa Clarita, where she lives with her husband Kenny and their dogs, horses and goats.

Hill spoke with the Blade last week, after former President Barack Obama visited Orange County to stump for Democratic candidates. Hill missed the rally to be with supporters.

“I had this event planned with labor for months,” Hills says, “and they had already recruited hundreds of union workers who are the working families of our district and who wanted an opportunity to meet with their hopefully next congressperson.

It just felt like something that I couldn’t back out of, despite the fact that it was an honor and a privilege to be recognized by President Obama.”

One reason Hill decided to run for Congress was because of the Trump administration, finding the latest revelations about his presidency unsurprising.

“We’ve known for a long time that we have to put some kind of check on him and we’ve got to work towards getting him out as quickly as possible,” Hill says.

“The first step is flipping Congress … to

KATIE HILL is running for Congress in California’s 25th.

hold him accountable and right now we don’t have that.”

Steve Knight, she says, “is one of the many Republicans in Congress who, despite the fact that every single day a new revelation comes out about how problematic Trump and his administration are and how unethical and how much they go against the very values and core beliefs of our country, they refuse to do anything about it.”

Hill says that even though the district is “typically conservative,” Hillary Clinton won by seven points in 2016, “which is a pretty large margin. And that means that a lot of people who normally vote for Republicans voted for her because they believe that Donald Trump is unfit to be president.”

CD 25 includes Lancaster and the Antelope Valley, areas long associated with anti-LGBT white supremacists. And yet Hill felt comfortable enough to come out as bisexual as a teenager.

“I think most teenagers go through a process,” she says. “I started to really figure it out when I was about, I don’t know, 12. And then eventually in high school, I came out to a few close friends and then after high school, I came out to my now-husband and then to my family.

So it’s kind of been an evolution.”

Hill always felt “incredibly accepted by my family” but finds that a lot of people have difficulty wrapping their heads around bisexuality. “Like, OK, you might be a woman and like other women, you might be a man and like other men but when there’s both involved, it just kind of confuses people sometimes…especially when you’re in a committed relationship.

And so I feel like part of this campaign has really been kind of an educational process and I think that’s a big part of why representation is so important.”

In April 2011, Gary Gates, a gay demographer and scholar at the Williams Institute, concluded that there were roughly 9 million adults in the U.S. who

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY KAREN OCAMB

identified as LGBT. And “among adults who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, bisexuals comprise a slight majority (1.8% compared to 1.7% who identify as lesbian or gay); women are substantially more likely than men to identify as bisexual,” he reported.

Bisexuality is “exactly that you are who you are from whatever stage you figure out that you’re bisexual and you end up ultimately falling in love with one person and if that person is going to belong to one gender or the other—that’s how you end up in a committed relationship with somebody and you retain your sexuality.

The way that I’ve explained it to people is like I could’ve ended up being married to a man or a woman and it just happened to be a man,” Hill says.

And people get that? “Eventually,” she says, laughing. “It’s made for some awkward conversations, especially, I would say, with folks above a certain age.

But I think we’re getting there.”

Did she know that Lancaster and the Antelope Valley were once considered hotbeds for hate crimes?

“Oh, I definitely did. I lived in Rosemont in the early 1990s. I remember learning in elementary school about hate crimes because they had to shut down our school bathrooms to do a pretty extensive remodel because they’d been totally graffitied with Nazi symbols,” she says.

“Everybody’s process looks different, right? But I think in terms of my sexuality, something that I went through and I think probably a lot of other people go through is, well, is this a phase? And especially when you hear that over and over again from people who you respect, like, ‘Oh, it’s just a phase, you’ll get past this. You’re just experimenting,’ those kinds of things.

So I guess, in some ways, that made it easier to not really have to face the fact that you might not be part of the heteronormative society,” Hill says.

“And so I think I didn’t,” she says.

“It’s not like I was dating women, just obviously, when I was in Antelope Valley when those kinds of things were going on. So it didn’t really hit me that much at that point. But by the time that I started to really address it internally and with the people I care about, I had moved to Santa Clarita, which, although it is also known as a kind of conservative area, I felt like I was around people who weren’t hateful.”

But she didn’t directly experience hateful people in the Antelope Valley, either. “It’s harder and harder for that to be acceptable anywhere in our region.

And I don’t think it’s like that anymore in our district,” she says.

“I would say my top two issues [in Congress, if elected] are insuring access to affordable healthcare for everyone and insuring that we’re working on making housing more affordable for everyone. And those are issues that really do disproportionately affect our community,” Hill says. “I also think equal rights across the board is something that I stand for. As a leader that represents the face of the LGBT community in Congress, I would see that as something that I need to be a champion for and do so at every opportunity, whatever piece of legislation that looks like, let’s consider it through an equality lens.”

Hill gets upset over the transgender bathroom issue. “Every time I hear this kind of thing come up, it just bothers me to my core that we’re even talking about this,” she says. “If you talk to people in my generation, it is so obvious that, you know, if somebody identifies as a woman, let them use the woman’s bathroom; someone identifies as a man, they, of course, should use the men’s bathroom.

Why are we even talking about this?”

Hill is also adamant about always being inclusive. “If you’re talking about passing legislation that’s going to protect people but you write in something that is inherently discriminatory or allows for discrimination, then you’re kind of missing the point,” she says. “’Okay, well sure, we’ll treat you like a human being but we still want to know what your genitals look like before you can use a bathroom.’ I mean that’s just stupid.”

But Hill has to get to Congress to make that point. “This is the most important election we’ve seen in our lifetime and frankly we’ve all gotta give it everything we’ve got and we’re gonna see the attacks coming against me in even greater numbers until the election and we need everyone’s help,” Hill says. “So whether it’s knocking on doors or donating, we’re asking everyone to dig deep, to get involved however they can and help us out because we can’t take anything for granted, realizing that this thing could come down a few hundred votes, it really could.”

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 2 • SEPTE MB ER 21, 2018

Cuban president backs marriage equality Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said he supports an amendment to his country’s new constitution that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

“I defend that there should be no type of discrimination,” he told Telesur, a television station that is largely funded by the Venezuelan government, during an interview that aired early this week. “The will of the people and the people’s sovereignty will have the final word.”

A source in Havana told the Washington Blade the Telesur Cuban President MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL supports extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. interview was broadcast on Cuban television on Sunday night.

Díaz-Canel took office in April after Cuba’s National Assembly chose him to succeed Raúl Castro.

Lawmakers in July approved the new constitution with the marriage amendment.

The Cuban government is currently holding meetings that allow members of the public to comment on the new constitution. The National Assembly later this year is expected to finalize it before a referendum that is scheduled to take place in February 2019.

The debate over whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples is taking place less than 60 years after gay men were among those sent to labor camps — known by the Spanish acronym UMAPs — after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

Fidel Castro in 2010 apologized for the UMAPs during an interview with a Mexican newspaper. His niece, Mariela Castro, a member of the National Assembly who directs the country’s National Center for Sexual Education, over the last decade has spearheaded LGBTI-specific issues in the Communist country.

Díaz-Canel, who was born after the revolution, supported an LGBTI cultural center in the city of Santa Clara when he was secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Villa Clara Province. Díaz-Canel also defended Mariela Castro’s doctoral thesis that focused on the integration of transgender people in Cuban society.

Independent LGBTI activists with whom the Blade regularly speaks insist they continue to face harassment and even arrest if they publicly criticize Mariela Castro and/or the Cuban government.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Romania’s top court says marriage is for straights Romania’s top court on Monday by a 7-2 vote margin approved a proposed referendum on whether to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Activists in the European country sharply criticized the decision.

“The referendum affects directly the status of Romanian democracy,” Vlad Viski, executive director of MozaiQ, a Romanian LGBTI advocacy group, told the Washington Blade on Monday in a statement. “It leads to discrimination against the LGBT community, separating us in (sic) first class and second class citizens.”

The Coalition for Family, a group of 23 organizations that oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples, in 2015 launched a campaign in support of amending Romania’s constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

The campaign collected 3 million signatures.

Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who went to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, traveled to Romania, which is a member of the European Union, last year with the Liberty Counsel, an anti-LGBT legal group.

Romanian Senate committees on Sept. 4 approved the proposed referendum. It received the full backing of the Romanian Senate last week.

ILGA Europe Litigation Officer Arpi Avetisyan in a statement said Romania “has a responsibility to protect all its citizens — straight and LGBTI.” “The definition of ‘family’ put forward by the supporters of this referendum is frankly inaccurate; it only captures a very limited fraction of what family means to people in 2008,” said Avetisyan. “And it is also very out-of-step with reality and with the diversity of families being recognized by international human rights bodies and European courts.”

The referendum is scheduled to take place on Oct. 6-7.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S

Chile trans rights bill wins final approval A bill that would allow transgender people over 14 in Chile to legally change their name and gender without surgery received final approval last week.

The bill passed in the Chilean House of Deputies by a 95-46 vote. It now goes to President Sebastián Piñera for his signature.

“Today Chile takes a historic step forward in the inclusion of transgender identities,” tweeted Organizando Trans Diversidades, a trans advocacy group.

“Let’s now erradicate transphobia in schools, on the streets and in workplaces: Today it is everyone’s responsibility to protect trans youth.”

A trans rights bill has been before Chilean lawmakers since 2013. It received renewed attention earlier this year after “A Fantastic Woman,” a Chilean film that stars trans actress Daniela Vega, won the Oscar for best foreign language film.

The Chilean Senate on Sept. 4 gave its final approval to the bill, even though the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation and other advocacy groups continue to challenge the exclusion of minors who are under 14-years-old.

Piñera, who publicly supports the bill, has 30 days to sign it.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Trump slammed for Puerto Rico death toll remarks President Trump was widely condemned last week when he dismissed Hurricane Maria’s official death toll in Puerto Rico without any credible evidence to support his claims.

“3,000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico,” said Trump in one of two tweets, referring to Maria, which made landfall in Puerto Rico’s southeast coast on Sept. 20, Damage and debris from Hurricane Maria on 2017, and Hurricane Irma, which a beach in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 1. brushed the U.S. commonwealth WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS less than two weeks earlier.

“When I left the island, after the storm had hit, they had anywhere from six to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3,000.”

Trump in a second tweet accused Democrats of inflating the death toll “in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising billions of dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico.”

“If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list,” he said. “Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico.”

Trump made his comments less than three weeks after Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló accepted the findings of a George Washington University study that attributed 2,975 deaths to Maria. Trump also took to Twitter as Hurricane Florence was beginning to batter the North Carolina coast.

“The president’s statements questioning the number of people who died as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria are deplorable,” Omar GonzalezPagan, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal who is from Puerto Rico, told the Washington Blade from San Juan. “They demonstrate that the president is not only divorced from reality, but also his utter disregard for people’s suffering and, frankly, his cruelty.”

“Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans died as a result of Hurricanes Maria and Irma,” he added. “Their lives matter.”

Wilfred Labiosa, co-founder of Waves Ahead, a group that is helping LGBTI Puerto Ricans and other vulnerable groups recover from Maria, echoed Gonzalez-Pagan when he spoke to the Blade on Thursday from Puerto Rico.

Labiosa added Trump’s tweets “reflect the lack of acceptance of Puerto Ricans as U.S. citizens.”

“It reflects that Puerto Rico is not a commonwealth but a colony of U.S. that we can be dispensable to the U.S.,” Labiosa told the Blade.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 4 • S EPTE MB ER 21, 2018

NEWS

LGBT groups condemn Kavanaugh amid new allegations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

an opportunity to do more than just talk about their commitment to taking issues of sexual assault seriously. Now is their opportunity to take concrete action to back up those words.”

After Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last week announced she had sent an anonymous accusation Kavanaugh as a teenage student at Georgetown Preparatory School attempted to sexually assault a woman, Ford came out as the alleged survivor of sexual assault in an interview published Sunday in the Washington Post.

Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in Northern California, said the assault took place in the summer in the early 1980s, when at a party Kavanaugh tried to pin her down and attempted to remove her clothes. When she tried to scream, Ford said Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth.

Ford said Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend at the time, jumped on top of them, causing all three of them to tumble and allowing her to break free. Ford said she initially locked herself in a bathroom, then fled the house.

Ford said she told no one about the incident until 2012, when she was in couples’ therapy with her husband.

According to the Post, Ford provided notes from the therapist at the time that don’t mention Kavanaugh by name, but says she was attacked by students “from an elitist boys’ school” who became “highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.”

Her husband, Russell Ford, corroborated to the Post his spouse told the allegations to a therapist, used Kavanaugh’s last name at the time and expressed concern he might one day be nominated to the Supreme Court. That ended up coming to pass when President Trump nominated Kavanaugh this year for the seat occupied by U.S. Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The Post also reports Ford consulted Debra Katz, a D.C.-based lawyer known for her work on sexual harassment cases.

After Katz recommended to Ford she take a lie detector test, Ford undertook one in early August administered by a former FBI agent. According to the Post, the results concluded Ford was being truthful.

