Catania, Mendelson, Graham, and Fenty Dominate GLAA’s Candidate Ratings

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC
P.O. Box 75265, Washington, DC 20013
202-667-5139


October 22, 2006
For Immediate Release

Contact: Rick Rosendall, Political Vice President
202-667-5139

Catania, Mendelson, Graham, and Fenty
Dominate GLAA’s Candidate Ratings

Go to Candidate Ratings


Four candidates dominated the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA) candidate ratings for the November 7 general election.

At-Large Councilmembers David Catania and Phil Mendelson (both seeking re-election) earned perfect scores of +10. Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham (seeking re-election) earned +9. Councilmember Adrian Fenty (seeking the mayor’s post) earned +8.5.

Catania was rated only for the general election because he is an independent. The primary ratings for Mendelson, Graham, and Fenty were carried over for the general election.

Candidates are rated on a scale of -10 to +10, based on their answers to GLAA's questionnaire and their record on behalf of the gay and lesbian community. The questionnaires address a variety of issues including same-sex marriage, sensitivity training for firefighters, opposition to legislation which violates the civil rights of transgender people, support of legislation to strengthen the HIV privacy protections, and increased funding for the Office of Human Rights. The GLAA agenda, questionnaire, and complete candidate responses are available online at www.glaa.org.

Mayoral Candidates

Adrian Fenty (D) earned a +8.5. He submitted an excellent questionnaire. Although his support for our issues has been consistently strong, he hasn’t taken a strong leadership role on any legislation for our community. His pro-GLBT advocacy on numerous issues is consistent with his strong record of constituent service.

Chris Otten (SG) earned a +2. While he agreed with GLAA on most issues, his questionnaire had little substance and he has no known record on our issues.

D.C. Council Chairman

Vincent Gray (D) earned +6 in the primary. He has been consistently positive on GLBT issues, especially HIV/AIDS. His questionnaire was positive but weak on substance. He has no opposition.

At-Large D.C. Councilmember (Vote for two)

David Catania (I) earned a perfect +10. David has been one of our stalwart champions on the Council. David particularly distinguished himself with aggressive oversight of the HIV/AIDS Programs and Policy agency which had been severely dysfunctional and corrupt.

Phil Mendelson (D) earned a perfect +10 in the primary. Phil has been one of our champions on the Council, backing us time and time again. His Domestic Partnership Equality Act of 2005 was the most important gay-related legislation in the past decade, dramatically increasing the rights and responsibilities of registered domestic partners in D.C. He worked with us on strategy and timing for that bill and several others, all of which passed unanimously and generated no backlash from the Congress.

Antonio D. Dominguez (I) earned a -2 based on his homophobic comments made in the past as well as during the present campaign.

Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember

Jim Graham (D) earned +9 in the primary. He has a very strong record going back decades. He has consistently fought for our issues. He did not get a perfect score because of shortcomings in his questionnaire, but there is no question that he is a strong leader of our community. He is unopposed.

Ward 3 D.C. Councilmember

Mary Cheh (D) earned +7.5 in the primary. She supports all of our issues. She has a strong record of support for gay and human rights. She took up the effort to add sexual orientation to the George Washington University’s non-discrimination policy in 1990. She serves on the board of the ACLU/National Capitol Area; and worked closely with Kathy Patterson in defending the rights of the 400 protesters and passers-by illegally arrested in Pershing Park in 2002. +7.5 is a very high rating for a non-incumbant.

Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember

Harry Thomas, Jr. (D) earned a +1.5 in the primary. His questionnaire had mostly positive answers but provided little substance. He has shown no record on GLBT issues, though we appreciate his outreach to gay voters during this campaign.

Ward 6 D.C. Councilmember

Will Cobb (I) earned a +7.5. His questionnaire was excellent and agreed with us on every issue. He has a limited, but positive, record on gay issues. He has worked through his Coast Guard contacts to argue for an end to the anti-gay Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. +7.5 is very good for a political newcomer.

Tommy Wells (D) earned a +5.5 in the primary. His questionnaire was short on substance, but his strong record includes his leadership as a member of the D.C. Board of Education in creating a student anti-harassment policy, and his work as director of the D.C. Consortium for Child Welfare to enable GLBT people to adopt children in the D.C. foster care system.

President of the Board of Education

Robert C. Bobb earned +6. He agreed with us on every issue in the questionnaire, but didn’t provide much substance. Mr. Bobb did distinguish himself as City Administrator by firing all of the HIV/AIDS Administration financial office staff when it became clear that they were cooking the books and illegally funding sham vendors.

Laurent Ross also earned +6. He also agreed with us on every issue, and demonstrated an understanding of the issues. He record on our issues is limited.

