GLAA Upgrades Candidate Ratings
Nonpartisan LGBT political and policy organization revises ratings for five D.C. Council candidates
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the nonpartisan political organization that seeks to defend the civil rights of the District’s LGBT citizens, on Friday revised the ratings for five D.C. Council candidates, four of whom previously failed to submit completed questionnaires to the organization. While GLAA does not make endorsements in partisan political races, it does grade candidates based on their questionnaire responses, their record, and any other form of championing LGBT rights on a scale of -10 to +10. A rating of +5 or above is generally considered a “good” rating, as championship and record points can be very difficult to get, particularly for first-time candidates. Candidates may also submit additional information, evidence of their record or expound upon their answers to have their ratings revised upward.
Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), the Democratic nominee for one of two at-large seats up for re-election this cycle, originally earned a +6 on her questionnaire during the Democratic primary, and has since been awarded a +7.5 for adding additional substance to her questionnaire. Among priorities that Bonds has championed on the Council are her effort to obtain $1 million in additional funding for homeless LGBT youth, promoting HIV/AIDS and STD testing for inmates being released from jail, expanding the medical marijuana program, and supporting the repeal of prostitution-free zones (PFZs). Bonds’ revised rating places her among the top five highest-ranked candidates seeking the two at-large seats.
The remaining four candidates — at-large candidates Khalid Pitts and Kishan Putta, the Republican candidate for Council Chairman, Kris Hammond, and Preston Cornish, the Libertarian nominee for the Ward 5 race — originally did not submit completed questionnaires to GLAA in time for the organization’s first release of ratings.
GLAA notes that Putta, Pitts and Hammond agree with GLAA on most issues. Putta’s record as a Ward 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner includes working in outreach to help enroll residents in DC Health Link, the exchange created under the Affordable Care Act, working to lift the liquor license moratorium on 17th Street NW, and testifying for the repeal of PFZs at a Council hearing earlier this year. Pitts is known for his advocacy on behalf of LGBT inmates at the D.C. Jail and his work with SEIU and as a member of the D.C. Health Exchange Board, pushing for non-discrimination in health coverage. Hammond, a first-time candidate, was credited for his public advocacy on behalf of marriage equality. Putta was awarded a +6, Pitts a +5 and Hammond a +3.5.
Cornish, who is running against incumbent Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D) in a ward covering the bulk of the city’s Northeast quadrant, agreed with GLAA on some issues but not on others, a common problem for candidates like Libertarians and Republicans who might favor a government that takes less of an active role on major initiatives. As part of his record, Cornish cited his employment at the Reason Foundation, a Libertarian think tank that supports marriage equality and drug legalization, but, according to GLAA, “did not specify what he himself has done to advance those issues.” GLAA also notes that the Reason Foundation opposes nondiscrimination laws that GLAA supports. Cornish was awarded a +1.5. When McDuffie submitted his questionnaire, he earned a +4.5, indicating that neither has an exclusive or dominant edge when it comes to championing LGBT issues.
“Highlights of GLAA’s re-ratings are the revised rating of Democrat Anita Bonds, which puts her in the upper cluster of At-Large Council candidates; and that of Independent At-Large candidate Kishan Putta, who has made good use of his time on the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission,” GLAA President Rick Rosendall said in a statement. “We appreciate all of the candidates who responded to our questionnaire. Voters can review their answers on our website to make their own judgments.”
In total, GLAA asked 35 candidates for mayor and various Council positions to submit questionnaires, with only eight failing to do so. a response rate of 77 percent. Those who have not submitted questionnaires are: Nestor Djonkam, an independent running for mayor; Council Chairman candidates John C. Cheeks, a conservative-leaning independent, and Kyle Walker, the Libertarian Party’s nominee; at-large candidates Eric Jones, an independent, Republican Marc Morgan, and Libertarian Frederick Steiner; and the Libertarian nominees for Wards 1 and 3, John Vaught LaBeaume and Ryan Sabot.
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