Kavanaugh, who had previously denied engaging in sexual assault when the charges were anonymous, repeated his denial in a statement responding to Ford coming out publicly with the allegations.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation,” Kavanaugh said. “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

Ford’s story prompted senators on both sides of the aisle to the call for a halt to the confirmation proceedings for Kavanaugh. After a week of raucous

hearings earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote on his nomination Thursday.

The committee has invited Ford and Kavanaugh to testify on Monday but Ford’s attorneys have since indicated they want an FBI investigation into the allegations before she testifies.

Republicans have so far pushed back and President Trump has said he does not support an FBI investigation.

Prior to the accusation from Ford, Kavanaugh’s confirmation was likely in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Nonetheless, progressive and LGBT groups engaged in a concerted campaign to thwart his nomination over concerns he’d issue anti-LGBT rulings from the Supreme Court and overturn Roe v. Wade.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, commended Ford for coming forward and said the Senate must put the brakes on the Kavanaugh nomination.

“Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination process has been anything but transparent, and now with this grave charge of sexual assault, this process must be halted immediately,” Griffin said. “Moving forward with this confirmation process without conducting a thorough investigation would be deeply troubling and offensive to the American people, but more importantly to survivors of sex crimes across the country.

It would communicate their trauma isn’t worthy of justice if a person sitting on the nation’s highest court can be confirmed without being investigated for alleged sexual violence.”

A week prior to the Kavanaugh committee vote, Feinstein said she delivered material on the allegations to the FBI so the agency can conduct an investigation into the allegations. Last week, the FBI reportedly said it wouldn’t conduct a criminal investigation into the matter and instead referred the issue to the White House for review. It remains to be seen what action the FBI will now take in the aftermath of Ford going public with her allegations.

Rick Zbur, executive director for Equality California, went further in his statement and said the time has come for Trump to withdraw the Kavanaugh nomination.

“These charges are serious and disqualifying,” Zbur said. “They would be for any person in any circumstance, and are particularly so for someone nominated to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Ms. Ford should never have had to come forward, but now that she has chosen to share her story, it is critical that law enforcement be given adequate time to thoroughly investigate Judge Kavanaugh’s conduct. The stakes are too high for his nomination to proceed, and the White House should withdraw it immediately.”

The White House had yet to respond to Ford coming forward with her allegations as of late Sunday evening.

Indie actor MASSIMO DOBROVIC with ‘Call Me By Your Name’ producer HOWARD ROSENMAN.

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY SUSAN HORNIK

Emmy’s 70th a big night for LGBTQ nominees LOS ANGELES — The 70th annual Emmy Awards gave the LGBTQ community historic, almost matter of fact visibility, with more LGBT winners than ever before.

Executive producer Ryan Murphy was elated about winning the Emmy for FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”

“This was a story I was passionate about very early on,” he said backstage at the pressroom. “I wanted to tell the story. I was in LA five years when Andrew Cunanan started his spree. I felt it was a story that needed to be told. The themes and issues that we talk about in the show are as modern as ever, if not more so.”

Murphy added that he was always “happy” to make a political statement in everything he does.

“The statistic that I said, which was one out in four LGBTQ Americans will be the victim of a hate crime, is true and heinous. As a gay man who was told when I started off in the business that I could not even write in 1998 a gay character… the idea that now, 20 years later, I get to tell the story and proselytize for my community is important to me.”

RuPaul made Emmy history, with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” becoming the first competition show to win the Outstanding Reality-Competition Series and Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program award in the same year.

During the pressroom interview, the veteran drag performer/singer/actor talked about why the series is so popular.

“There’s an interesting balance of entertainment and deep stories that really touch our audience. We started out this show to celebrate the art of drag, and in doing so, we brought along a bunch of kids who had varied backgrounds.

Writer/performer, Frank DeCaro, talked with the Blade about the excitement he felt after watching the awards.

“I can’t truly gauge the state of LGBTQ representation on screen — that’s a job for GLAAD — but I can say it was a banner year for LGBTQ wins at the Emmys.

Ryan Murphy, RuPaul, ‘Queer Eye,’ ‘Drag Race,’ and ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ all took home major awards,” he enthused.

Indie actor Massimo Dobrovic had a grand time dancing to the fabulous edm beats at the party, and felt hopeful about a more inclusive Hollywood community.

“I can’t hide my enthusiasm toward all the marvelous LGBTQ friends that won! Ricky Martin has been one of my biggest idols all my life, because of his charisma, dancing ability and persona. Ryan Murphy inspires me everyday of my life, as I also work on horror-themed programming.”

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 6 • S EPTE MB ER 21, 2018

NATIONAL NEWS

LGBT candidates could produce rainbow wave in November CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

endorsed in 2016 and the 162 it endorsed in the 2014 cycle.

Annise Parker, a lesbian former mayor of Houston and CEO of the Victory Fund, said in an interview with the Washington Blade her organization endorsed slightly half of “an unprecedented number” of more than 430 openly LGBT candidates running this cycle.

“It’s part of a larger surge of candidates who are women candidates, who are people of color, candidates who are from immigrant communities — all of whom feel they are under attack and want to have a place in the political process to push back on some of the rollbacks on civil rights,” Parker said.

Among the candidates Victory Fund has endorsed this cycle are 13 candidates running for federal office, including two running in U.S. Senate races, four candidates running for governor, as well as candidates seeking state legislative seats and statewide office.

Another factor in having a record number of openly LGBT candidates running for office, Parker said, is the success enjoyed by previous LGBT candidates who sought office and won elections.

“Success breeds more candidates who want to obtain that same success,” Parker added.

In the aftermath of the 2018 primary season, the Democratic National Committee is claiming an even broader number of at least 126 LGBT candidates this cycle as a result of these hopefuls winning the Democratic nomination in their states.

The portion of non-incumbents in this list is high. Of the 19 openly LGBT people nominated by Democrats for federal office, 14 are non-incumbents.

Of the 13 openly LGBT people nominated by Democrats for statewide office, nine are incumbents.

Democrats also nominated at least 101 openly LGBT non-incumbents for state legislative seats across 32 different states and U.S. territories, according to the DNC. Lucas Acosta, director of LGBTQ media for the DNC, said the party is proud of the number of LGBT candidates running under the Democratic banner this election cycle.

“In 2018, LGBTQ Democrats are stepping up to the plate, making history, and breaking records,” Acosta said. “Our community deserves a seat at every table and a voice in every legislature. Too often, decisions about us are made without us.

That’s why the DNC is excited to support LGBTQ candidates up and down the ballot across the country.”

Many of these LGBT candidates would

achieve significant milestones by winning elections no LGBT person has won before: • Two candidates — Jared Polis and Lupe Valdez — could be the first openly gay people to win elections as governor.

Polis is running in Colorado and Valdez is running in Texas.

• Another candidate, Christine Hallquist, is running in Vermont and could be the first openly transgender person to be elected and serve as governor.

• In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown is seeking re-election after being appointed to office and winning election to one term. Brown, who was the first openly LGBT and first out bisexual to win election as governor, would be the first openly bisexual person to win re-election as governor.

• In Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema could be the first openly bisexual person elected to a seat in the U.S. Senate. Also running for re-election to the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin is Tammy Baldwin, an LGBT favorite and the longest-serving openly gay member of Congress.

• Two candidates — Ricardo Lara and Nelson Araujo — could the first openly gay people of color to win election to statewide office. Lara is running in California to become insurance commissioner and Araujo is running in Nevada to become secretary of state.

• The 14 non-incumbent openly LGBT Democratic nominees running for federal office could significantly shake up LGBT representation in Congress if they each won. Those wins would more than triple the current number of eight lesbian, gay and bisexual lawmakers serving in the House and Senate.

In the aftermath of primary season, Democrats have nominated for governor one candidate for each letter of the LGBT acronym. Valdez represents the lesbian community in Texas, Polis represents the gay community in Colorado, Brown represents the bisexual community in Oregon and Hallquist represents the transgender community in Vermont.

Parker said LGBT candidates are “achieving milestones just by sheer number of people running,” but particularly in those gubernatorial races.

“With four candidates interestingly representing every aspect of the alphabet — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” Parker said. “We’ve broken a milestone just by them becoming nominees whether or not they win in November.”

Parker said the LGBT women candidates are poised to make great strides in the upcoming election as female candidates generally have won over male contenders in the 2018 primary season. Among them are Gina Ortiz Jones, a lesbian Air Force veteran

running for Congress in Texas, and Angie Craig, who’s running for election to Congress in Minnesota after losing by one point in 2016.

“Whether lesbian or bisexual or straight, women candidates are outperforming male candidates in most races,” Parker added.

In contrast to the wide array of LGBT candidates the Democrats have nominated for office, the Republican Party’s embrace of LGBT candidates is much smaller. There has always been a significant disparity in the number of LGBT candidates nominated by the parties, but Republicans have in years past usually at least fielded one openly LGBT candidate, such as perennial Massachusetts congressional candidate Richard Tisei.

The Victory Fund — which as a bipartisan organization has traditionally endorsed Republican LGBT candidates as long as they support LGBT rights — has thrown its support behind five GOP contenders this cycle, four of whom will be on the ballot in November.

But Parker said the number and nature of LGBT candidates running on the Republican ticket has declined from previous years.

“There was a slow rise of Republican congressional nominees,” Parker said.

“For example, in 2012, there was one, in 2014, there were two, in 2016, there were three. Unsuccessful, but they were running. This year there were none.”

Parker attributed the lack of LGBT candidates running under the Republican banner to the anti-LGBT policies of the GOP and Trump administration.

“It’s not there aren’t LGBT Republicans,” Parker said. “I think the Republican Party is making it harder and harder for mainstream, fiscally conservative, socially liberal candidates to get elected and there are candidates either choosing to stay closeted or switch parties or not run.”

Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, said LGBT candidate recruitment “has never been the mission of Log Cabin Republicans,” but disputed the notion LGBT Republican candidates are in decline.

“There were a number of gay Republicans running for federal office this year, all of whom Log Cabin Republicans was tracking; unfortunately none emerged victorious in their primaries,” Angelo said.

Significant attention is also being placed on transgender candidates, who previously had infinitesimal representation in public office. That changed in 2017 after Virginia State Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) became the first openly transgender person elected and seated to a state legislature and

other transgender candidates won in local races.

The Victory Fund has endorsed 11 transgender candidates this cycle, eight of whom will be on the ballot in November.

The most high profile is Hallquist’s quest for the governorship in Vermont.

Parker credited Hallquist for being nominated in “the highest level race” for a transgender candidate and being “a wellqualified candidate, very comfortable with the issues in Vermont and well known in the state.”

“The fact that voters in Vermont got behind an openly trans candidate in a big way and carried her to a primary victory and positioned her to be the Democratic nominee as governor is...a new milestone for the community,” Parker said.

Drawing a distinction between transgender candidates and the decline in LGBT Republicans candidates, Parker said “there are more out trans elected officials than out Republican LGBT elected officials.”

But being nominated for public office is one thing and winning the election is another. Many of these LGBT candidates face daunting odds in winning election in November and may have to rely on the boost from the expected “blue” wave to achieve victory. Among them is Hallquist, who’s running against a popular GOP incumbent in Vermont.

In Texas, a Quinnipiac poll found Valdez is significantly behind Gov. Texas Greg Abbott, who as part of a significant anti-LGBT record made an unsuccessful attempt at passing anti-trans bathroom legislation a priority. Abbott leads Valdez 58–39 percent among likely voters.

But in Arizona, a new CNN poll this week shows Sinema leading Republican opponent Martha McSally by seven points, 50-43.

Parker cautioned against placing too much emphasis on the need for these candidates to win election to make an impact.

“Don’t discount the fact that they run and whether or not they win or lose,” Parker said. “If they run good races and address issues important to their constituents, they are plowing the ground for the next wave of candidates, and the next and the next.”

Still, Parker acknowledged wins for these candidates would be significant, especially if they’re part of a “blue” wave that wins a majority in the U.S. House, or even the U.S. Senate, in November.

“Many of them are in marginal seats, ‘red’ to ‘blue’ seats,” Parker said. “If they win their seats, they’re going to be part of the Democratic wave that looks poised to sweep into Washington and if there’s a change in leadership in the House of Representatives, it creates a whole new ball game.”

