Politics
How Stonewall Democratic Club retaliated against critics of its president
Stonewall Democratic Club is a powerful force in local politics, especially in the LGBTQIA+ enclave of West Hollywood.
By Kate Gallagher | LOS ANGELES – “I know the ugly side of politics quite well. Any endeavor that involves human beings, there’s going to be mischief somewhere,” said Lauren Buisson. “The system feeds on cronyism and self-dealing, and that’s what I saw at Stonewall.”
Buisson was a member of Stonewall Democratic Club’s Steering Committee until she was dismissed from her position in October 2018. Her capital offense was calling out the racist, transphobic, and otherwise inappropriate Facebook posts made by the organization’s president, Lester Aponte — whose current campaign for a third term as Stonewall president has the support of dozens of elected officials and Democratic Party leaders.
Stonewall Democratic Club is a powerful force in local politics, especially in the LGBTQIA+ enclave of West Hollywood. The organization’s leadership includes high-ranking members of the local, state, and national Democratic Party. Each election cycle, candidates for everything from the Santa Monica School Board to the U.S. Senate vie for Stonewall’s endorsement, a symbolic stamp of approval from the LGBTQIA+ community.
But beneath the veneer of progressivism, several current and former Stonewall members describe a toxic environment of harassment, bigotry, and abuses of power, where dissent is silenced and misconduct is swept under the rug.
“It’s just a really twisted culture about personal gain, personal access, and nothing about advancing LGBT standards of living,” said Craig Scott, a lifelong LGBTQIA+ activist who served on Stonewall’s Steering Committee from 2017 to 2018. “
Sean Kolodji was an enthusiastic young activist when he joined Stonewall in 2009. He soon got involved in the membership team, where he was responsible for recruiting and credentialing new members. By 2015, he’d been appointed to the Steering Committee as Membership Chair. “I felt like we’re really fighting for something,” he said. “We’re fighting for LGBT rights, fighting for the trans community, fighting for diversity, and I was passionate.”
But cracks in the facade quickly started to show. In April 2017, Kolodji won a Stoney Award — the organization’s annual award ceremony/fundraiser — for Member of the Year. Eric Bauman, longtime Stonewall president and then-LACDP Chair, was also there to accept the Public Official of the Year Award.
Bauman, who later resigned as CDP Chair amid sexual misconduct allegations, was “very handsy with everyone,” Kolodji recalled. At one point during the dinner, Bauman began massaging Kolodji’s 20-year-old guest while still seated at the table.
According to several former members, Bauman’s inappropriate behavior was an open secret at Stonewall. None of the club’s leadership ever intervened.
“The pain that we experienced in dealing with the way Eric Bauman interacted — what example did he set for us about how we get power?” Kolodji said. “I feel like there was a structural problem, where we didn’t set the ground rules and say, look, within a professional space we can’t do this.”
That summer, Kolodji was elected to Stonewall’s Executive Team as Communications Vice President. Just days later, Gemmel Moore was found dead in the home of prominent Democratic donor and Stonewall Steering Committee member Ed Buck.
Kolodji, Scott, and Alex Paris, who served as Social Media Chair, pushed the club to publicly disavow Buck’s behavior, and to donate $500 (the cost of Buck’s lifetime Stonewall membership) to Moore’s funeral expenses. They received pushback from several other Steering Committee members, including Aponte, Garry Shay (who serves as the parliamentarian for both Stonewall and the LACDP), and John Erickson, now a member of West Hollywood City Council.
“There were a lot of people in the party that just wanted to be quiet,” Kolodji said. He recalled that, when Black activists posted on Stonewall’s Facebook page asking where the organization stood on Buck’s behavior, Aponte asked that the posts be deleted.
Even once the Steering Committee voted to put out a statement regarding Moore’s death, Aponte fought to soften the statement’s language and frame it around the dangers of drug addiction, rather than Buck’s suspicious role in Moore’s overdose.
“They didn’t want to kick [Buck] out because he gave so much money to the club,” said Scott. “Lester was always like, we can’t jump to conclusions, we need more information.”
Although Buck soon resigned from the Steering Committee, Moore’s death, and the tepid reactions from the rest of the club’s leadership, was a tipping point for Kolodji. “Those experiences together radicalized me a little bit,” he said. “This organization has something rotten at its core, and I can’t just go along with it.”
Lauren Buisson joined Stonewall in the summer of 2017, just after the Ed Buck scandal broke. “I actually went to some other [organizations’] events, and of all the ones I went to, the only person who chatted me up as a potential recruit was Sean.”
Kolodji and Buisson met at the annual Stonewall BBQ, hosted at the family home of State Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer. Buisson soon signed on to join Kolodji and Alex Paris on Stonewall’s communications team, where she managed the club’s social media and led writing and production on the Stonewall Spotlight podcast.
“Alex, Sean, and I worked really, really well together. We had the same social justice driven agenda,” Buisson recalled. “[But] I noticed the problems in the organization almost from the jump. And it especially became clear when the first crisis in the assembly happened.”
In late October 2017, Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra was accused of sexual misconduct. Just a week later, similar allegations surfaced against state Senator Tony Mendoza. After the news broke, Buisson, Paris, and Kolodji led an effort to convince the Steering Committee to draft a statement condemning the two officials’ behavior.
However, Eric Bauman, who at that point was no longer a member of Stonewall’s Steering Committee, stepped in and cautioned them not to move forward with the statement. Buisson found his involvement alarming.
“You had this guy who was himself a serial sexual harasser stepping into club business when he was no longer supposed to be involved,” she said. “Parts of the California Democratic Party like to assert that they have no control or association with the clubs. They absolutely do.”
The statement, drafted by Buisson, was eventually approved by a majority of the Steering Committee, over the objections of Aponte, Garry Shay, and Political Vice President Jane Wishon. As soon as the votes were in, Kolodji sent out the statement.
Immediately afterwards, Aponte confronted Kolodji for “going behind his back” by releasing the statement without his prior approval. Kolodji was baffled, since Aponte had put him in charge of counting the votes for the motion. “It showed that Lester and Garry and the power in the organization were uncomfortable with this kind of rebellion of the grassroots,” he said.
In the coming months, Buisson, Kolodji, Paris, and Scott frequently came into conflict with the rest of the Steering Committee. They were the only four Steering Committee members to vote against accepting a donation from Wells Fargo Bank, which had recently been rocked by a storm of scandals. Aponte ultimately decided to decline the donation after Kolodji leaked the news to LA Health Commissioner and former Stonewall Steering member Susie Shannon, who vagueposted about it on Facebook.
