Vida Rangel became the city’s first known trans woman of color to win election to public office. (Photo courtesy of Rangel)
At least 29 known LGBTQ candidates running for Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats in the D.C. election on Nov. 3 appear to have won their races, according to election returns from the D.C. Board of Elections.
Although the Board of Elections was scheduled to continue to receive mail-in ballots up until Nov. 13 if they were postmarked by Nov. 3, the 29 LGBTQ ANC candidates were either far ahead in the vote count or ran unopposed and were expected to win their races.
The 29 presumed winning candidates were among 39 known LGBTQ candidates who appeared on the Nov. 6 ballot. Initially, the Washington Blade obtained the names of a total of 45 known LGBTQ candidates running for ANC seats.
But six of them did not appear on the ballot, indicating they dropped out of the race or did not obtain the required number of petition signatures needed to be placed on the ballot.
Among the winners was Vida Rangel in ANC 1A10, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, who became the city’s first known transgender woman of color to win election to public office. Also, among the winners was Dana White in ANC 6B04, located in the Capitol Hill-Eastern Market neighborhood, who became the first known Black trans and nonbinary person elected to D.C. public office. Both were unopposed on the ballot.
Steven “Stevie” McCarty, who currently serves as president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, won election in ANC 2G04, located in the Shaw neighborhood. He also ran unopposed on the ballot.
McCarty was among the Capital Stonewall Democrats leaders who earlier this year helped to launch a Queering ANC campaign to recruit and help elect LGBTQ residents to ANC seats.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities by currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected to two-year terms.
The commissions, which have no direct authority to put in place laws or policies, are charged with making recommendations, to which elected city officials are required to give “great weight,” on a wide range of issues, including zoning, street improvements, traffic, parking, and liquor licenses.
At least 18 of the LGBTQ ANC candidates who are among the presumed winners ran unopposed.
Daniel Aboagye, who is one of the LGBTQ ANC candidates who did not emerge as a presumed winner, was trailing his lead opponent, Ben Hammer, in a four-candidate race by just three first-choice votes as of the Board of Elections vote count on Monday, Nov. 9. Aboagye said he was hopeful that under the city’s ranked choice voting system he could pull ahead and win the race when the final vote count is completed. He was among the ANC candidates endorsed by Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Following is a list of the 29 known LGBTQ ANC candidates who won or were presumed winners on Nov. 3 and the single member districts and neighborhoods in which they ran.
1A04 – (Columbia Heights) Jeremy Sherman, he/him
1A10 – (Columbia Heights) Vida Rangel, she/they
1B06 – (Columbia Heights/Meridian Hill) Miguel Trindade Deramo, he/him
1B07 – (U Street) Matthew Holden, he/him
1C01 – (Adams Morgan) Howard Bauleke, he/him
1D06 – Sapna Pandya, she/her
1E01 – (Park View) Brad Howard, he/him
2A03 – John P. George, he/him
2B03 – (Dupont Circle) Vincent Slatt, he/him
2B05 – Alex Marshall, he/him
2B08 – Zach Adams, he/him
2C01 – (Penn Quarter) Michael D. Shankle, he/him
2F05 – (Logan Circle) Christopher Dyer, he/him
2F07 – (Logan Circle) Kevin Cataldo, he/him
2G01 – (Shaw) Howard Garrett, he/him
2G02 – (Shaw) Alexander ‘Alex’ Padro, he/him
2G04 – (Shaw) Steven McCarty, he/him
3B06 – (Wesley Heights) S. Robert Rodriquez, he/him
4D07 – Brittany Vesce, she/her
4E02 – (16th Street Heights) Vince Micone, he/him
5B04 – (Brookland) Ra Amin, he/him
5F05 – Andrew Pendleton, he/him
5F06 – (Eckington) Joe Bishop-Henchman, he/him
6B03 – (Capitol Hill) David Sobelsohn, he/him
6B04 – Dana White, they/them
6B09 – (Capitol Hill/Barney Circle) Karen Hughes, she/her
7C01 – (Deanwood) Brian Glover, he/him
7C03 – (Lincoln Heights) Carlos Richardson, he/him
7C04 (Deanwood) Anthony Lorenzo Green
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