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LGBT candidates to watch WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

JARED POLIS Where: Colorado Could be: 1st openly gay person elected governor

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KATE BROWN Where: Oregon Could be: 1st out bisexual re-elected governor

PHOTO COURTESY OF HALLQUIST CAMPAIGN

CHRISTINE HALLQUIST

Where: Vermont Could be: 1st out transgender person elected as governor

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LUPE VALDEZ Where: Texas Could be: 1st out lesbian elected governor

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TAMMY BALDWIN Where: Wisconsin Could be: 1st out lesbian re-elected to U.S. Senate

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANA ISABEL PHOTOGRAPHY

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KYRSTEN SINEMA Where: Arizona Could be: 1st out bisexual elected to U.S. Senate

GINA ORTIZ JONES Where: Texas Could be: 1st out Texan elected to Congress

PHOTO COURTESY OF BAER CAMPAIGN

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG CAMPAIGN

LAUREN BAER Where: Florida Could be: 1st out Floridian elected to Congress

ANGIE CRAIG Where: Minnesota Could be: 1st out Minnesotan elected to Congress

Candidates for governor U.S. Senate candidates

U.S. House candidates Other statewide candidates

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVIDS CAMPAIGN

SHARICE DAVIDS Where: Kansas Could be: 1st out Kansan & 1st female Native American in Congress

PHOTO COURTESY OF HILL CAMPAIGN

KATIE HILL Where: California Could be: Only out woman in U.S. House

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEAL CAMPAIGN

RICK NEAL Where: Ohio Could be: 1st out Ohioan elected to Congress

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAPPAS CAMPAIGN

CHRIS PAPPAS Where: New Hampshire Could be: 1st out person in New Hampshire in Congress

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MARK TAKANO Where: California

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LARA CAMPAIGN

NELSON ARAUJO Where: Nevada Could be: 1st gay person of color elected to statewide office

RICARDO LARA Where: California Could be: 1st gay person of color elected to statewide office

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MARK POCAN Where: Wisconsin

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DAVID CICILLINE Where: Rhode Island

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MAURA HEALEY Where: Massachusetts Could be: 1st out person re-elected as state attorney general

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SEAN PATRICK MALONEY Where: New York

Gay incumbents seeking re-election to U.S. House

PHOTO COURTESY OF NESSEL CAMPAIGN

DANA NESSEL Where: Michigan Could be: Second openly gay state attorney general

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOSCHEE CAMPAIGN

JOSH BOSCHEE Where: North Dakota Could be: 1st openly gay person elected to N.D. statewide office

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H E A LT H N E W S

Trans youth more likely to attempt suicide

WILLIAM ELLIOT GONZALEZ William Elliot Gonzalez, 48, of Hillsborough, North Carolina, formerly of Washington, D.C., passed suddenly and unexpectedly of natural causes September 9, 2018, at his home in the company of his beloved doggies.

Public visitation is 6:00-7:30pm Friday, September 21, and a memorial service at 11am Saturday, September 22 at Walker’s Funeral Home, Mebane, North Carolina. A DC service may occur at a later date.

William was born to William Elion Gonzalez and the former Maria Alvarado on January 6, 1970, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. They then moved to their hometown, Villarba, Puerto Rico, where he graduated high school in 1987, serving as class president. In young adulthood, he also lived with family in Panama, Hawaii, Spain and Italy.

In 1992, William graduated from Pontifical Catholic University in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with a Bachelors of Science in Accounting, and worked as a CPA for Miami-based motion picture studio. Later moving to New York City, William explored becoming a modern dancer, then from 1994-2000, was an agent for Ford Modeling and Wilhelmina Modeling, the top companies in the industry. He scouted, groomed, and promoted new faces in fashion, with several clients becoming famous. He cited the main character in “The Devil Wears Prada” as reflective of his industry time. But promoting luxury starkly contrasted with his Alphabet City neighborhood where he witnessed people with addiction, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS. In 2001, he joined the Community Service Society of New York; six months later, when the World Trade Center was destroyed, William walked 21 blocks to Canal and 7th Avenue to distribute bottled water, and emergency and medical supplies for days. He decided to move to Washington, D.C. in April 2002 to pursue a new career in social work. Two weeks later, he met the person who became his husband of more than 16 years, Todd Atkinson; both are longtime residents of Capitol Hill. In 2016, William moved to North Carolina to be nearer to his ailing parents.

William graduated from Trinity University with a Bachelors in Sociology in 2006, and obtained his Masters Degree in Social Work from National Catholic University School of Social Services in 2011. A LCSW, William worked in school-based settings, primary care and outpatient mental health, specializing in trauma, immigrants and Spanish-speaking communities. William received advanced training in modalities including EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and both levels of Trauma Certification at the Ferentz Institute of Advanced Psychotherapy. He worked at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Charlie’s Place at St. Margarets, La Clinica Del Pueblo (all DC); Vesta, A Quiet Journey (Silver Spring); YMCA Linkages to Learning, and the Department of Human Services (all Montgomery County); Synergy Family Services in Hyattsville; El Futuro in Durham, Orange County Rape Crisis Center in Chapel Hill, and his private practice, Arawak Counseling, LLC. William enjoyed bike riding, canvas painting, cooking, gardening, music, reading, dog fostering, and spending time with nieces and nephews. He liked telenovelas, independent/foreign films and practicing mindfulness including walking his dogs. He loved the Nearness of You sung by Norah Jones; Time After Time; Seasons of Love; zen and Andean music; and Mexican rancheras. His favorite foods were pan dulce, ice cream, drunken noodles, pernil, and high quality tequila Margaritas.

William is survived by Todd of Washington, D.C.; parents, William and Maria of Yanceyville, NC; paternal grandmother Juanita Lopez of Florida, sisters Vilma (Maurice) Ferrell of Yanceyville, Jeanette (Jorge) Azcuy of Danville, VA, and Wanda (Gilberto) Toledo of Hollywood, Florida; brothers Juan (Wendy) of Danville and Efrain (Rosa) of Hollywood; nieces Aliyah and Emily Ferrell, Isabella (Izzy) Gonzalez, Roslyn and Jessica Gonzalez, Givette Marin, Rosie and Ellie Atkinson; nephews Sean Ferrell, J.C. Gonzalez, Michael Gonzalez, Giordan Toledo, and Sam Atkinson; dogs, Dulce and Pepe; and cats Beto and Ferd. Willie (Willito) also is survived by a host of aunts, uncles, cousins.

He was predeceased by three grandparents, dogs Rocket and Bibi, cat Mara, and egg-laying hens Ivanka, Melania and Vanessa.

William enjoyed orange Mexican marigolds; or consider donating to Chances Angel Rescue and Education dog rescue of Rougemont, NC, or the William E. Gonzalez Social Work Scholarship.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Transgender adolescents are far more likely to attempt suicide than teens whose identity matches what it says on their birth certificates and trans male youth are especially at risk, Reuters reports citing a U.S. study.

Roughly half of transgender teens who identify as male but were assigned a female gender at birth have attempted suicide at least once, the study found.

And 42 percent of adolescents who don’t identify exclusively as male or female have at least one prior suicide attempt, Reuters reports.

About 30 percent of trans female teens, who identify as female but have birth certificates that label them as male, have tried suicide at least once, as have 28 percent of adolescents who are questioning their gender identity, the study also found.

In contrast to all of these groups of transgender teens, just 18 percent of females and 10 percent of males who are cisgender have attempted suicide.

“Our findings are startling,” said study leader Russell Toomey of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“Previous studies had already demonstrated that transgender teens reported higher levels of suicidal behavior compared to cisgender adolescents, but our study is the first to go beyond this type of crude comparison to examine whether there are critical differences in suicidal behavior within transgender youth populations,” Toomey told Reuters by email.

“While all four transgender subgroups reported higher levels compared to cisgender female and male youth, it is important for targeted prevention and intervention efforts to know that transmasculine and nonbinary trans youth are at higher risk,” Toomey added.

To assess the connection between gender identity and suicide risk, researchers examined survey data collected between 2012-2015 from more than 120,000 youth nationwide ranging in age from 11-19, Reuters reports.

Participants were 15 years old on average, and less than 1 percent of them identified as transgender. Among other things, the survey asked teens if they had tried to kill themselves one or more times.

Overall, nearly 14 percent of the participants said they had, researchers report in Pediatrics.

Parents’ education levels and family socioeconomic status didn’t appear to influence whether teens would attempt suicide, the study also found.

LGB teens more likely to use 3 substances WASHINGTON — Young LGB people are at an increased risk of using substances such as alcohol, nicotine and marijuana, Millennium Post reports.

The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, suggested that they are also at higher risk of polysubstance use than their straight peers.

“This data shows definitively that polysubstance use is an issue among many youth who identify as sexual minorities, meaning they are facing added health risks,” said Sarah Dermody, assistant professor at the Oregon State University.

“But there are also differences among the subgroups of youth who identify as sexual minorities, suggesting we need to look beyond the averages to understand what factors may be influencing substance use in this population,” Dermody said, according to Millennium Post.

For the study, the team involved more than 15,000 LGB youth. The goal was to better understand the risks associated with polysubstance use, or the use of three or more types of drugs, among sexual minority youth. The data showed that there is a sizable number of youth, both straight and LGB, who don’t use any substances at all, Dermody said.

Support recommended for trans children NEW YORK — A doctors group took a stand in support of transgender children Monday, offering advice in what it called “a rapidly evolving” field, the Associated Press reports.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended support for kids who change their names or hairstyles to affirm their chosen gender identity. The group said children are more likely to have better physical and mental health with such support, AP reports.

The policy describes interventions including hormones to suppress puberty and even surgery for teens on a case-by-case basis. It calls for advocacy in favor of laws protecting transgender youth from discrimination.

The recommendations, published in the journal Pediatrics, come at a time when the Trump administration has put the brakes on such protections, the AP reports.

A study earlier this year found nearly 3 percent of U.S. youth identify as transgender or by other nontraditional gender terms.

The doctors group, which represents 67,000 physicians who treat children and young adults, previously has made public statements in response to so-called bathroom legislation involving transgender people, but this is its first policy statement, the AP reports.

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Blue wave builds, red regime unravels As political tide turns, our constitutional system shows resilience

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL is a writer and activist.

Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.

Our politics are like a major storm watch. Most of us think we are not in the flood zone, that others bear the risk. But our civic foundations are eroding, and much of what our forebears won for us could be swept away. Yet hopes are rising as the Trumpist storm feeds on itself.

Paul Manafort has flipped. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is tightening the noose.

As Hurricane Florence bore down on the Carolinas, Donald Trump disputed the official death toll from last year’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, a debacle for which (as always) he gave himself an A+. Meanwhile, the purported Deep State turned out to be led by the president’s own staff.

Trump’s shrillness increases against his predecessor, his defeated rival, his critics, reporters, and athletes. As he unravels, he

resembles Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny. He is both dangerous and ridiculous.

He is an improbable leader, which is why few took his candidacy seriously.

Demagoguery is not defeated by pretending it doesn’t work. The most strident professed patriots are those attacking American institutions and saying “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat.” Defeating them requires persuading voters, not calling them stupid. Democratic candidates are learning this lesson. They are listening to voters and addressing their needs while conservatives cackle past the graveyard mocking “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Smartphone warriors on platforms like Reddit love wielding over-the-top verbal missiles like “Ben Shapiro ABSOLUTELY DEMOLISHES Libtard Feminazi Charlie Kirk.” This recalls the plague victim in Monty Python’s “Bring out your dead” scene who cries, “I’m not dead!” Trump’s true believers hurl schoolyard taunts at Bob Woodward’s detailed reportage, yet it remains very much alive. Appealing to reason instead of passion is harder, but success in that effort is more enduring.

In sorting out candidates, we do well to consider what people’s best roles are.

Everyone who excels at what they do doesn’t merit a promotion. Here are two examples: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is sharpwitted and effective at grilling witnesses.

Stormy Daniels’s attorney Michael Avenatti is bold, scrappy, and well suited to E DIT OR IA L C A R T OON

taking on Trump’s nihilist right. Neither should be president. The Democratic standard bearer needs to connect with independents as well as party stalwarts.

Avenatti, age 47, at least passes the entry-level test of whether presidential candidates are closer to 48 than 78. Most Democratic presidential aspirants meet basic criteria of smartness, diligence, sanity, and non-treasonousness. Several, however, are over 70. It is time for the Democratic team to freshen its bench.

It bodes well for 2020 that the midterms have brought so many new faces, including a record number of women. There are signs of a turning tide. Ohio billionaire and Republican donor Les Wexner has renounced the party and praised President Obama. Boston billionaire Seth Klarman, previously New England’s biggest Republican donor, is giving millions this year to Democrats. The Pew Research Center reports a surge in turnout for this year’s U.S. House primaries, especially among Democrats. Many Centrist Democrats have adopted popular progressive policies. Our besieged constitutional system shows resilience.

Restoring our republic requires adding votes, not subtracting them through ideological purification. As Joe Biden likes to quote his father, “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.”

News broke on Sept. 16 that Christine Blasey Ford has come forward with her allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago in high school.

She told The Washington Post about it before Kavanaugh’s nomination, and passed a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent.

Stephanie Mencimer notes in Mother Jones that the alleged witness in the case, Mark Judge, who attended Georgetown Prep with Kavanaugh, has written about rampant drunken partying there. That might explain his inability to remember the incident.

Senate Republicans have used a process complaint about the lateness of the charge to distract from its credible substance, inadvertently demonstrating why victims of such assaults hesitate to speak up. Power trumps all for the Republicans, who are in a hurry to install a wildly unrepresentative right wing majority on the court while they can.

The battle over what kind of country we will be goes on.

Copyright © 2018 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved.

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In Trump era, we need a robust Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ group embarks on largest expansion in its history

PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

The Human Rights Campaign seems to always top its previous national dinners with both entertainment and a keynote speaker. But last Saturday evening they had a nearly impossible task in matching the reception Hillary Rodham Clinton got last year. In this craziness we are living one cannot help but think of what could have been had Hillary been president including the raft of administration officials who would have been at this year’s dinner.

This year’s keynote speaker was Joe Biden.