It gradually became clear to Paris that Stonewall’s leadership was “completely ignoring the important mission that this organization was started for… They’re more concerned with consolidating power, more concerned with glad-handing politicos and influence sharing than they are with actually helping LGBT people.”
The political disagreements sometimes turned personal. While discussing endorsements for the 2018 election, Scott, a longtime San Francisco resident, criticized Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s history of moderate positions and suggested that the octogenarian was getting too old to do her job effectively. In response, Erickson criticized Scott’s comments as “ageist” and sent an email to the Executive Team suggesting that Scott should be removed.
“We looked at it, and we were like, okay, this isn’t… this is silly, right?” Kolodji recalled.
A more serious point of contention was the lack of diversity in Stonewall’s leadership. Of the eight elected officers, there’s currently only one who isn’t a cisgender man — Jane Wishon, who is a straight white woman. While officer positions are open to anyone, including straight allies, the lack of representation for LGBTQIA+ women within the club’s leadership is reflective of a larger problem, not just at Stonewall but in politics and LGBTQIA+ spaces in general.
In 2010, Aponte was on the board of a pro-marriage-equality organization called “Love, Honor, Cherish,” which crafted a failed ballot measure to overturn Proposition 8. The organization, which was entirely composed of cisgender gay men, failed to include any mention of gender identity in the measure.
In response to a Facebook post about the lack of trans-specific language, Aponte said that none of the over 100 activists who were involved in the discussions ever raised any concerns. He seemingly recognized the problem with the group’s lack of diversity without claiming any responsibility for fixing that problem, simply saying, “Obviously we needed some of you in the room. The door has always been open.”
To Hannah Howard, this sounded like a cop-out. Howard, who is trans, attended one Stonewall meeting in 2005, but decided not to engage further after being repeatedly misgendered during the meeting. She was surprised when, just a few years ago, a Stonewall member made a Facebook post about the reasons why trans people have trouble engaging with the movement — and Aponte responded with incredulity.
When Howard commented sharing her experience at the 2005 Stonewall meeting, Aponte “was shocked, disbelieving that such a thing could happen, but talking about [how] they were such great allies now,” she said.
However, according to current Steering Committee member Mackenzie Hussman, not much has actually changed. She recalled that, during a Pride event in 2018, a newer member of the Steering Committee, who is a trans woman, was working at Stonewall’s booth. An older man on the Steering Committee didn’t recognize her, and accused her of stealing from the booth. The incident was addressed awkwardly at the next Steering Committee meeting.
“Lester gave some sort of wash-overstatement like, ‘Oh we try to be inclusive of everyone.’ And then he proceeded to ask this trans woman how she would like to be treated,” Hussman recalled. “It just felt so insensitive. We’re an LGBT club, we should already know how to welcome trans members into our community. And she was publicly singled out in front of 30 people. It was embarrassing.”
In another example of Stonewall’s lukewarm commitment to inclusion, two Black LGBTQIA+ candidates, Steve Dunwoody and Ashley Marie Preston, intended to run in the 2018 special election for Assembly District 54. However, Wishon, as Vice President of Politics, made the decision that Stonewall shouldn’t endorse or support either candidate, because it would be “too divisive for us to choose between a Black gay man and a Black trans person,” according to Kolodji. In the end, neither candidate even made it onto the ballot.
In April 2018, Buisson posted an article to the Steering Committee’s private Facebook group about the need for more Black women in Democratic Party leadership. All hell broke loose.
Shay replied that Buisson’s post was “not productive,” and instructed Operations Vice President Steve Bott to remove the post. When Buisson noticed it was gone, she posted the article again. It was removed again, and Buisson was blocked from further posting in the group.
“I’m 6’1″ and 245 pounds. I don’t let men tell me when I can talk and when I can’t,” said Buisson. “You could throw a brick and not hit a person of color at these general meetings. This was a problem we needed to address internally. And they refused.”
Buisson brought her concerns to Kolodji, who raised the issue with the rest of the Executive Team, including Aponte, Shay, Wishon, and Bott. All four replied that any criticism of the Democratic Party is unwelcome on the Steering Facebook page.
Kolodji repeatedly pointed out the irony of silencing a Black woman for calling out the Party’s silencing of Black women. Aponte, who is Puerto Rican, is the only person who responded to this point — he replied mystifyingly, “The real irony is that the only ethnic minority in this thread is me.”
At the time, Stonewall had no official grievance process — if Buisson wanted to press the issue further, it would be judged by the Steering Committee, which was overwhelmingly white and male.
Interestingly, Wishon had said that “no one is trying to censor Lauren on her own page,” and Aponte agreed that Buisson and Scott (whom no one else had mentioned) had “the entire wide world web” to post whatever they wanted. They quickly changed their stance on this.
Just a few weeks later, Scott shared a link to a video on his personal Facebook page with the comment, “Fag hags need to be checked so often.” The video depicted a brawl between a group of intoxicated white women and a group of queer men of color in an alley in West Hollywood.
However, the Executive Team interpreted Scott’s comment differently. Within hours, the officers had been looped into an email with the subject line “URGENT: Regarding post encouraging violence against women.”
Scott insisted that his comment was meant to condemn the violence. “There’s this ongoing debate within the LGBT, especially gay men, culture about the appropriateness of straight women and bridal showers going to gay spaces,” he told Knock LA. “So I just said you got to check your fag hags because you don’t want them beating up on queer people. I basically saw it as a gay bashing.”
Shay recommended that the board should immediately ask for Scott’s resignation. Wishon agreed. Attaching a screenshot of an unrelated Facebook comment by Buisson, she added, “And Lauren…”
By the next day, seven of the eight officers had signed a letter calling for Scott’s resignation. Kolodji was the only one who dissented. While he agreed that Scott’s post was “in very poor taste,” he told the rest of the Executive Team that he didn’t feel it was a resignation-worthy offense.
Neither did Scott, who deleted the post but refused to resign. At that point, the Executive Team (except Kolodji) motioned for the formation of an investigation committee to address the issue.
The committee presented its findings at Stonewall’s June 25 general membership meeting. The room was packed. “They called all the members who don’t normally show up, describing [Scott] as this misogynist who’s endorsing violence against women,” Buisson said.
LACDP Chair Mark Gonzalez was brought in to preside over the session. DNC member Laurence Zakson served as Parliamentarian. Scott himself chose not to attend the meeting, but Buisson led the defense on his behalf.