Carolyn Graham’s late-submitted questionnaire response was short on substance, with 5 of 12 answers a simple “yes.” Her repeated reference to "lifestyle" and "preference" imply that sexual orientation is a choice, which we do not accept. As to her record, her past defense of the federal “abstinence only until marriage” program at a meeting of the mayor’s LGBT advisory committee is balanced by her more recent chairing of a task force that concluded the “abstinence only” message would not be effective. Also on the positive side, she introduced and helped pass a school board resolution in early 2006 to require that support groups be established in all junior high and high schools for young people working through developmental and sexual identification issues. Her overall rating of +3.5 reflects her mixed record and cursory questionnaire response.

Perennial candidate Sunday Abraham earned -3. She did not respond to our questionnaire, but has unsuccessfully lobbied the school board to adopt anti-gay positions.

District III Board of Education

Marc Borbely earned +7.5. He agreed with us on every issue and showed significant understanding of the issues. He has a limited, but positive, record on our issues while serving as an ANC commissioner. +7.5 is a very good rating for a non-incumbent.

Lisa Raymond earned +5. She also agreed with us on every issue. She also distinguishes herself by being the only school board candidate to discuss gay issues in her general election literature.

Stephane Baldi earned +3.5. He also agreed with us on every issue, but has no known record on our issues.

Robert Vinson Brannum earned +0.5. He is the only school board candidate who responded to our questionnaire that did not agree with us on every issue. He failed to show an understanding of the issues and has a very limited, but positive, record.

District IV Board of Education

No District IV candidate responded to our questionnaire. However, two candidates have some history of positive actions.

William Lockridge earned +1.5 and W. Cardell Shelton earned +0.5.


All candidates were provided with a copy of “Agenda: 2006,” GLAA’s comprehensive guide to GLBT issues in Washington, D.C.

Ratings should not be interpreted as endorsements. GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections.

GLAA has rated candidates for office in every D.C. primary and general election since 1971.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization, founded in 1971 to advance the equal rights of gay men and lesbians in Washington, DC. We are the nation's oldest continuously active GLBT civil rights organization.

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GLAA Ratings for November 7, 2006 General Election


To see the full text of a candidate's questionnaire responses, click on his or her name below.


Mayor

Candidate
Party
Rating
Adrian Fenty
Democrat
8.5
Chris Otten
Statehood Green
2
David W. Kranich
Republican
0 *
Michael T. Green
Independent
0 *

DC Council Chair

Candidate
Party
Rating
Vincent Gray
Democrat
6

At-Large DC Councilmember (Vote for Two)

Candidate
Party
Rating
David A. Catania (Incumbent)
Independent
10
Phil Mendelson (Incumbent)
Democrat
10
Marcus Skelton
Republican
0 *
Ann C. Wilcox
Statehood Green
0 *
Antonio D. Dominguez
Independent
-2 *

Ward 1 DC Councilmember

Candidate
Party
Rating
Jim Graham (Incumbent)
Democrat
9

Ward 3 DC Councilmember

Candidate
Party
Rating
Mary Cheh
Democrat
7.5
Theresa Conroy
Republican
0

Ward 5 DC Councilmember

Candidate
Party
Rating
Harry Thomas, Jr.
Democrat
1.5
Miriam Moore
Independent
0 *
Carolyn Steptoe
Statehood Green
0 *
Tontalya T. Terceiro Wright
Independent
0 *

Ward 6 DC Councilmember

Candidate
Party
Rating
Will Cobb
Independent
7.5
Tommy Wells
Democrat
5.5
Antonio Williams
Republican
1.5

President of the Board of Education

Candidate
Rating
Robert C. Bobb
6
Laurent Ross
6
Carolyn N. Graham
3.5
Timothy L. Jenkins
0 *
Sunday Abraham
-3 *

District III Board of Education

Candidate
Rating
Marc Borbely
7.5
Lisa Raymond
5
Stephane Baldi
3.5
Robert Vinson Brannum
0.5
Mary Baird Currie
0 *
Terrance J. McMichael
0 *

District IV Board of Education

Candidate
Rating
William Lockridge
1.5 *
W. Cardell Shelton
0.5 *
Jimmy Johnson
0 *
Jacque D. Patterson
0 *
Jacqueline Pinckney Hackett
0 *
Mark Ty Purvis
0 *

Note: Ratings marked with an asterisk (*) indicate a candidate who did not return a questionnaire
and was therefore rated solely on his or her known record on GLAA’s issues.

Breakdown of available ratings points

Questionnaire: yes/no+/- 2 points
Questionnaire: substantive grasp of issues+/- 4 points
Record:+/- 3 points
Championship: taking the lead on an issue
of concern to gay men and lesbians
+/- 1 point
Total available:+/- 10 points

Click here to view a detailed breakdown of all candidates' ratings points.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization, founded in 1971 to advance the equal rights of gay men and lesbians in Washington, DC. We are the nation’s oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization.

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