Dr. Jill Biden spoke first about their foundation and she is quite a person in her own right. Then it was ‘Uncle Joe’ as so many call

him who stepped to the podium and got a standing ovation with some shouts of 2020.

This was reminiscent of the reception he got when he spoke at the dinner in 2015. He said all the right things and as always with passion.

The speech meandered without direction and you couldn’t help but feel ‘I love this man’ and thank him for all he has done; but many in the room said they hoped like in 2015 he would eventually announce he has decided not to run. Reality sets in and he would be nearly 80 when he took office and like with so many of us Baby Boomers, age begins to show.

The second major speaker of the evening, former Attorney General Eric Holder, has also made some noise about wanting to run in 2020. He gave a good speech and spoke of the important work he is doing with former President Obama on the issue of redistricting. He is right we need to stop the gerrymandering of congressional districts.

The program also featured trailblazing Virginia Del. Danica Roem and candidate for Nevada Secretary of State, Nelson Araujo. Unfortunately those at the dinner didn’t get to hear Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia who earlier in the day had addressed HRC leaders and members from across the country. But Andrew Gillum, hopefully the next governor of Florida, was in the room.

HRC’s President Chad Griffin spoke eloquently addressing the sell-out crowd of more than 3,600 people at the Walter Washington Convention Center. His words were similar to those he spoke last year when he said “It’s not enough to resist the hateful policies and attacks coming from the TrumpPence regime — we’ve got to accelerate the pace of progress toward full equality and secure protections for LGBTQ people in states and communities across the country. That’s why we’re going on offense with the largest grassroots expansion in HRC’s 37-year history. Our grassroots army of over 3 million has proven that, even in the face of unprecedented challenges, we can make incredible progress and defeat the hateful politicians who’ve been emboldened by Donald Trump when we organize and mobilize.”

He said because of our work and that of our allies we can be proud record numbers of LGBTQ+ candidates are on the ballot in November running for school board to state legislature, from governors to members of Congress. He reminded the crowd “we have 51 days of work before we can claim victory for all those candidates and that will only happen if we VOTE.” Actress Anne Hathaway received HRC’s National Equality Award. One of the biggest ovations of the evening came for Adam Rip-

pon, Olympic figure skating champion who has used his voice to speak out for the LGBTQ+ community in a way that has reached millions. Adam introduced Shea Diamond, a transgender woman of color, who sang and wowed the audience both with her voice and the words of her song. Comedian Dana Goldberg hosted the live auction which raised nearly $300,000 for the organization.

There is much people find to criticize about HRC. The dinner as always was attended overwhelmingly by white people of privilege. It is stunning how much money is in the room. This year, two people competed with the winning bid being $100,000 for a cruise to Antarctica. I have criticized the organization many times over many issues. But reality is the people at the national dinner and those at similar dinners across the nation (and many of their members who can’t afford to attend the dinners but donate) understand organizations like HRC need money to exist and to do their work. Make no mistake the work they do is important.

In today’s world we need HRC and Griffin is doing a good job leading the organization. We can argue with one or the other of the decisions the organization makes but I for one am glad they exist and continue to fight for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community here and around the globe.

V I E WPO I N T

Stakes high as Mass. voters consider overturning trans law Outcome could lead to a rollback of rights elsewhere

By JON DAVIDSON The Nov. 6 election will be monumentally consequential for LGBTQ people. Voters not only will decide who will control the House of Representatives and the Senate and who will hold numerous state and local government offices; they also will decide whether Massachusetts will continue to have a state law that protects transgender people against discrimination in public places, such as restaurants, stores, and doctors’ offices.

This is the first time a law prohibiting gender identity discrimination is being put to a statewide vote. It should be the last time as well. For that to happen, however, LGBTQ people need to do all we can to support the Yes on 3 campaign.

There are many reasons we should care about this ballot measure. One is that what happens in Massachusetts this November could lead to significant rollbacks in the rights of LGBTQ people nationwide.

Massachusetts has long been a leader in LGBTQ rights. It was the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry. It was the second (after Wisconsin) to bar sexual orientation discrimination in employment, housing, and

public accommodations. If our opposition can persuade voters to overturn a nondiscrimination statute protecting transgender people in a place like Massachusetts, it will be a perilous harbinger for similar laws in other states. Anti-LGBTQ forces will be emboldened to go after gender identity and sexual orientation protections elsewhere, and there’s no reason why California won’t be target number two.

Indeed, the head of the Massachusetts Family Institute explicitly told Politico that November’s Massachusetts vote is a bellwether that will determine where they seek to repeal LGBTQ protections next. On the other hand, if Massachusetts voters uphold these protections, it will help pave the way to enacting explicit sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination protections nationwide, including at the federal level.

What has happened in Massachusetts has had repercussions before. In 1992, Massachusetts’ then-governor, Republican William Weld, appointed a Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. That commission recommended that schools protect students by, among other things, including gay content in school curricula and libraries. Anti-LGBTQ forces unsuccessfully sued to challenge that. One couple who joined the suit objected that their son was read a story at school about two princes who

fell in love with one another. When California voters were considering Proposition 8, which sought to overturn marriage equality, Prop. 8 proponents brought that couple to California for a statewide bus tour to “prove” that allowing same-sex couples to marry would lead to same-sex marriage being taught in California’s schools (even though that unsuccessful lawsuit long predated Massachusetts allowing samesex couples to marry). We’ve thus seen it already: What happens in Massachusetts doesn’t stay there.

Our community needs to remember Prop. 8’s subsequent passage just 10 years ago and what it felt like to have the state’s voters take back a right we had just won.

The message of rejection by a majority of the electorate was heartbreaking. We can’t let a setback like that happen again, even on the other side of the country.

It was transgender people who led the Stonewall rebellion. LGB people and T people also share the same opponents. Those opponents misunderstand, fear, and dislike lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and transgender people for very similar reasons—because we don’t conform to their gender stereotypes.

Whether they think men should only be with women, women should only be with men, or people should forever identify as they were identified at birth, it is a very narrow definition

of what kind of men and women are acceptable that is the base of all anti-LGBTQ bias.

Indeed, laws like the one now under attack in Massachusetts don’t only protect transgender people; they protect all people discriminated against because they are perceived as gender non-conforming.

A study released last week by the UCLAaffiliated Williams Institute think tank proved that Massachusetts localities that enacted gender identity nondiscrimination protections prior to the state nondiscrimination law actually had fewer privacy and safety criminal incidents in restrooms and changing rooms than similar localities in the state that did not have such protections. There’s little doubt that antiLGBTQ forces nonetheless will continue to use scare tactics, falsely asserting that legally protecting transgender people in public places endangers women and children in restrooms and locker rooms — just like they falsely asserted that letting same-sex couples marry would lead to the destruction of marriage.

If lies and scapegoating of members of our community can prevail in one state, those tactics will spread. We can’t afford a flashback to the Prop. 8 election. Go to www.freedommassachusetts.org/takeaction/ to learn how to help.

JON DAVIDSON is chief counsel for Freedom for All Americans.

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D.C. housing market: bang for the buck From staff reports Even if you’re not shopping for houses, it’s fun to see what kind of digs you can get at various price points in different neighborhoods. We asked local realtors to give us some current and recent listings to get a sense of how much bang you can get for your buck in Washington these days. Information courtesy Coldwell Banker Homes.

$1 million and up Logan Circle — 1620 15th St., N.W., 5BR/5BA/2HB $4,000,000 Listed by Randolph Adams (Randolph.Adams@cbmove.com) 310-717-3050 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/ washington/1620-15th-street-nw/ pid_25353461/

Kalorama — 1852 Kalorama Rd., N.W. 7BR/5BA/1HB $2,199,950 Listed by Scott Frost (Scott.Frost@cbmove.com) 202-907-4696 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1852-kalorama-road-nw/ pid_25071767/

Dupont Circle — 1414 22nd St., N.W., no. 51 2BR/2BA/1HB $1,599,900 Listed by Garrett Cottrell (Garrett.Cottrell@cbmove.com) 202-618-3545 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1414-22ndstreet nw-51/pid_26688873/ CONTINUES ON PAGE 23

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Proximity to dining, retail factor into home value CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

$500,000-$1 million Logan Circle — 1229 12th St., N.W., no. 201 2BR/2BA.1HB $767,500 Listed by Bo Billups (BBillups@cbmove.com) 202-431-4052 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1229-12th-street-nw-201/pid_26843319/

Mount Pleasant — 1842 Ingleside Terrace, N.W. 3BR/3BA/1HB $995,999 Listed by Yeme Mengistu (Yeme.Mengistu@cbmove.com) 202-550-1239 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1842-ingleside-terrace-nw/ pid_26584516/

$250,000 and up Dupont Circle — 1615 Q St., N.W., no. 313 1BR/1BA $378,000 Listed by Leslie Suarez (Leslie.Suarez@cbmove.com) 202-246-6402 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1615-q-street-nw-313/pid_25985699/

Logan Circle — 1 Scott Circle, N.W.,no. 604 1BA $274,900 Listed by Kanchani Algama (Kanchani.Algama@cbmove.com) 571-278-9924 coldwellbankerhomes.com/dc/washington/1-scott-circle-nw-604/pid_25998342/

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Mayor Muriel Bowser

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

26 • S E PT E M B E R 21, 20 1 8

presents

Getting over your concerns of buying a home Making the leap from renter to homeowner with confidence

By SHERRI ANNE GREEN

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities 2018 MAYOR’S ARTS AWARDS FINALISTS Excellence in Creative Industries Michael Marshall Design | DC Jazz Festival | DC Independent Film Festival

Excellence in Humanities Tara Campbell | African American Civil War Museum | One World Education Larry Neal Writers’ Award - Youth Madeleine Freedberg | Uniyah Campbell | Arisemma Okrah

Larry Neal Writers’ Award - Adult Kitty Felde | Elizabeth Acevedo | Martha Addy Young Excellence in Arts Education Young Playwrights’ Theater | Inner City - Inner Child | DC Scores Excellence in Visual Arts Tim Tate | Jay F. Coleman/Jahlion | Cory L. Stowers

Excellence in Performing Arts Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company | Washington Performing Arts Chloe and Maud Arnold

Tuesday, September 25, 2018, 7:00 pm | The Lincoln Theatre 1215 U Street NW, Washington, DC

RSVP at dcarts.dc.gov | 202-724-5613

FOR OTHER 202CREATES SEPTEMBER EVENTS, VISIT WWW.202CREATES.COM

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RE A L E ST A T E

You keep hearing it from friends, family, and co-workers, “you really should buy a place.” Truth is, you’d love to own a home, but figuring out how to get started is just one of the stumbling blocks you are putting in front of yourself and those illusive keys.

You may also be afraid you can’t afford a house, or can’t afford one you like, and then there is the down payment. You may worry that you don’t have enough saved.

It’s understandable—making a major life change, making a major purchase, should be approached with some thoughtfulness.

But don’t let your fears get in the way. With a little education and preparation, making the leap from renter to homeowner can be done with confidence.

Let’s address solutions to some of the top concerns I’ve heard from firsttime homebuyers.

Concern #1: “I can’t afford a home” Some would-be buyers are consumed with the thought that they can’t afford a home—that they will be ‘house poor’ and have to forgo vacations, shopping, and evenings out with friends.

The first thing to do is to create a budget.

How much are your living expenses now?

How much rent do you pay and how much more, if any, do you want to spend on a monthly mortgage payment? What other expenses do you have or will you have with a new home? Utilities? A condo/coop fee? Make a budget of everything. With that budget in hand, start your discussions with a qualified lender. Using your monthly payment as a guide, and layering on your income and credit history, your lender can help you determine the proper price range in which to search.

There are a lot of loan programs that can assist first-time buyers with down payments.

Talk with you lender about the specifics and if you do, or could, qualify by taking a class.

If you are in the military, there are VA loans to consider. Those loans don’t require a down payment. Compare a VA loan to a conventional loan to ensure you are finding the right program for your financial situation.

Once your price range is determined, work with your lender to get preapproved. Being pre-approved is a necessity in the D.C. market.

Concern # 2: ”I will not be able to purchase a home I love” You’ve made a budget, now make a list.

What features are important to you in your home? Location? Closets? Outdoor space?

Parking? Living in a pet-friendly building? The

answer is different for everyone so make a list.

Then further divide that list into two columns: one for Needs and one for Wants. Put each item from your initial list into the proper column, in order of importance. Be realistic and rational. Share the list with your real estate professional so they can help you stay on track with what is important as your tour.

Concern 3: “I’ll buy a house that needs unforeseen repairs” First, accept that no home is perfect.

It doesn’t matter if you spend in the hundred thousands or millions, every home eventually needs maintenance and upgrades. Repairs and homeownership simply go hand-in-hand. The good news is when you own the home you get to decide what to do, when to do it, and how to handle it. You are no longer at the mercy of a landlord who may not see the broken HVAC as urgent of a need as you do.

The key is to be prepared for repairs.

Keep a home repair emergency fund for that unexpected leaky faucet or new refrigerator when your current one dies. And most importantly, before you purchase a home, have it inspected. An inspector can help you identify all systems and their possible age and life expectancy. They can look for signs of water damage or an electrical panel in need of replacement. Many will even advise you on potential repair costs. With the inspector’s report in hand, you and your agent can talk through to identify which issues are important to negotiate with the seller.