“It was a circus,” Kolodji said. One LACDP leader described the proceedings as “absurd.” At one point, West Hollywood City Councilmember John Heilman called impatiently from the back of the room, “Let’s vote already!”
In the end, the members voted, 48 to 14, to remove Scott from the Steering committee. That was the end of his involvement with Stonewall.
Regardless of whether or not Scott’s post should have been considered grounds for dismissal, the affair revealed a glaring double standard for whose inappropriate behavior is, or isn’t, punished. Just a year earlier, Stonewall had vigorously supported Eric Bauman’s campaign for CDP Chair, despite his well-known sexual misconduct.
“They all jumped on [Scott] because they wanted to get rid of a critical voice,” Buisson concluded.
Throughout the controversy, Kolodji had warned the rest of the Executive Team that “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, so to speak. Be careful pursuing this with Craig, because this is an abuse of power, and you’re setting a precedent that is going to come back.”
Kolodji had been Facebook friends with Aponte for years, and he was aware of several posts Aponte had made that were just as offensive, if not worse than the comment that led to Scott’s removal. He mentioned this to Buisson, who began combing through Aponte’s most problematic posts.
In October 2011, Aponte posted a link to an article about Hermain Cain with the comment, “I hear the camp is iin [sic] the Spik Valley and overlooks Gook Mountain. Ain’t Texas grand?”
In November 2014, he posted an article about Mia Love, a Black Mormon Republican recently elected to Congress, commenting: “Until 1972, official Mormon Church doctrine was that Black people were evil and could not be saved. Perhaps this is their way of proving it?”
In 2015, he deliberately misidentified Ann Coulter as trans: “I am saying Ann Coulter is transgender. Go ahead and sue me.” The comments on the post became filled with vitriolic anti-trans and misogynistic remarks. Aponte did nothing to stop the hateful discussion.
In 2016, Aponte liked an anti-BLM post that said, “I think these people are assholes. There I said it. I’ve grown to despise BLM because of their tactics and narrative.”
In 2017, he joked that immigrant activists should be deported.
In 2018, Aponte described the Inclusive Pride Flag as “stupid.”
Buisson compiled 18 pages of screenshots of these and other inappropriate remarks. It was already clear to her that taking her concerns to the Steering Committee would be futile.
“It was not just about this one bigoted individual,” Buisson said. “It was infecting. You could see it in who was in the club, who was in leadership positions, who spoke from whom, who was excluded, the whole system was infected. And in my view at the time, that fish was rotting from the head.”
So, rather than rely on the club’s leadership to discipline themselves, Buisson sent the offending posts to several elected officials, asking them to withdraw their support for Stonewall until Aponte resigned.
Not a single official responded.
One of the recipients was Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, host of the annual Stonewall BBQ — which was coming up in just a few weeks.
“My feeling was, as somebody with a reputation for advocating for the Black community, this man might be a little bit pissed off about these racist things,” Buisson said. “It would be no problem for him to say, this event is canceled until you resign. You’re out of Stonewall or doesn’t go forward.”
Jones-Sawyer’s office did reach out to Stonewall’s leadership — but not to demand Aponte’s resignation. Instead, they passed along Buisson’s letter, fingering her as a whistleblower.
A few weeks after her letter-writing campaign began, Buisson suddenly found herself locked out of Stonewall’s digital assets and social media accounts. Paris, who chaired the social media team, called Aponte in confusion. Aponte informed him that Buisson was no longer allowed to serve on the communications team.
“I said, what are you talking about, you’re just [removing] her?” Paris recalled. “And [Aponte] is like, ‘yeah, I can do that, I’m president.’ I was like… pretty sure you can’t.”
When Aponte realized that he could not, in fact, unilaterally remove Buisson from her Steering Committee position, he told Paris and Kolodji to ask for her resignation. They refused.
On September 26, Aponte sent an email to the full Steering Committee revealing that Buisson had sent letters to several elected officials accusing him of making “racist and bigoted statements.” Without revealing any details about the “statements” in question, Aponte called Buisson’s accusations “false and defamatory… harmful, not just to my personal reputation, but the reputation and public standing of our organization.” He asked that the Steering Committee vote on whether to expel Buisson from her position.
In stark contrast to Scott’s widely-publicized hearing, Buisson’s removal was handled quietly at a Steering Committee meeting on October 4. So quietly, apparently, that Wishon told Knock LA she didn’t remember the meeting had even happened — although the minutes confirm she was in attendance.
“There were wild allegations and actual shouting matches at this meeting,” Paris recalled. “That was an absurdly fireworks meeting over an issue that was not taken seriously.”
Buisson chose not to attend the meeting, but Paris and Kolodji argued on her behalf that the real problem at hand was Aponte’s behavior, not Buisson’s. Even if the committee didn’t feel that Aponte’s Facebook posts were grounds for resignation, his attempt to retaliate against Buisson was itself an abuse of power that warranted investigation.
However, other Steering Committee members said that Buisson should have brought the issue directly to them — which Kolodji found ludicrous, given their handling of Buisson’s previous complaints. “We tried to deal with this stuff internally,” he said. “But it seemed like their side was kind of like, ‘we’re gonna use our power — and we have more power — to essentially drive you out.”
The Steering Committee ultimately voted, 17 to 3, to remove Buisson from her position. Paris resigned the same day in protest. Kolodji soon disengaged from Stonewall as well.
“The organization just seemed destined to be an unredeemable mess,” Kolodji said. “Is there no shame, to just ruthlessly try to target someone that we need as a leader in queer spaces? And instead, what do we get?”
As a parting shot, Kolodji and Paris motioned for a separate investigation into Aponte’s Facebook posts. The motion was approved, and an Ad Hoc Incident Review Committee was formed to review the posts. The five-member committee included Aponte’s longtime ally, Garry Shay.
Knock LA obtained a copy of the investigation’s report, which was finalized in June 2019 and sent only to the eight members of the Executive Team. In Aponte’s statement to the committee, he defends each of his insensitive posts, which he maintains are not “racist [or] bigoted.” He claims Buisson only called out his comments because of a “personal vendetta.”
The committee’s assessment notes that Aponte’s posts are in “poor taste” and that each of the committee members would “know better than to make these kind of comments.” However, they largely accept Aponte’s justifications, some of which strain credulity (in one example, he insists that his sarcastic use of racial slurs “was in no way meant to condone the use of racial slurs in place names, but rather the opposite.” He doesn’t elaborate further.)