Concern# 4: “I am afraid I’ll overspend” This one is really simple and uses some common sense—shop within your budget.

It sounds simple, but too many buyers start looking outside of their identified range.

Just don’t do it. There are great homes in all price ranges. Staying within the budget you have identified will make your search, offer, and escrow period a lot less stressful.

Perhaps you have other concerns or questions? Know that every question is important, every concern valid. The important thing is to raise them all with your team—lender, agent, inspector, and ultimately the title company. A good agent will bring all of these resources to your search so you can feel confident in your purchase.

SHERRI ANNE GREEN is an award-winning Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage having earned the prestigious International Sterling Society and numerous Top 100 awards. Focusing on custom, datadriven marketing and client service, she provides impeccable, high-touch service tailored to her clients’ unique situations. She can be reached via phone or text: 202798-1288, email: sherri.green@cbmove. com, on Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/SherriAnneGreen/, or on Instagram: SherriAnneGreen.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

R E A L ES TA TE

S E PT E M B E R 21, 2018 • 27

RE N OVAT IO N S START SUMMER 201 8

Brookland Place Apartments

H A ML IN AND 7TH STREET NE WASHINGTO N, D C 20 01 7

PHOTOS COURTESY THE PLAYERS

Live in the District — affordably, safely, conveniently. Call or email today.

It’s a good time to sell your home in D.C. PHOTO COURTESY OF BIGSTOCK

brooklandplace@whdc.org | (202) 930-1013

D.C.’s fall market forecast A strong selling season lies ahead

By SUE GOODHART Be ready! Looks like the area will experience a strong selling season.

Washington, D.C., along with several other major metropolitan areas, ranked highest in ATTOM Data Solution’s Q2 2018 Pre-Mover Housing Index. ATTOM uses data from residential real estate loan applications to create this index.

An index over 100 is above the national average and means that an aboveaverage ratio of homes that will likely be sold in the next 90 days in that market.

D.C.’s index of 166 follows that of just four other cities: Wilmington, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., Manchester-Nashua, N.H., and Chicago.

The bottom line: the D.C. area is likely to experience a hot fall real estate market.

Why the D.C. market is hot If you are an active buyer, be prepared for a highly competitive house hunt.

You may find yourself in a multiple offer situation or deciding to make offers above list price. You may also have to be flexible with the terms of your offer in terms of

closing date, rent backs, and removal of some contingencies.

On the fence about selling this fall? You may want to dive in. Buyers will be there and if your home is priced right, you should see good traffic, which usually means shorter days on market.

This also means that Realtors will be busy. If you’re not already working with a trusted agent or team, you may want to start interviewing now. Businesses that support the real estate industry (think mortgage companies, movers, home improvement stores, etc.) will be ready to help as well.

There is no need to wait until spring to look for a home or to sell.

The fall market will be robust. Remember, however, that it has a short lifespan. Usually, by Dec. 1, the fall market cools down as buyers anticipate the holidays.

SUE GOODHART is with Compass Real Estate. In 2017, the Goodhart Group helped 120 clients achieve their real estate goals. Led

by Sue and Allison Goodhart, they have been named a Top Agent by both Washingtonian and Northern Virginia magazines. Allison can be reached at 703-362-3221 or allison@ thegoodhartgroup.com.

SPEAK WITH OUR PREPLANNING ADVISOR, JAMIE ARTHURS AT (202) 966-6400 OR EMAIL JAMIE.ARTHURS@DIGNITYMEMORIAL.COM

5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW • DC • (202) 966-6400 • www.JosephGawlers.com

2 8 • S EPTE MB ER 21, 2018

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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Brand New Luxury Apartments

ARTS

AND

ENTERTAINMENT

•

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

•

VOLUME

49

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KEIRA KNIGHTLEY and WASH WESTMORELAND on the set of ‘Colette.’

ISSUE

38

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SEPTEMBER

21,

2018

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PAGE

29

PHOTO BY ROBERT VIGLASKY

Honoring a dying wish Out filmmaker celebrates late partner with period drama ‘Colette’

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

The sumptuous and sensual new movie “Colette” is really a love letter from filmmaker Wash Westmoreland to his late husband, the writer and director Richard Glatzer, as well as a tribute to the revolutionary spirit of the legendary French writer herself.

“My late husband was an avid reader.

I never knew anyone who could get into books like Richard did,” Westmoreland says. “He just got obsessed with Colette.

He read her fiction and started reading biographies and said there’s a film in here.

Then I started reading and I agreed with him. This could be an amazing movie.”

But other projects came first, along with

a serious health issue. In 2011, Glatzer was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease often known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease” “For the last four years of his life,” Westmoreland says, “Richard lived with ALS which is a tremendously difficult disease.

It’s very destructive to the body, but psychologically he was as strong as a rock.

He never had any depression or self-pity.

He just wanted to keep making movies. We made two movies during the last years of his life. The last one was ‘Still Alice.’”

Co-directed and co-written by Westmoreland and Glatzer, “Still Alice” (2014) starred Julianne Moore as Alice

Howland, a linguistics professor who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Moore’s searing performance won numerous awards for best actress, including the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Film Award and the Dorian Award from GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.

“By the time the movie was going out into the world he was very ill. We watched the Oscars from the ICU at Cedars-Sinai Hospital,” Westmoreland says. “We snuck in a bottle of Champagne and when Julianne won we whooped so loud they thought it was a medical emergency and all these orderlies came running in. It was

a nice moment, but it was an extremely difficult time.”

At the time, Glatzer was communicating with an iPad text-to-voice app that he activated with his toes. After the Oscar ceremony ended, Westmoreland asked his husband what he wanted to do next. Glatzer slowly typed out C-O-L-E-T-T-E. The movie opens next week in D.C.-area theaters.

“He died two weeks later. I knew I had to make the movie for him.”

Known to the world simply as Colette, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (played by Keira Knightley) was born in the provincial CONTINUES ON PAGE 48

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Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R F RA N K MCN E I L

F RA N K MC N EI L

PHOTO COURTESY MCNEIL

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com Frank McNeil first heard of Chase Brexton in local gay media. When his late partner, Chris Duncan, was diagnosed as HIV positive, it was the first resource recommended to them.

“Initially it was personal since my late partner was positive,” the 57-year-old Memphis native says. “Then it became important partially as a thank you for all the assistance they provided while he was alive. My parents and grandparents raised me in the vein of the old spiritual, ‘If I Can Help Somebody,’ my living will not have been in vain. That has been a guiding principle for me.”

McNeil served on the Chase Brexton board and event committee from 1992-2002. On Saturday, he’ll pick up the Legacy Award at the Chase Brexton Charm Ball 40th anniversary event at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. Details at chasebrexton.org. He’s being honored for his “devotion to Chase Brexton’s mission,” the organization says. “Frank is well known and respected for service to his community.”

“I am merely representative of the many friends and fellow committee members who served with me,” McNeil says. “They did all the hard work while I served as chair. This award is really in recognition of their dedication.”

McNeil, a Marine veteran, is a community development banking officer with PNC Bank. He and husband Paul Fowler, a radiation oncologist, live in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood. McNeil enjoys traveling, gardening, theater, entertaining and TV in his free time.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

Interestingly, I think that I knew in third grade but back then, because of family, church and society, it wasn’t a lifestyle that was celebrated or commonplace like it is now. It was hardest to tell my parents because of the sacrifices they had made raising a son of color in the South and all of the doors that they had opened and the expectations they had for me.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

There are so many but I admire those who were bold enough to stand up and be first when it was unpopular and often dangerous to do so like those

who fought at Stonewall or some of my military comrades who fought the system to change it so that we could serve openly in uniform.

What’s Baltimore’s best nightspot, past or present?

I really enjoyed The Stage Coach when it was opened because I like to dance and that was a place to line dance, waltz and two step. Now I like any place that we can go and feel comfortable being ourselves that has a good DJ and where we can enjoy a nice drink like Grand Central or Leon’s.

Describe your dream wedding.

My husband Paul and I had it in 2013. We

were married by our minister in our home church, where we had met 18 years prior with his father (who had previously married all of his four siblings) also officiating, followed by a reception in our home in our garden under tents and amongst the lighted statuary, with dinner while the Peabody Jazz Ensemble played swing and big band selections and then a DJ played all of our favorite music while family and friends celebrated and danced the night away.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Citizenship, whether globally or locally.

We are all on this big ship together so we have to do our part to leave it a better place than when we arrived.

What historical outcome would you change?

In a heartbeat, this past presidential election. I think we are now suffering the consequences of not understanding the importance of voting. The impact on things like the court appointments etc. may be profound and lasting for many years to come.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

As a person of color, whose formative years were in the ‘70s, seeing the accomplishments of communities that were more marginalized in the past. I know that we still have a long, long way to go but to participate in the March on Washington in 1993 and the subsequent ones that followed, the Women’s March in 2017 and events like Gay Pride give me chills when you consider what those who lived before us had to endure.

On what do you insist?

I work with someone who ends all of his e-mails with “be well and do good” and I think that is a good way of leaving this place a better place than we arrived.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

I don’t actually have my own Facebook page. I occasionally post on my husband’s page since he captures my entire life anyway as our “class historian/ documentarian.”

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

“Hang in There — Things Are Going to Change and For the Better!”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Ask those who have such a heartburn with others’ sexual orientations to walk a mile in their shoes; especially if they are in a position of power to affect change.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?

An afterlife in some form or another.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

Improvise, adapt and overcome.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

First of all, my husband, my family and friends and a just cause.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

More than a stereotype, I am annoyed when someone says, “Oh you are a ___ so you must be or do___.”

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

I like just about any of them where the guy or gal ends up with the guy or gal in the end! I am a hopeless romantic in that respect. I don’t like the “Brokeback Mountain”- or “Call Me By Your Name”type movies when the lovers don’t end up together.

What’s the most overrated social custom?

Discrimination of any type.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

I don’t think I covet anything but it might be fun to have an Oscar because of all of the fun things associated with getting one, going to the parties and the awards ceremony.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

It might have been nice to know that life would be the way it is now in terms of the relative acceptance of the LGBTQ community, the fact that we can get married, serve in the military, etc. It almost seemed back then that it would not happen in my lifetime.

Why Baltimore?

I know that it isn’t perfect, but Baltimore is a great place to live and it has so much potential. We have a lot of work ahead of us but nothing worth having is easy.

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Vote in the Tuesday, November 6, 2018 General Election

Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm.

During the General Election, all registered voters and District residents eligible to register, may vote.

CONTESTS ON THE BALLOT: Delegate to the United States House of Representatives Mayor of the District of Columbia Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia At-large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia Ward Member of the Council of the District of Columbia (Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6) Attorney General of the District of Columbia United States Senator United States Representative Ward Member of the State Board of Education (Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6) Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner

WANT TO VOTE EARLY? Early Voting will start at One Judiciary Square (OJS) on October 22, and at satellite Early Voting Centers on October 26. Early Voting Centers are open daily (including weekends) through November 2, from 8:30 am until 7 pm. Both paper and touchscreen ballots will be available at OJS. Satellite Early Voting Centers will open on October 26, and they will have touchscreen ballots only. Eligible voters may vote at any Early Voting Center during Early Voting, regardless of their address or Election Day polling place. Early Voting Center locations can be found online at https://earlyvoting.dcboe.org/.

NEED MORE INFORMATION? For more information on the upcoming election, on voter registration, to confirm your registration information, or to find your polling place, please visit www.dcboe.org or call (202) 727-2525.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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A RT S & CU LT U RE

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com

Heisenberg Thru Nov 11. Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org.

A chance encounter at a London train stop changes the course of life for two people in this hit Broadway play by Tony Award®-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). After mistaking him for someone else, Georgie finds herself improbably drawn to the much older Alex.

You’ve Got A Friend: A Singer-Songwriter Celebration Sep 22. American Pops Orchestra at Arena Stage. theamericanpops.org.

APO brings a fresh take on the songs that have woven the tapestry of American music. Along with Morgan Fairchild, Ari Shapiro, Rayshun LaMarr, Mariand Torres, Yasmin Williams and Nia Savoy enjoy an evening celebration with music by the greatest American singer song writers including James Taylor, Carole King and more.

Lecture: The End of Eddy by T. Cabello Sep 21. Alliance Française. francedc.org.

The publication of Edouard Louis’s The End of Eddy (2014) was a disruptive moment in French academic and literary circles. More than a coming-of-age novel, Louis’s books reframes the act of writing fiction into a transformative social/political experience.

Blue Chip: Printmaking Masters Thru Oct 14. gallery neptune & brown. galleryneptunebrown.com.

Highlighting some of the best examples of printmaking over the last three centuries, this selection of work incorporates artists from diverse artistic periods, technical practices, and nationalities. The media comprise etching, engraving, lithograph and woodcut. The exhibition provides a platform for new collectors to learn about printmaking from masters, and for seasoned collectors to revisit old friends.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SIGNATURE THEATRE

THEATRE Como agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). Thru Oct 7.

GALA Hispanic Theatre. galatheatre.org.

First Preview: Born Yesterday. Sep 21. Born Yesterday. Sep 22-Oct 21.

Ford’s Theatre. fords.org.

Gloria. Thru Sep 30. Woolly Mammoth. woollymammoth.net.

If I Forget. Thru Sep 15. Studio Theatre. studiotheatre.org.

In Series: Viva V.E.R.D.I. - The Promised End. Thru Sep 23. In Series at Source Theatre. inseries.org.

Kindertransport. Thru Sep 23.

Arts on the Green at Arts Barn. artsonthegreen.ticketfly.com Lincolnesque. Sep 22-Oct 14. Keegan Theatre. keegantheatre.com.

Macbeth. Thru Sep 23. Folger Theatre. folger.edu.

Marie and Rosetta. Thru Sep 30.

Mosaic Theater Company at Atlas. mosaictheater.org.

Marimba Cabaret. Sep 27. The Klunch: How to Win a Race War. Sep 21-Oct 20. In Your Ear. Thru Dec 16.

DC Arts Center. dcartscenter.org.

Passion. Thru Sep 23. Heisenberg.

Thru Nov 11. Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org.

Shear Madness. Thru Nov 25.

Shear Madness at Kennedy Center. shearmadness.com.

Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl. Thru Sep 23. Round House. roundhousetheatre.org.

South Pacific. Thru Oct 7. Labour of Love. Sep 26-Oct 28. Olney Theatre. olneytheatre.org.

The Capitol Steps. Sep 22. Hylton Center. hyltoncenter.org.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane. Thru Sep 30. Theater J at Kennedy Center. theaterj.org.

takomaparkmd.gov.

Saved by the ‘90s. Sep 23. The Alden at McLean Central Park. mcleancenter.org.

Urban Arias: The Last American Hammer. Sep 22-Sep 29. UrbanArias at Atlas. urbanarias.org.

You’ve Got A Friend: A SingerSongwriter Celebration. Sep 22.

American Pops Orchestra at Arena Stage. theamericanpops.org.

DANCE

Folger Shakespeare Library. Form & Function: The Genius of the Book. Thru Sep 23. folger.edu.

Kreeger Museum. Reinstallation of the Permanent Collection. Thru Dec 31. kreegermuseum.org.

Library of Congress. Drawn to Purpose. Thru Oct 20. Baseball Americana. Thru Jun 29. loc.gov.

National Archives. Remembering Vietnam. Thru Jan 6. archivesfoundation.org.

National Gallery of Art. Jackson Pollock’s Mural. Thru Oct 28. Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Thru Nov 25. nga.gov.

National Geographic. National Geographic: Exploration Starts Here.

Thru Jan 1. Titanic: The Untold Story.

Thru Jan 6. nglive.org.

National Museum of Women in the Arts. Bound to Amaze: Inside a BookCollecting Career. Thru Nov 25. nmwa.org.

Smithsonian Anacostia Museum.

ACM 50th Anniversary Program: Block Watch. Thru Feb 28. A Right to the City.

Thru Apr 20. anacostia.si.edu.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian. Exhibition: One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey. Thru May 19. Exhibition: Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting. Thru Jun 2. npg.si.edu.

Postal Museum. Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon. Thru Mar 3. postalmuseum.si.edu.

On Display: Heidi Latsky Dance.

Sep 23. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian. npg.si.edu.

Sly Anansi: A Mini Musical. Sep 22. We Are Takoma at Takoma Park Community Center. takomaparkmd. gov.

The Washington Ballet Welcomes.

Sep 26-Sep 30. The Washington Ballet at Kennedy Center. washingtonballet.org

MUSIC A Vintage-Inspired Evening of African American Music and History.

Sep 22. Woodrow Wilson House. woodrowwilsonhouse.org.

American Roots Concert Series: Lula Wiles. Sep 23. Hill Center. hillcenterdc.org.

Atlas Arts for Young Audiences: InSeries, Cri Cri The Mexican Singing Cricket. Sep 22. Atlas. atlasarts.org.

Carpe Diem-Revels Community Sing. Sep 21. Washington Revels at Bennington Drive Park. revelsdc.org.

Diana Ross. Sep 25-Sep 26. The Gipsy Kings. Sep 27. Strathmore. strathmore.org.

Eddie Bond and the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters. Sep 26. Library of Congress. loc.gov.

Free Folger Friday: Early Music 101.

Sep 21. Folger Theatre. folger.edu.

Grand Piano Celebration. Sep 23.

Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel. Sep 23. Mason’s Center for the Arts. cfa.gmu.edu.

Jubilee Voices at Talbot Avenue Bridge. Sep 22. Washington Revels at Talbot Avenue Bridge. revelsdc.org.

Korean Culture Week: Park Ji-ha’s Crossover Music, Communion. Sep 27. Korean Cultural Center DC at Kennedy Center. koreaculturedc.org.

NSO: Noseda conducts Pictures from an Exhibition. Sep 27-Sep 29.

Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Patricio Zamorano Band Concert.

Sep 21. We Are Takoma at Takoma Park Community Center.

MUSEUMS

GALLERIES African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. 20th Anniversary Celebration: Hubert Jackson & Curtis Woody. Thru Sep 30. zenithgallery.com.

DC Arts Center. Queer(ing) Pleasure. Thru Oct 14. A light white, a disgrace. Thru Dec 9. dcartscenter.org.

Del Ray Artisans. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: National Ceramic Show and Regional Art Exhibit. Thru Sep 30. delrayartisans.org.

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“

I love wandering through Smithsonian museums, eating on H Street with friends, and going to shows at Howard Theatre.

I’m a transgender woman and I’m part of DC. Please treat me the way any woman would want to be treated: with courtesy and respect.

Discrimination based on gender identity and expression is illegal in the District of Columbia.

If you think you’ve been the target of discrimination, visit www.ohr.dc.gov or call (202) 727-4559.

OFFICE OF

GLBT AFFAIRS

Show your support! Spread word of the #TransRespect campaign by photographing this ad and sharing on Twitter.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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O U T & A BO U T

By MARIAH COOPER

PHOTO COURTESY MGM WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Xtina comes to MGM National Harbor Christina Aguilera brings her “Liberation Tour” to the Theater at MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m.

The tour is in promotion of Aguilera’s eighth studio album “Liberation.” The album features collaborations with 2 Chainz, GoldLink, Demi Lovato, Ty Dolla Sign and more. It features the singles “Accelerate,” “Twice” and “Fall in Line.” Tickets range from $126-180.

For more details and to purchase tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.

Va. still getting its Pride on Virginia Pride and NOVA Pride close out September with their celebrations.

Virginia Pride, presented by Capital One, will be on Brown’s Island (S Seventh St., Richmond, Va.) on Saturday, Sept.

22 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The free, familyfriendly event will feature vendors, food, activities and entertainment. For more information, visit vapride.org.

The fifth annual NOVA Pride is at Bull Run Special Events Center (7700 Bull Run Dr., Centreville, Va.) on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Children can enjoy games such as glow in the dark capture the flag, giant Jenga and giant Twister.

There will also be team sports and arts and crafts. Performers include Crys Matthews, Wicked Jezabel, Heather Mae, DJ Enzik and Colour Theory. Transgender advocate Karen Kendra Holmes and former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe will also speak at the festival.

For more details, visit novapride.org.

Outserve-SLDN turns 25 PHOTO BY GLENN KULBAK

Cooper, Cohen join up again for AC2 “AC2: Deep Talk and Shallow Tales with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen” comes to the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) on Saturday, Sept. 29.

The gay besties will have an unscripted conversation that includes everything from politics to “The Real Housewives.” Cooper and Cohen will also swap stories about each other and answer audience questions. Tickets range from $75-125.

For more information, visit livenation.com.

Outserve-SLDN hosts Serving with Pride, its 25th anniversary year kick-off event, at Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St., S.W.) on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Outserve-SLDN was founded in 1993 in response to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Today, it advocates and offers legal services for LGBT service members, voters and their families. Tickets are $100.

For more details, visit facebook.com/ outserve.sldn.

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E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade. com two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specific events or those with LGBT participants. Recurring events must be re-submitted each time.

TODAY The D.C. Weirdo Show hosts “Weirdos for Life: A Benefit for Trans Lifeline” at the Bier Baron Tavern (1523 22nd St., N.W.) tonight at 9 p.m. The showcase is in honor of National Suicide Prevention Month. Dr. Torcher and Phoenix King host the show. Rin will perform belly dance, Coryn Rose will perform aerial Lyra and spoken word, Phoenix King will perform drag, Dr. Torcher will do fire manipulation, Leigh Crenshaw will do stand-up comedy, Ricky Rose will perform in drag and Carlita Client will do performance art.

The showcase will be interpreted in ASL by Billy Sanders. Tickets are $16 in advance or $20 at the door. VIP party of four table is $83 in advance. Proceeds will benefit Trans Lifeline, a peer-support hotline staffed by transgender people to aid transgender people. For more information, visit dcweirdoshow.com.

Elton John performs at Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m.

“The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” will be John’s final tour before retirement.

John will also perform on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $171-249. For more details, visit ticketmaster.com.

Women in Their 20s and 30s, a social discussion group for LBT and all women interested in women, meets tonight at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) from 8-9:30 p.m. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 The Glossary D.C. Support Group is at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) today from noon-2 p.m. The group is specifically for people of color who identify as masculine of center, non-binary or transmasculine. Discussion will include family dynamics, cultural understanding and more. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

UrbanArias presents “The Last American Hammer” at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) tonight at 8 p.m. The opera follows a conspiracy theorist YouTuber waiting for the FBI in the basement of a Toby Jug Museum. Elizabeth Futral, Timothy Mix and Briana Elsye Hunter star. The libretto is by Matt Boresi. Peter Hilliard composed the music. General admission tickets are $45. Student tickets are $25.

Performances run through Sept. 29. For more details, visit urbanarias.org.

“Throwing Shade Live: There’s No Place Like Condo Tour” is at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m.

Out comedian Bryan Safi and comedian Erin Gibson will give their humorous take on LGBT issues, women’s issues and pop culture. Special guest Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action will join the show.

There will also be singing, dancing, games

PHOTO COURTESY THINKJAM

A filmed version of ‘An American in Paris’ will be shown in area theaters on Monday night.

and more. Tickets are $29. For more details, visit kennedy-center.org.

The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts Club Picture Day tonight from 8-11 p.m. Individuals and groups are invited to get their photos professionally taken. There is a suggested $5 donation per processed photo. On-site prints are $10. Proceeds benefit Mary’s House.

Participants can reserve a 30-minute time slot by emailing gojohnego1@gmail.com or just arrive. For more information, visit facebook.com/eagledc.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 23 “An American in Paris: The Musical,” a filmed screening of the Broadway musical’s West End run, hits theaters for a one-day engagement today. Directed

by Christopher Wheeldon, the musical stars Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope and Haydn Oakley. For a complete list of theaters and ticket prices, visit anamericaninpariscinema.com.

Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) has a drag brunch today with shows at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Drag entertainers will perform as Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Pink and more. Tickets are $41.91 and include an all-you-can-eat buffet and one mimosa or bloody Mary. For more details, visit nelliessportsbar.com.

MONDAY, SEPT. 24

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26

The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours for the senior LGBT community this morning from 10 a.m.-noon. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) holds Foster Parent and Adoption Information Night tonight at 6:30 p.m.

There will be presentations by LGBT foster parents and representatives of the Latin American Youth Center Child Placement Programs. All are welcome. RSVPs are encouraged. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The Health Working Group holds its September meeting at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) this evening at 6:30 p.m. The group will discuss the new OSSE Fact Sheet on Suicide and Youth in the District and the work of partner organizations to prevent suicide. For more details, visit thedccneter.org.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 25 The Gay Men’s Health Collaborative has free HIV testing and STI screening at the Alexandria Health Department (4480 King St., Alexandria, Va.) today from 5-6:30 p.m. For more details, text 571-214-9617 or email james.leslie@inova.org.

Overeaters Anonymous hosts a meeting specifically for LGBT individuals at St. George’s Episcopal Church (915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, Va.) tonight at 7 p.m. Newcomers welcome. For more information, call 703-5211999 or email liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 27 The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts its Pong’d Tournament, a beer pong tournament, tonight at 7 p.m. Teams with two-five members will compete. Beer will be provided for the game. There will also be drink specials before and after the game. For more information, visit facebook.com/eagledc.

D.C. Frontrunners meet at the Shevchenko Memorial (23rd and P St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. The running route will be along one of their Potomac River routes. Afterwards, the group will eat at a local restaurant or outdoors in front of the Dupont Circle fountain. For more details, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

AGLA meets at Buzz (818 N. Quincy St., Arlington, Va.) for a coffee social tonight at 7 p.m. The coordinator will be wearing purple and gold Mardi Gras beads for members to recognize. All are welcome.

For more information, visit agla.org.

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BA’NAKA (left) and SHI-QUEETA LEE say it’s a weird time for drag in Washington since Town closed.

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO

D.C. drag post-Town Local illusionists still performing full time despite loss of critical venue

By MARIAH COOPER mcooper@washblade.com The closing of Town, D.C.’s largest gay club, has brought about a shift in gay nightlife particularly in the drag community.