Ultimately, the committee decides that the posts are not grounds for Aponte’s removal. The report concludes: “What appears most important now is to move forward from this point.”
It’s unclear whether the investigation’s findings were ever revealed to the full Steering Committee or the membership at large. Wishon claims the investigation’s report was presented at a general membership meeting; however, Knock LA reviewed the minutes for every meeting from 2018 to June 2021, and there is no mention of the incident review committee’s existence.
According to a current Steering Committee member, at some point Aponte made a brief apology and deleted the Facebook posts, but that’s where the consequences ended. In May 2019, Aponte was nominated, unopposed, for a second term as president. Three of the five members of the official nominating committee were also involved in the incident review committee, whose investigation into Aponte was still ongoing.
Ultimately, Aponte was reelected, and his now-deleted racist Facebook posts were seemingly never mentioned again. During this same time, however, Stonewall was implicated in a wave of controversies that weren’t so easily swept under the rug.
In November 2018, Eric Bauman resigned as CDP Chair after an onslaught of sexual harassment allegations. In January 2019, a second body was found in Ed Buck’s apartment. Later that year, a third victim narrowly escaped from Buck’s home alive, and Buck was finally arrested. He was eventually indicted on nine counts by a federal grand jury, and his trial is currently underway.
Meanwhile, in November 2020, John Erickson, a major player in several of Stonewall’s internal scandals, was elected to West Hollywood City Council, thanks in part to the resources that came along with his endorsement by Stonewall. Notably, four of the eight eligible candidates were inexplicably barred from participating in Stonewall’s endorsement process, and although two council seats were open, Stonewall’s membership voted to endorse only Erickson — Sepi Shyne, an LGBTQIA+ woman of color, failed to reach the 60% vote threshold for endorsement.
On May 24, Aponte announced his candidacy for a third term as Stonewall president. Interestingly, the same day as his announcement, he changed his Facebook cover photo to the Inclusive Pride flag that he previously decried as “stupid.” His slate, which is running on a platform of diversity and inclusion, includes five men and one straight woman (Wishon).
This time, however, Aponte isn’t the only candidate in the running — although he was chosen by the official nominating committee, another Stonewall member submitted a nomination for Alex Mohajer, who currently serves as Chair of Public and Media Relations.
According to Mackenzie Hussman, this year’s election has been tense from the very beginning, when the nominating committee itself was being chosen. “I felt rushed,” she said. “They were trying to put select people through who would nominate whoever [the current officers] wanted to.”
When other Steering Committee members spoke up and suggested different names for the nomination committee, there was procedural confusion. “They were just shocked that people would not go with what they were saying,” Hussman said. “It’s just been very key prominent people running this club without check or challenge, and now there’s people challenging them. You can tell they feel threatened.”
Hussman notes that Aponte has personally blocked several Steering Committee members on Facebook, ostensibly for opposing his campaign for reelection. In a blast of deja vu, Hussman, who is Chair of Social Media, and another communications team member were both inexplicably locked out of Stonewall’s social media accounts on July 12 with no explanation, although their access was restored when the issue was brought to Operations VP Bott’s attention.
According to Hussman, the only people who could have revoked the access are Bott, Aponte, and Wishon. When Knock LA asked Wishon about the incident, she explained vaguely, “The Operations team examined all our permissions on the website and socials. Two members were moved to different permissions on [Facebook], but as soon as Operations was made aware that the previous level was required in order to stream they were moved back to their original levels.”
Despite the internal dissent, Aponte still enjoys widespread support from the Democratic establishment. His reelection campaign has been endorsed by John Erickson; West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath; State Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Laura Friedman, Jesse Gabriel, and Isaac Bryan; State Senators Ben Allen, Anthony Portantino, and Sydney Kamlager; LA City Councilmembers Paul Koretz and Mike Bonin; LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell; LACDP Chair Mark Gonzalez; CDP Executive Director Yvette Martinez; and at least six DNC members.
As this roster of supporters suggests, the implications of Stonewall’s internal drama extend far and wide through state and local politics.
To Buisson, the problems at Stonewall are emblematic of a larger problem with how the Democratic Party treats marginalized communities, particularly the Black women on whose votes and volunteer labor they rely. She notes that the refusal to prioritize the needs of diverse communities could be an existential threat to the Party’s survival.
“Juneteenth does not make up for George Floyd. And Kamala Harris does not make up for all the slights that women of color suffer,” she said. “[Last year], the entire region went ultra progressive. We had a record turnout. And yet they’re still trying to preach to us, you know, what the well-heeled people want. You think that they would realize where this is headed… The younger voters are willing to suffer through a Republican administration to teach the Democrats a lesson.”
But perhaps one of the most worrying consequences of Stonewall’s toxic culture is the impact on the LGBTQIA+ community. “I don’t want these creeps mentoring our queer youth. I don’t want them jaded and cynical after their first election,” Buisson said. “We can’t have vulnerable people having weak leaders or corrupt leaders. That does harm to our children and makes them even more isolated.”
“I think at the end of the day, this is about restoring the important place that organizations like Stonewall play in the progressive movement,” Paris added. “We can sit by and let the party apparatus do what it’s going to do to protect its insular interests, or we can stand up and fight back for the interests of the people that the party proclaims that it is in service of.”
Buisson believes the first step is to expel Aponte, not just from Stonewall, but from the CDP, where he currently serves as co-chair of the LGBT Caucus. Beyond that, she suggests that the LACDP should temporarily revoke Stonewall’s charter — essentially disaffiliating the organization from the Democratic Party — until the internal issues are addressed.
This seems unlikely to happen, given that the LACDP’s executive director and parliamentarian are both members of Stonewall’s Executive Team, and LACDP Chair Mark Gonzalez has endorsed Aponte’s reelection campaign. But Buisson is hopeful that public pressure from elected officials could be enough to turn the tide and hold Aponte accountable.
“It’s one call from one of them… to the chair of the state party, to expel him, and to sanction Stonewall,” Buisson said. “It’s one call [from] one elected. That’s all it takes. And I’m laying down that gauntlet. Which one of you is it going to be?”
Knock LA contacted Aponte, who responded with a completely blank email. Garry Shay declined to comment. John Erickson didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Kate Gallagher is a freelance journalist and writer based in Los Angeles. She is also a Senior Content Writer for Parcast Studios on Spotify.
Gallagher is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature.
The preceding article was published at KnockLA, a Los Angeles based non-profit community journalism project and is republished by permission.
Politics
Democrats projected to win Senate majority, opening door to LGBTQ+ legislation
U.S. Sen-elect Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) is gay
The U.S. Senate has flipped to Democratic control.
Democrats will control of the Senate after flipping the minimum four Republican-held seats, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress and a majority in the legislative branch, according to NBC.
The Senate, the upper legislative body, holds 100 seats, two for every state, and oversees several important functions of the federal government, including confirming judicial and Cabinet appointments.
There will now be two openly LGBTQ+ members of the Senate: freshly elected Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, who is gay, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who is a lesbian.
With greater control over federal legislation, Democrats could have an opportunity to advance measures such as the Equality Act, which would expand federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
During the campaign, President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to South Carolina Democratic Senator-elect Annie Andrews using the anti-transgender slur “Tranny Annie,” while emphasizing culture war issues, including trans participation in sports and gender-affirming care.
Democrats, meanwhile, have centered their campaigns on the growing affordability crisis as somatic issues, including the Ukrainian-Russian war, Palestinian-Israeli war, and the war in Iran.
California
Xavier Becerra wins California governor’s race
Governor-elect has long track record of LGBTQ support
Just minutes after polls closing, Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra was named the projected winner of California’s governor’s race by the Associated Press, beating out the Republican Steve Hilton. Becerra has a long history in elected office, serving as a congressman representing parts of Los Angeles and East LA, then as California Attorney General, and most recently as the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. He also has a long history of supporting pro-LGBTQ policies.
As a congressman, he voted against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex marriage on the federal level. As California attorney general, he sued the Trump-Pence administration in 2017 over a policy that aimed to ban transgender people from serving in the military. As HHS Secretary, he publicly defended access to gender-affirming care for transgender patients, including for minors, noting that it has been shown to reduce suicidality among transgender youth. This is a major contrast to the current HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has since made the agency’s official policy that it “rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children.”
In his campaign for governor, Becerra has continued to support gender-affirming care, saying in a statement on X that “as Governor, I will stand firm to secure California’s status as a sanctuary state for trans youth and their families,” and posting an image with the phrase “protect trans youth.”
Becerra’s opponent Steve Hilton made LGBTQ issues a small but loud part of his campaign.
He opposed transgender participation in women’s sports, attending and speaking at a “Save Girl’s Sports” rally that called for a ban on transgender people playing in women’s sports in California. In an interview with the San Francisco Standard, Hilton was asked about his favorite girl’s sport, responding “I don’t follow girl’s sports,” and declined to make any commitments to further women’s competition in sports beyond calling for an end to transgender participation.
Hilton came under further criticism from the LGBTQ community for releasing an innuendo-laced campaign advertisement in October that appeared to show two women in an intimate setting before revealing that one is trying to convince the other to vote for Hilton. Jorge Reyes Salinas, communications director at Equality California, called the ad “a disgusting attempt to exploit lesbian intimacy for political attention” in an interview with the Blade. It was also unpopular among conservatives, with Evangelical Pastor Jack Hibbs stating that the ad was distasteful and that “lesbianism among college girls and some high school girls right now is an actual pandemic of social ill.”
Becerra’s victory in the governor’s race is no surprise in California where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 2:1. The real challenge was making it past the primary election. After former Congressman Eric Swalwell dropped out of the Democratic primary amid allegations of sexual misconduct, Becerra seized on the opportunity and became the frontrunner. He later beat out billionaire Tom Steyer in the June primary to become the Democratic nominee.
In the general election, Becerra ran a quiet campaign for governor, counting on support from the overwhelmingly Democratic California electorate. As a result, Becerra has been sparse on many specific policy commitments on the campaign trail. However, his track record indicates that California’s next governor will likely support pro-LGBTQ policies.
Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Politics
Democrats poised to flip House, opening door for expanded LGBTQ+ leadership
Robert Garcia among potential committee chairs in new Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives is projected to flip to Democratic control.
According to the Associated Press, Democrats are moving toward control of the House after defeating six Republicans in key battleground races.
While several major questions remain about how Democrats will lead beginning in 2027, their control of the chamber will expand their oversight powers, allowing them to pursue efforts to check an executive branch that has operated with little congressional oversight over the past two years.
With control of the House and expanded oversight powers, more LGBTQ Democrats could be positioned to take on leadership roles in the new Congress.
Incumbent Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is poised to become chair of the House Oversight Committee, where he would have greater authority to investigate the Trump-Vance administration, subpoena officials and oversee federal agencies.
Garcia sent out a two word statement following the confirmation of the Democratic Party’s control: “Lawyer up.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) could gain a leadership position on the House Appropriations Committee, which has authority over government funding. Such a position could allow him to put roadblocks in the way of much of the Republican agenda, including many projects Trump has personally spearheaded while in the Oval Office.
Some political strategists, like those at Newsweek, have said a third Trump impeachment could be on the table. However, convicting President Donald Trump in a Senate trial would require a two-thirds majority, an outcome that remains uncertain.
These midterm elections have been rife with personal attacks, gerrymandering at the behest of Trump, and heightened political tensions across the country. Republicans have campaigned on the idea that voters are effectively voting for Trump, while also focusing heavily on transgender issues. Meanwhile, many Democrats have pushed back by centering their campaigns on the growing affordability crisis as the war with Iran continues.
California
L.A. LGBT Center used canvassing effort to reframe conversation around trans healthcare
‘Gender affirming care access as part of health care access for all’
The Los Angeles LGBT Center has seen the impact of fearmongering rhetoric about transgender people firsthand so it set out to change the narrative.
The L.A. LGBT Center this year began a new deep canvassing initiative to combat misconceptions about transgender healthcare. The volunteer canvassers are encouraged not only to share facts and voting information, but also to connect with voters by using personal experiences to frame their political engagement. “The key components of deep canvassing involve getting vulnerable and curious with the voter and exchanging stories to show how political issues are tied to personal real lived experience,” said Maria Do, the community mobilization manager at the L.A. LGBT Center.
The campaign focused on speaking to voters in the San Gabriel Valley, a working class and ethnically diverse area on the far east side of Los Angeles County. The deep canvassing campaign targeted the city of Monterey Park in particular, a neighborhood home to large Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian immigrant populations. The goal was to connect with infrequent voters who may be uninformed or misinformed about LGBTQ issues. They focused mainly on informing voters about gender affirming care and then encouraging them to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
“There have been a lot of attacks and just a lot of misinformation around gender affirming care,” Do said. This campaign aimed to dispel misconceptions about transgender care and to treat it like any other kind of healthcare. “We’re trying to frame gender affirming care access as part of health care access for all,” Do said.