Veteran drag performers Shi-Queeta Lee and Ba’Naka — both past winners of the Blade’s Best of Gay D.C. awards for their work with the Ladies of Town — have witnessed the changing tides of drag over the years and could regularly be seen performing at Town. Although they’re one venue down, these ladies have kept the hustle going with drag brunches and shows at other locations.

Lee, whose only job has been drag for 20-plus years, left Nellie’s Sports Bar last year after a decade of performances. In December 2017, she decided to start her own drag show and tested out performances for three nights. After seeing its success, Lee kicked off her own drag brunch, Queeta’s Palace, at

Chateau Remix (3439 Benning Rd., N.E.) in February.

The drag brunch is every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and features five-eight performers. The cast is known for their illusion characters which include Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Cardi B, Jill Scott, SZA, Lauryn Hill and more. Lee believes what sets this drag brunch apart from others in D.C. is the attention to detail, down to wig, costume and overall look, to emulate the original performers.

Lee (aka Jerry VanHook) says that since drag has become more popular, her audiences are more straight.

“Drag has really became popular since ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ has been more mainstream now,” she says. “People are understanding and accepting the gay lifestyle more than it used to be. I don’t really get people that came to Town.

Town was mostly a nightclub with young college kids and young partygoers. My clientele has been mostly heterosexual.

Not too much of the gay clientele has been to my brunch.”

Tickets for Queeta’s Palace are $40 for the show and an all-you-can-eat brunch.

Food items include chicken stir-fry, a

waffle station, a vegetarian pasta station, cheesy grits, salads, fresh seasonal fruit and desserts. Vegan options are available. Guests’ first mimosa or Bloody Mary is free. Tickets can be purchased on eventbrite.com.

Ba’Naka (aka Dustin Schaad) has also made a name for herself in D.C. since she first started doing drag in 2004. A frequent performer of Town, Ba’Naka praised the venue’s ability to host a drag show.

“Town was a very unique being because it was designed with a drag show in mind,” she says. “This place was designed with a dressing room and a lot of thought was put into how a show flows. No other bar in D.C. was designed that way. It was made to be a show palace basically. With Town being gone, there is no other space that big and no other venue that offers a professional viewing to the same level as Town did.”

Ba’Naka can still be seen at various venues throughout D.C. She sometimes performs at the D.C. Eagle’s (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) “Birds of Prey” show, the only 18-and-over drag show in the city. Other regular performers include Vagenesis, Iyana Deschanel, Brooklyn Heights, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Tatianna, Labella Magia and Desiree Dik.

The show is every Friday night at 10:30 p.m. Visit dceagle.com for details.

You can also catch Ba’Naka hosting drag brunch at City Tap House (1250 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) every Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Food is a la carte and there are $18 bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys. Ba’Naka also hosts other venues’ drag events as well as “random pop-up events.”

According to Ba’Naka, drag shows have shifted from late-night shows to daytime events.

“We are living in a very weird time in D.C. Drag shows, with the exception of brunches, everyone has a brunch these days, but actual drag shows, you no longer have at night time every weekend a show,” Ba’Naka says.

Lee hopes to increase young LGBT attendance for her brunch but notes youth have different expectations of a drag show.

“It’s known that the gay kids look at our drag shows as, ‘We can come to a nightclub to see your show for free’ or pay $5 or $10. They don’t want to pay $40 or $50 to see us do drag. When they do come to see it, they don’t know that you get a meal and you get a show. A lot of people don’t know until they actually come and see it for themselves.”

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

T H E A TER

S E PT E M B E R 21, 2018 • 39

PHOTO BY TESSA CASTRACANE; COURTESY WOOLLY MAMMOTH

CONRAD SCHOTT (left) and JUSTIN WEAKS in ‘Gloria.’

Office politics Woolly’s absorbing ‘Gloria’ takes unexpected turns

By PATRICK FOLLIARD It’s no accident that D.C. native Branden Jacobs-Jenkins sets the action of “Gloria,” his smart dramedy rife with workplace toxicity, in the office of a Manhattan magazine. Not only did the 30-something playwright work at The New Yorker right out of college, but it’s pretty common knowledge that publishing can be a particularly cutthroat industry.

But “Gloria,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Price now playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, isn’t just about office toxicity. It’s also about ambition, rivalry, hierarchy and insecurity in a changing field where career futures have grown increasingly precarious.

It’s midmorning on what seems a typical workday in a perfectly generic office lit with fluorescent light. The action centers on four young editorial assistants. There’s Dean (a terrific Conrad Schott) who’s gay and has lately been partying more and working less; fierce and fashionable Kendra (Eunice Hong) whose boss is afraid to assign her work; nice but sneaky Ana (Megan Graves); and quietly helpful Ivy League intern Miles (out actor Justin Weaks).

Eager to graduate from the lowranking and low-paying editorial assistant pool, Dean, Kendra and Ani yearn to be assigned big magazine stories and write books. In the meantime, they sparr, back bite and plot. Nothing is off limits, particularly between Dean and Kendra.

They insult work ethics, drinking habits and general existences. When Kendra carps about the status quo, Dean levels a zinger: “Kendra, you’re a rich Asian girl from Pasadena with a degree from Harvard. That is essentially a privileged straight white man.”

The industrious intern remains removed, blasting classical musical on his headphones and occasionally surfacing to make snack runs and accept instructions from his immediate supervisors.

Other characters include beleaguered

Lorin (Ahmad Kamal), an overworked head fact checker nearing the end of his rope; Gloria (Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan), a socially awkward, longtime copy writer; and Nan (also the reliably convincing Wilmoth Keegan), an important editor who can be heard vomiting from behind the closed door of her office. Nan figures prominently later in the play.

Just when the first act feels it’s verging on office sitcom, “Gloria” becomes something different. The editorial assistants’ usual squabbling is interrupted by a shocking incident. It comes unexpectedly and is incredibly jarring. The remainder of the play moves out of the magazine office, but stays focused on what happened there.

During intermission, Misha Kachman’s office set neatly transforms into a Starbucks. Eight months have passed and we find Dean newly bearded and vigorously writing. He and Kendra sit down to talk but what might be a kindly catchup transforms into a battle over who has actual literary ownership over the office incident. Suddenly compassion is out the window. Ambition, competition and the art of angling quickly return to the fore.

The following scene takes place in a Los Angeles production office where two of the magazine’s former staff cross paths by chance. Once again, the play’s central event — the New York incident — remains the pressing topic. For many reasons, it’s not easily forgotten.

Director Kip Fagan along with Kachman and lighting designer Colin K. Bills and sound designer Tosin Olufolabi deftly create an environment in which BradenJenkins’ believable characters can operate. The playwright’s familiarity with these people and their situations bring up questions and leave the audience with lots to ponder.

‘GLORIA’ Through Sept. 30 Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company 641 D St., N.W. $20-69 202-393-3939 woollymammoth.net

Opera in the Outfield

®

The Barber of Seville FREE BROADCAST at Nationals Park

Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 7 p.m.

PRIZES! MUSIC! FUN! Gates open at 5 p.m. for pre-opera activities.

More information at OperaInTheOutfield.org

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

WNO’s Presenting Sponsor

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

Generous support for WNO Italian Opera is provided by Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

Opera in the Outfield® is brought to you by the M&M’S® Chocolate Candies and AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate Brands, Wells Fargo, and the Washington Nationals.

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40 • S E PT E M B E R 21, 20 1 8

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IMAGE COURTESY PENGUIN

Ahhhh, the Obama years Former White House staffer collects colleagues’ experiences in new book

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com Book deals are notoriously hard to land — ask just about any aspiring author — but for one former White House staffer from the Obama administration, it was shockingly easy.

Gautam Raghavan, President Barack Obama’s liaison to the LGBT community and Asian-American and Pacific Islander community from 2011-2014, had been toying with the idea of sharing the stories of what he calls “the incredible people I worked with in the Obama White House,” knowing first-hand there were lots of inspiring and diverse life experiences represented in that group.

Raghavan met an agent, Cindy Uh from Thompson Literary Agency randomly at a New Year’s Eve party. She was the former college roommate of one of Raghavan’s White House colleagues and was immediately interested in the idea.

“Her immediate reaction was, ‘I love this idea, let’s make this happen,’” Raghavan says.

The result is “West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House” (Penguin, $17). It’s out Tuesday, Sept. 25 in paperback and will be available at all major book outlets.

Raghavan, who now does political consulting work, says frustration with the current political scene had him waxing nostalgically for the people and stories he knew from his White House years. He starts the book with his own story of being at times frustrated with Obama’s evolving

views on same-sex marriage, but ultimately joy in the role he was able to help play when the former president “came out” for marriage equality in May 2012.

Raghavan offers a compelling behindthe-scenes account of being summoned to Valerie Jarrett’s office the morning Obama gave his memorable interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts. He says the lack of “heads up” on the announcement, “wasn’t that unusual.”

“We figured he’d need to say something before the election, but we didn’t know when it was coming,” Raghavan tells the Blade.

Others who share their stories in the book include Rumana Ahmed, Deesha Dyer, Heather Foster, Hope Hall and 13 others. Three besides Raghavan are LGBT. Raghavan will be at Politics and Prose at the Wharf (70 District Square, S.W.) on Thursday, Sept. 27 for a reading and book signing along with a few other “West Wingers” contributors.

“It occurred to me that some of my colleagues might share my reticence about writing an entire book, but might want to tell their stories within a smaller space,” Raghavan writes.

He says most of his former colleagues were eager to participate and the project took very little arm twisting. He says one thing that stands out to him about the more mundane, day-to-day aspects of serving the administration is that personal stories really did make a difference.

“That seems very obvious — you get to know people, you empathize and care more, but it happened at a pretty significant level that comes through in a lot of the stories,” Raghavan says. “A lot of us did our best to be advocates from within.”

And via Jarrett, the project secured Obama’s blessing.

“The last thing we’d want to do is piss off the president,” Raghavan says.

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A D V I CE

S E PT E M B E R 21, 2018 • 41

琀栀攀

Straight envy Older gay man feels life passed him by

MICHAEL RADKOWSKY, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist who works with gay individuals and couples in D.C. He can be found online at personalgrowthzone.com. All identifying information has been changed for reasons of confidentiality. Have a question? Send it to michaelradkowsky.com

MICHAEL, I’m 68 years old, a gay man and not happy about how my life has turned out.

And I’m realizing it’s too late to turn it around in any substantial way.

I’m lonely. I had a great time in my 20s and a boyfriend I loved. But I lost him (and many of my friends) to AIDS in the ’80s.

I didn’t want to date for a long time, but over the last 20 years or so I have had a few relationships. Nothing long lasting and nothing to write home about.

My brother, who is a few years younger than me, is straight and already a grandfather. I look at his life and sometimes wish it were mine. It would have been great to have a family. I’m not looking forward to getting old with no one to depend on.

When I was young, fatherhood wasn’t an option for gay men unless you stayed in the closet and married a woman. I wish it had been a possibility.

I’m still working because I could use the money and I’m not sure what I would do with my time otherwise. I don’t have a glamorous or high-level job. When I was young, I was having too much fun to go to grad school so I put it off and never got around to it.

I have a few gay acquaintances my age.

I think they drink too much and try to act too young. I find this depressing. And when we’re out at a gay establishment I feel like we’re ghosts. Younger people look right through us.

When I was young I also looked right through older guys. I know that’s how it goes, but I still don’t like it.

I don’t really have a specific question.

I just have a nagging feeling that my life hasn’t added up to much and don’t know what to do.

I wish I’d thought more about the future and lived in a way that would have led to more than this.

MICHAEL REPLIES: Don’t write off your life as a lost cause just yet. You still may have many years to live in a way that you find fulfilling. But if you tell yourself that it’s too late, you will squander whatever possibilities you have.

Yes, I understand that there are some roads that you can no longer go down and I understand that it may be late in the day to be contemplating any big life shifts or changes in direction.

But what is your alternative? To sit in regret for the next 20 years or more?

Your letter raises some great questions that all of us could stand to ask ourselves: What do I want to accomplish with my life? What do I want to leave behind? How do I want to be remembered?

Of course there is no one right answer.

And of course some of us opt not to ask ourselves these questions. But you are realizing that you want to have lived a meaningful life and don’t feel that you’ve gotten there. So your task is to now put your attention to this goal.

I can’t tell you how to find fulfillment or accomplishment or a sense of purpose.

Only you can figure that out.

But I do think you would benefit from having a therapist to help you see the big picture of your life story, understand the reasons you may have held yourself back and challenge yourself to do more than what you have done so far, even if doing so is scary. Usually it is scary to push past the boundaries in which we’ve lived.

About your not feeling a sense of belonging to your peers and feeling like a ghost when you walk among the younger generations: I encourage you to keep looking for more of a community, if you want one.

There are certainly gay men your age who don’t drink too much and are out in the world making a difference in all sorts of ways.

And regarding those younger people who look right through you — as you point out, this is an age-old phenomenon.

And yet there are also members of newer generations who want to connect with LGBT history and you are an eyewitness.