Deep canvassing
Deep canvassing at the LGBT Center has its origins in the political battle over the 2008 ballot proposition to ban gay marriage in the state of California. After the ballot proposition passed, the center organized volunteers to knock on doors and have conversations with voters who supported it. These conversations surprised advocates.
“Concerns voters had about same-sex marriage weren’t rooted at all in lived experience, but were fed through media misinformation and their own biases,” Do said. This convinced organizers at the LGBT Center that having face-to-face interactions with voters would be the most productive way to combat narratives that dehumanized and politicized queer rights. This same technique is being utilized by the center today to target rising anti-trans sentiment and policy.
Do says that many people are unaware of reduced access to gender affirming care and threats against health systems, patients, and providers from the federal government. Many did not know that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shut down the largest gender affirming care clinic for trans youth in the country following pressure from the Trump-Vance administration. When canvassers inform people about these challenges, they often get into conversations about a voter’s own struggles with healthcare access.
“They have shared a lot of stories about Medi-Cal access being cut,” Do said. Voters have also expressed concerns over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in their communities. These similar concerns over healthcare access and federal overreach can help build solidarity across demographic communities. “To share that attacks are also happening on the transgender community has allowed space to sort of see the through line between different efforts to help protect various marginalized communities,” Do said.
What’s on the ballot
The L.A. LGBT Center is non-partisan and has not officially endorsed any candidates on the ballot. But the organization still views this election as consequential for queer people across the state and decided to weigh in on six of the statewide ballot propositions, emphasizing an opposition to Proposition 44.
The proposition would mandate that community health clinics spend 90% of their annual income on patient care. While proponents of the measure say that it would ensure that clinics are prioritizing services over profits, critics say that its definition of patient care is too narrow, that 90% is an unrealistic goal, and it would end up hurting patients more than helping them.
LGBT Center officials have said that it would harm community clinics around the state, including others that specialize in queer healthcare.
“Community clinics who fall short [of spending 90% of revenue on program expenses]… would face severe penalties, an estimated $1.7 billion in the first year alone. At a time when the federal government is seeking to strip people of healthcare, this measure will lead clinics to close and make matters worse,” the L.A. LGBT Center’s director of advocacy Joey Hernández said in a written statement.
“It isn’t always going to be a win”
Ricardo Sebastiań has volunteered for two of the deep canvassing actions with the LGBT Center and said it is an effective way to change people’s minds.
“Canvassing is a tried and true tactic for advocacy,” Sebastián said.
They think that a face-to-face conversation with someone can humanize what can otherwise feel like abstract political issues. “Even if you’re meeting somebody who has a different worldview, there is an opportunity there to find middle ground, and that shifts people. You never know the type of impact you’re going to have on somebody when you’re having an open dialogue,” Sebastián said.
Do said that volunteers have spoken with people who had never met a transgender person before and that these conversations around trans healthcare can drastically change these people’s perspectives. “Folks started to see themselves and started to empathize,” when they spoke about transgender healthcare with canvassers with the LGBT Center, Do said.
When out knocking on doors, the most common response for canvassers is, well, nothing. Most of the time, knocks go unanswered and volunteers simply leave behind pamphlets provided by the LGBT Center. And even when canvassers get someone to the door, they can often be preoccupied and dismissive. But this doesn’t discourage volunteers like Sebastián. They feel like the productive conversations they have make it all worth it.
“It isn’t always going to be a win,” Sebastián said. “There’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t want to talk to you or doesn’t care or is very staunch in opposing views. But you can’t let that discourage you from getting to the next door.”
Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Politics
Michigan Senate race puts two sharply different LGBTQ+ records head to head
Abdul El-Sayed challenging U.S. Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
Poll workers across the country are pulling out the ballots and “I voted” stickers, bracing for one of the most divisive and consequential midterm elections in modern times.
Few states have drawn as much media attention, fiery rhetoric, and last-minute political shake-ups as Michigan.
Tomorrow, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed will face off against Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the Great Lakes State’s Senate seat.
In a state where LGBTQ+ adults make up nearly 11 percent of the population, it is important to understand where each candidate stands on issues affecting the community.
El-Sayed, a former public health official and politician, has a record of advocacy and healthcare policy experience related to the LGBTQ+ community.
He led Detroit’s Ryan White HIV program and partnered with LGBT Detroit to make public health services more open and affirming for LGBTQ+ residents. Drawing on his public health expertise, he has also committed to restoring federal HIV and PrEP funding gutted by the Trump-Vance administration. He refuses corporate PAC money, has been outspoken in his support for trans rights, and has vowed to be a “lion for LGBTQ+ rights” in the Senate.
Earlier this year, El-Sayed spoke to PrideSource, where he reaffirmed his support for the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the transgender community, which has faced the brunt of political attacks and hateful rhetoric.
“There’s a reason that if I’m asked, I always say that I support trans rights because I believe in all rights,” El-Sayed said. “I want folks to see their own rights in the plight of a trans person who’s being discriminated against.”
He continued, explaining that if he gets elected to the Senate, he will champion LGBTQ+ rights wherever he can.
“I want the community to know that I intend to be a lion for rights. When somebody’s coming for you, I intend to stand in the cut to protect you. We have to answer this broader question — do we want to live in the kind of America where we leave some of us behind, or do we want to live in the kind of America where we understand that government of the people, by the people, and for the people means all the people?
“My job as a public servant is to stand up for folks. It’s what motivated a lot of my efforts in Detroit and Wayne County to make sure that our services were deeply accessible and empowering of LGBTQ+ residents — and it’s why I take the idea of protecting all of our rights so seriously.”
Rogers, meanwhile, last served as a public servant in 2015, when he represented Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. Before entering politics, he worked as a special agent for the FBI from 1989 to 1994. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress again in 2024 and is now seeking a seat in the Senate.
Compared to El-Sayed, Rogers has a lengthy anti-LGBTQ+ record, according to the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD.
Rogers has called being gay a “lifestyle choice” saying he wouldn’t support his own child if they were gay, has a record of multiple votes against marriage equality, as well as opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory military policy that led to LGBTQ+ service members being discharged for who they are or who they love.
Rogers also voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal hate crime protections to people targeted because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, alongside existing protections based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
Additionally, he voted against a fully inclusive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which sought to ensure survivors received protections and housing regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. He also voted against the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, including LGBTQ+ patients.
His record has become a point of contention, which saw an unexpected political shake up that has started to dominate coverage.