Please know that I’m not suggesting you limit yourself to being a historical artifact.

I do believe that as you create a more vibrant life for yourself — in whatever ways have meaning for you — you are likely to be someone whom others want to interact and spend time with.

Your taking the time to write about your unhappiness leads me to think that there is a part of you that has been wanting to challenge yourself and was looking for encouragement. I’m hoping you will follow your aspirations and create a fulfilling life for yourself.

一䄀䬀䔀䐀 夀伀䜀䄀 䴀漀渀搀愀礀猀 ☀ 眀攀搀渀攀猀搀愀礀猀

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PHOTOS COURTESY THE PLAYERS

LAURA YEE (left) and JIMMY FALLON say curling uses muscles not used in other sports and requires great concentration.

Action on the ice Glitter Bombspiel is first LGBT curling tournament in U.S.

By KEVIN MAJOROS The second annual Glitter Bombspiel will take place on Oct. 5-7 at the National Capital Curling Center in Laurel, Md. The event is a three-day curling tournament that will feature 24 teams from the United States and Canada.

Last year’s event was the first bonspiel (curling tournament) in the United States for LGBT curlers and their allies. The field was expanded this year and still sold out in two days.

This week in the Washington Blade All Star series, we meet two local LGBT curlers with the Potomac Curling Club who are competing once again this year in the tournament.

Laura Yee grew up in Westfield, N.J. playing a mix of sports including high school basketball and tennis. After seeing curling in the 2002 Olympics as a high schooler, she joined a junior group at the

Plainfield Curling Club in New Jersey.

“I like that you have to be strong and have good balance,” Yee says. “It’s also super fun and a great way to meet people. Everyone tends to stick around and socialize after the game so there is a built-in community.”

When she arrived in D.C. for her undergraduate work at George Washington University, she continued in the sport at the Potomac Curling Club at the National Capital Curling Center.

Yee left the area to pursue her Master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Washington in Seattle. The Granite Curling Club became her new home for curling and her first pairing in Seattle opened her eyes to the longevity that many people in the sport enjoy.

“I was paired with a woman in her 80s and she was an example that people of all ages can play fairly well,” Yee says. “I can play this sport for the rest of my life.”

Yee graduated and returned to the D.C. area where she works as a statistician at the National Cancer Institute. She has competed in multiple tournaments around the country including two appearances at club nationals. She is

excited for the second edition of Glitter Bonspiel which received a lot of positive feedback from last year.

“I think people believe that curling is easy, but a lot of muscles are used that you don’t usually use,” Yee says. “Tournaments are fun and intense because all your focus is on playing. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your team better.”

Growing up in Longmont, Colo., Jimmy Fallon enjoyed skiing, hiking, rock climbing and cycling. Competitively he was active in track and soccer. After graduating from the Colorado School of Mines, he came to D.C. to begin his Navy commission at the Washington Navy Yard.

After watching curling at the 2010 Olympics he signed up to play with the Potomac Curling Club. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had not been repealed yet, so he kept his sexual identity to himself. After the repeal, he had a new freedom to be himself and found the club to be a friendly, welcoming environment. He is currently playing in two leagues per season.

“Curling is fun, engaging and physical.

I like the strategic aspects,” Fallon says.

“There is a community at the club with a tradition of hanging out after each match in the warm room.”

Fallon discovered a thriving network of curling teams for the LGBT community in Canada. They were running a series of gay bonspiels.

“It’s crazy how many bonspiels are in Canada. The gay ones have double the teams,” Fallon says. “It’s great to see the overlap between the LGBT community and the curling community.”

Fallon traveled to tournaments in Ottawa and Toronto and realized it would be fun to start an LGBT bonspiel at the National Capital Curling Center in Laurel.

In addition to curling, Fallon spent two seasons with the D.C. Strokes Rowing Club. Now working as a physics instructor at the United States Naval Academy, he also volunteers with the academy’s sailing program.

“Going to bonspiels is great and the treks out of town really test your commitment to the sport,” Fallon says.

“These used to be separate communities and now they are joined together.”

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4 4 • SEPTE MB ER 21, 2018

AUTOS

BMW 640i xDRIVE GRAN TURISMO

LEXUS RX 350 F SPORT

VW GOLF R

Drama queen cars offer attitude These zippy little rides like being the center of attention

By JOE PHILLIPS BMW 640i xDRIVE GRAN TURISMO $72,000 Mpg: 19 city, 27 highway 0-60 mph: 4.9 seconds Calling this BMW a hatchback seems silly, even if it is one. Instead the 640i xDrive Gran Turismo screams out as a cross between slinky sport sedan and souped-up SUV. The refined, 335hp engine is smooth and strong, with more than enough power to handle this 4,409-pound bad boy.

Along with all the vroom, there’s plenty of room. Both the headroom and legroom are bountiful, despite a dramatically tapered roof. Lowering the back seats doubles the amount of cargo capacity to 65 cubic feet. And the standard panoramic moonroof only adds to the feeling of spaciousness.

As for handling, the steering is light but controlled and the dynamic air suspension, where the car can be raised and lowered manually, is perfectly tuned between

cushy comfort and weekend racer.

Other niceties include soft-close automatic doors, frameless side windows, head-up display, gesture control and automatic parking. Inside, the kicky cabin is full of aluminum and wood trim, as well as a gigantic touchscreen, thick-rimmed steering wheel and high-tech LCD instrument cluster that changes readouts based on driving mode.

This Bimmer is eerily quiet, except when pumping up the volume on the exquisite Harmon Kardon stereo. But don’t get too excited grooving to those tunes: If you start drifting out of your lane or get too close to a car in your blindspot, a visual warning goes off and the steering wheel starts to vibrate.

LEXUS RX 350 F SPORT $51,000 Mpg: 19 city, 26 highway 0-60 mph: 7.7 seconds Lexus certainly takes chances. Not satisfied with producing some of the most reliable luxury vehicles on the planet, the automaker started shaking up its lineup and its buyers with radical designs.

It also added the F Sport trim level, though these vehicles are sportier in look

than performance. Yet it all works, including on the RX 350 midsize crossover, a fan fave since it was introduced 20 years ago.

It’s easy to bypass the base model, which rides a bit soft, and splurge for those spicy F Sport add-ons: heated/ ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, paddle shifters, ambient lighting, firmer suspension for better handling, and special interior and exterior design cues, including a more menacing grille.

Plus, it has 20-inch, dark-graphite alloy wheels and a sexy engine growl. Lexus also tosses in 10 airbags, rain-sensing wipers and touch-free power liftgate, and you can opt for a 15-speaker Mark Levinson stereo. The RX 350 is definitely not as quick as the BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo, but the price is much more appealing. Along with a hybrid version (the RX 450h) there’s now a long-wheelbase, three-row RX 350 L model that seats seven.

VW GOLF R $41,000 Mpg: 22 city, 29 highway 0-60 mph: 4.8 seconds With European flair and sure-footed handling, the VW Golf has always been popular. But now there’s the radical Golf

R — at twice the price of the base model — screeching around the corner. This is the uber high-performance model, surpassing even the spiffy Golf GTI in chills and thrills.

A launch-control system helps this pocket rocket blast off from standing starts, while precise steering and burly brakes make commuting through traffic bearable — almost fun, even.

But to truly appreciate the Golf R, it’s best to head to a test track or fast freeway and let this puppy off leash. Along with Sport, Normal and Comfort drive modes, a customizable setting lets drivers fine tune the power and handling. Inside, there’s an eight-inch touchscreen and 400-watt, eight-speaker Fender stereo.

There are more safety features here than on most competitors, including collision warning, pedestrian detection, front/rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitor and lane-departure warning.

Alas, the sporty styling cues are almost too subtle, with some understated R-style badging, a double set of dual exhaust pipes and blue accent interior lighting.

But while all Golf models basically look the same on the outside, the Golf R gives you plenty of attitude under the hood.

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 6 • S EPTE MB ER 21, 2018

P H O T O S BY MI CH A E L KE Y

The Human Rights Campaign held its 22nd annual National Dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday. Speakers included former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Olympic medalist Adam Rippon and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Actress Anne Hathaway was presented with the National Equality Award at the closing of the ceremony.

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We believe that to create an exceptional community of culture it takes all kinds.

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4 8 • S EPTE MB ER 21, 2018

A RT S & E N T E RT A I N ME N T

Title character was mime, journalist, actress and novelist CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

French town of Saint-Sauveur in 1873.

She married Henri Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West), who wrote under the name of “Willy,” and he introduced her to the glittering literary and social world of turn-of-the-century “Belle Époque” Paris. After a tumultuous marriage with multiple infidelities on both sides, Willy and Colette divorced in 1910.

During their marriage and throughout both of her subsequent marriages, Colette had numerous affairs with women, including a long-term relationship with Mathilde de Morny, Marquise de Belbeuf, known as “Missy.” A sculptor and painter, Missy shocked Parisian society by openly having affairs with women, smoking cigars in public and dressing as a man.

Colette wrote until her death in 1953 and during her long career worked as a mime, journalist, actress and novelist.

She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 and is now best known for her novel “Gigi” (1944) which became the basis for the famous Lerner and Loewe musical.

“Colette lived an incredible life,” Westmoreland says. “She was really a woman well ahead of her time.”

When he and Glatzer began working on the screenplay in 2001, they decided that Colette’s first marriage would be a natural narrative for a feature film. The final screenplay, which Westmoreland finished with Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Disobedience”), focused on Colette’s marriage to Willy and relationship with Missy, and included the publication of the infamous “Claudine” novels.

“There are so many modern elements to her story,” Westmoreland says. “He had the gift of the gab and would take over the room with an anecdote. But he really wasn’t so good at sitting down and writing an extended piece. So he hired various ghostwriters to work for him, four or five struggling writers who worked in his ‘factory,’ rather like Warhol. Willy would pitch the idea, then he would edit, and then he would sign them, but he didn’t write them. It was sham, really, but he got away with it with his tremendous energy and personality and his huge projection into the social space.”

One of Willy’s ghostwriters was Colette herself. He got her to write for him a series of four novels that became huge bestsellers and claimed he was the author.

When the Claudine novels, witty and brazen stories loosely based on Colette’s own life, became a success, Willy established himself as a very modern “literary entrepreneur.”

“Once the books were a hit, Willie was a marketing genius,” Westmoreland says.

“He created a brand: Claudine cigarettes, Claudine perfume, Claudine soap and

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY in ‘Colette.’

Claudine dresses. It was like ‘Star Wars’ toys; George Lucas legendarily made more money from the toys than the movies.”

In addition, Colette and Willy also become the first modern celebrity couple—the toast of the Belle Époque.

“They were like John and Yoko or Brangelina,” he says. “Willie know how to feed the public’s fascination by dropping scandalous hints about their private life into the novels. People become fascinated with it, like a modern reality TV show.”

Westmoreland says Colette was one of the first women to write explicitly about sexuality from a woman’s perspective, a notion he says was groundbreaking. He used those aspects of Colette’s story to convince Knightly to take the challenging leading role, telling her Colette was a sexual pioneer who was having sex with men, women and a male-identified woman who can be seen as a forerunner of today’s trans community.

“It was so exciting for her to take on this character who was so courageous in the way she lived her life and so honest in the way he spoke about it.”

Colette’s revolutionary spirit also inspired the casting of some of the minor roles.

Westmoreland cast actor Jake Graf, a trans man, to play a cisgender character, Gaston De Caillavet, a rival of Willly’s. He also cast actress Rebecca Root, a trans

PHOTO BY ROBERT VIGLASKY FOR BLEEKER STREET

woman, to play a cisgender woman, the famous novelist and hostess Rachilde.

The movie also features Ray Panthaki, who’s Asian-British, playing Pierre Veber, a member of Willy’s factory who was white in real life; and Johnny K. Palmer, a black actor, playing another white figure, Paul Héon, who was Willy’s secretary.

“This does not happen frequently in making period pieces and too rarely happens in modern narratives, as well,” he says. “Since Colette was part of challenging convention and opening up the world, it felt right that the casting of the movie should reflect that. And besides, they are just great actors.”

A lesbian turn-of-the-century affair out, loud and proud Literate, insightful and charming, “Colette” aspires to be more than a biopic; while offering details about its subject, it also paints her as both a feminist and a pioneer of queer visibility, an activist for both causes simply by her unwillingness to live inside the accepted conventions of her time.

Keira Knightley is exquisite as Colette. Her growth from a worldly teenage girl to independent woman is charted with confidence and sensitivity, avoiding the expected tropes of most coming-of-age melodramas and instead illuminating the evolution of an extraordinary personality. As Willy, Dominic West provides the charisma and larger-than-life bravado necessary to make him a worthy match for such an exceptional partner.

While “Colette” highlights the issues of being a woman and of being queer in a heteronormative patriarchal culture, it still manages to feel so traditional that we can easily forget we are watching a film about a boundary-pushing icon who delighted in turning societal norms upside down.

Westmoreland has made a very “proper” film, perhaps in spite of himself; what could have been a gloriously irreverent celebration of transgressive expression comes off instead as almost stodgy at times, although ultimately there’s much about it in which to delight.

JOHN PAUL KING

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