Just yesterday, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat who previously ran against El-Sayed for the party’s Senate nomination, withdrew her endorsement of him and instead endorsed Rogers, surprising her team and members of the Democratic Party.
Jeremy Moss, an LGBTQ+ state lawmaker who is also running for federal office in Michigan that the Blade interviewed earlier this election cycle, condemned Steven’s sudden about face in a statement on Instagram.
“I strongly disagree with Haley Stevens’ decision to endorse Mike Rogers.
Abdul and I have talked about our shared commitment to fighting MAGA extremism, dismantling ICE, and expanding affordable healthcare … But openly cheerleading Mike Rogers is unacceptable. He would be a rubberstamp for Donald Trump, from engaging in voter suppression and election denial, to continuing ICE’s cruel and unlawful operations, to defending disastrous tariffs, to slashing affordable healthcare, and more …
And Rogers, with his abysmal anti-LGBT record, would gleefully confirm Supreme Court justices who will rollback the rights that I have fought hard to protect.”
Despite himself not being a member of the LGBTQ community, HRC has become a vocal supporter of El-Sayed since he emerged as the Democratic nominee.
“I’m proud to have the Human Rights Campaign standing with us in this race,” said El-Sayed. “LGBTQ+ Michiganders deserve leaders who will have their backs when it matters most, not just when it’s politically convenient. That’s the commitment I’ve carried throughout my career in Detroit and Wayne County, and in the United States Senate, I’ll fight to ensure every Michigander can live without discrimination and never have to wonder whether their rights will still be there tomorrow.”
HRC President Kelley Robinson issued a statement today ahead of tomorrow’s election, urging Michigan voters to choose equality over discrimination.
“Mike Rogers voted for a constitutional ban on marriage equality — more than once. He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. And he’s gone after trans kids. There’s only one pro-equality Senate candidate on the ballot in Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed. And he has HRC’s unequivocal support,” Robinson said in a statement. “We have boots on the ground in Michigan, and we’re seeing this thing through until the end.”
The Los Angeles Blade reached out to Rogers regarding his anti-LGBTQ+ policy record but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
California
City Attorney candidate Marissa Roy to Children’s Hospital L.A.: ‘You still have to comply with state law’
Roy said CHLA’s ending of trans healthcare could be illegal under California law that bars discrimination on the basis of gender identity
California Deputy Attorney Gen. Marissa Roy is in a race against Deputy District Attorney John McKinney to be the next City Attorney of Los Angeles. The election for City Attorney has been overshadowed by L.A.’s Mayoral election and the national midterms that will determine control of both chambers of Congress. However, the City Attorney has the power to interpret national, state, and local laws in Los Angeles, set guidelines for enforcement of laws, and represent the city in civil and misdemeanor capacities. This means the winner of the election will shape the city’s legal priorities from law enforcement to civil rights and consumer protection.
Roy spoke with the Los Angeles Blade in an exclusive interview discussing her campaign priorities and her plans if elected as the L.A.’s next City Attorney.
First and foremost, Roy views Los Angeles as a city under siege by the Trump-Vance administration and believes that the current City Attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, could have done more to insulate the city from harm.
“I think the thing to remember with the Trump administration at the end of the day is that they’re bullies,” Roy said. She believes that the city should be fighting the Trump-Vance administration in court more aggressively and more frequently. “We need to be really active in this litigation because it is what works,” she said, adding that when the National Guard was deployed in L.A. amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, California state sued for their removal, not the city.
A particularly prominent example of the Trump-Vance administration’s policies impacting Los Angeles came last year when Children’s Hospital L.A. ended its gender-affirming care services amid federal pressure. Roy said that if elected, she would work to get the hospital to reinstate the “life-saving care” the hospital provided for transgender youth. She said that regardless of executive orders to end gender affirming care for minors, it still remains legal in California and that it may be a violation of the California Unruh Civil Rights Act to deny trans patients care on the basis of their gender identity.
“As city attorney, I would want to work with the California Department of Justice to say that you still have to comply with state law, which bans that discrimination,” Roy said. She also said that the city could join numerous other lawsuits against the Trump-Vance administration, as it has targeted gender-affirming care and transgender rights across the country, something current City Attorney Feldstein Soto has not yet done.
Roy said another priority of her campaign was to wield the City Attorney’s office to protect Angelenos from predatory employers, landlords, and companies. She wants to scale up the public rights branch of the City Attorney’s office from 25 to 100 lawyers to help the city proactively prosecute workers’ rights, tenant rights, and consumer protection cases. When the city wins these cases, they not only get back pay and restitution for the litigants, they also get civil penalties from whoever violated the law, which can then go towards fighting more cases. “These are revenue-generating sections, and they operate based on the penalties they win, so that is how we are able to scale up the work,” Roy said.
But more important than any individual issue, Roy wants to show Angelenos that the city is actively working for them, not just waiting and watching. “I know that this office can be a fighter and that people deserve their government to be fighting with them,” Roy said. “It shouldn’t always fall on their shoulders … this should be an office that is your lawyer.”
For more information, head to www.MarissaRoy.com.
Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
White House
Allegations involving Ric Grenell raise questions about pay-for-play in White House
Gay administration official at center of questions involving paid access to Trump
Questions about how high-level political appointees wield their power have long persisted, particularly under the Trump-Vance administration. Now, allegations involving openly gay Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Ric Grenell, White House adviser Alina Habba, and her husband, Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, are making headlines across newsrooms.
The allegations have prompted President Donald Trump to order an investigation into what has become a convoluted mess, raising questions about a potential “pay-for-play” scheme within the White House.
Axios first reported that Habba accused Grenell of directing her husband to send $17.6 million to a Texas defense and security company, with approximately $5.6 million supposedly earmarked for the Kennedy Center. A text message allegedly sent by Grenell to Mildon promised VIP events and access to administration officials, including Trump, in connection with arranging a donation.
“Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy center, and you’ll be joining the VIP events and get close with the administration, even with POTUS,” the message allegedly sent by Grenell reads, according to Axios.
Habba, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, has alleged that the Kennedy Center never received the donation. Grenell, who served as the center’s acting director from February 2025 to March 2026, has denied sending the text message and called the allegations against him false.
According to Axios, Habba raised concerns with Trump on Oct. 9 after money had reportedly been sent to the Texas company but the promised donation to the Kennedy Center had not materialized. One administration official described Habba as “pretty animated” during the discussion and said she exclaimed at one point, “Ric stole the money!”
However, an administration source told Axios that Habba had not gathered all the necessary information before making the accusation.
“[She] didn’t have all her stuff in order. She went in there half-cocked without all the facts yelling about Grenell stealing. And the facts keep changing,” the source told Axiso. “That doesn’t mean Ric is out of the woods. This looks really shady.”
Following Habba’s accusations, Trump called White House Counsel Will Scharf into the Oval Office and asked him to investigate her claims, according to sources cited by Axios.
Trump and Scharf then called Grenell, who denied the allegations and said he would have immediately alerted others if he had known about a $17 million contribution.
“There’s no way this is true. This is crazy,” Grenell told Trump at one point, according to a source briefed on the discussion.
The Kennedy Center reportedly has no record of receiving the alleged $5.6 million contribution. The White House investigation remains ongoing, with officials examining the digital authenticity of the disputed text message.
Grenell has denied soliciting money under false pretenses or receiving any payment from Mildon.
“I’ve never asked for one cent to be sent somewhere else pretending it was for the Kennedy Center, and I’ve never received any payment from him at all,” Grenell said. “Make him give proof to what he is saying, not make these absurd allegations.”
The amount Habba cited has also reportedly changed. She initially claimed the donation intended for the Kennedy Center totaled approximately $17 million, while the amount allegedly designated for the performing arts institution appears to have been $5.6 million.
The allegations come amid broader questions about corruption within the Trump-Vance administration. Vice President JD Vance addressed the issue last week when asked whether he had witnessed anything inside the White House that gave him pause.
“D.C. is a corrupt town,” Vance said. However, he added, “I have not seen a single shred of evidence that [Trump] participates or sanctions in that corruption.”
The Los Angeles Blade reached out to the White House, Habba, and Grenell for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
California
Nithya Raman makes her case for LGBTQ voters in the race for LA Mayor
The mayoral candidate said she would use ‘every tool that the city has to protect trans Angelenos’
On a cool evening, around a hundred people gathered at the Black Cat’s outdoor seating area in Silverlake. The crowd was full of precisely trimmed mustaches, sleeveless cardigans, and colorful rainbow pins that read “Nithya Raman for Mayor of Los Angeles.”
This was the “Coming out for Nithya” LGBTQ fundraiser for Nithya Raman’s mayoral campaign.
The event which took place on October 8th, was hosted by gay comedian Joel Kim Booster and Pickles the Drag Queen. The pair encouraged the queer audience to support Raman and to donate money to her campaign. The event ended with over $20,000 raised to support Raman according to an organizer of the fundraiser.
Raman is locked in a tight race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles with current incumbent Karen Bass. After coming second in the mayoral primary in August, defeating right-wing provocateur and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, Raman and Bass advanced to the general election. Since then, current City Councilmember Raman has been steadily gaining in the polls, with most showing her now maintaining a consistent lead over Bass. But the race is far from over, as many of the same polls show a large portion of voters are still undecided. Mayor Bass did not respond to multiple requests to comment on this story.
After an hour of the audience ordering drinks and snacking on appetizers, Raman took the stage. She addressed the audience in an impassioned speech where she invoked the history of the historic Black Cat venue where the event was taking place.
In the early hours of New Year’s Day 1967, undercover police officers raided the gay bar, arresting and beating patrons for kissing people of the same gender as the new year rolled in. The raid left many queer community members badly injured, and others were permanently placed on the sex offender registry. The bar would soon have its liquor license revoked and was forced to close only a few months later.
“Six weeks after the raid, hundreds of people stood right where we are right now on Sunset [Avenue] and peacefully protested,” Raman said in her speech. “In 1967 being seen on that sidewalk could cost you your job, it could cost you your home, it could cost you your family, and they showed up anyways,” she said. “How remarkably brave.”
She then tied the historic oppression of queer people in Los Angeles to contemporary issues, highlighting the Trump-Vance administration’s targeting of transgender people. “Right now, Donald Trump and the people around him are running a coordinated attack on trans people,” she said. Raman remarked on how this targeting of trans people has impacted Los Angeles. “Last year, under pressure from the Federal government, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shut down the largest clinic for trans youth in the country,” she said, referring to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ decision to suspend gender affirming care services.
“As mayor, I will use every tool that the city has to protect trans Angelenos,” Raman said to ecstatic applause from the audience.
After her speech, Raman spoke with the Los Angeles Blade about the specific actions she would take to protect Angelenos from the federal government.
According to Raman, the federal administration is conditioning funding to the city “in ways that undercut some of the values of inclusiveness that we have here,” she said. “Going through the courts is very powerful… I would do more of that. This city has actually not filed as many cases as other cities have.”
Speaking about CHLA’s ending of gender affirming care services, Raman said, “There are other hospitals that have not stepped back from their services as quickly as CHLA did.” If elected as Mayor, Raman said she would “reach out to their board and speak to them about that decision and see how we can push them to do better [for] trans patients,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think “that outreach has happened yet” under Mayor Bass’ administration.
She added that her campaign’s focus on affordability and affordable housing is particularly important for queer people. She said that if elected, she would create “an office of tenant protections” to help renters most vulnerable to being priced out of the city.
“Housing is what makes LA a haven for people,” Raman said. “If you can’t afford to live here, then LA is not a place that is inclusive anymore.”
Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Federal Government
EXCLUSIVE: Democrats seek answers on EEOC settlement affecting LGBTQ+ workers
Bobby Scott and Mark Takano want clarification on anti-discrimination protections
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agreed in August to a settlement with the Christian Employers Alliance that could limit the agency’s ability to pursue certain workplace discrimination claims involving gender identity. Now, Democratic lawmakers are questioning how far the agreement reaches — and whether it could constrain the commission’s enforcement decisions for years to come.
The Los Angeles Blade obtained an early version of a letter from U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), raising concerns about the settlement and its potential implications for workplace protections.
The agreement stems from a lawsuit the CEA filed challenging the Biden-Harris administration’s EEOC guidance on workplace harassment; including protections involving gender identity, pronouns, dress codes, and access to bathrooms and other facilities. The CEA argued that the guidance infringed on its members’ religious rights.
Under the settlement, the EEOC agreed not to pursue certain charges based on gender identity discrimination against the CEA and its member organizations. The agreement also covers future CEA members, provided the alleged conduct occurred while the employer was a member of the organization, raising questions about whether employers could receive protections from agency enforcement by joining the alliance.
Two Democratic congressional aides familiar with the EEOC’s work and workplace protections, who spoke to the Blade on the condition that they remain anonymous, said the agreement could restrict the commission’s ability to pursue discrimination complaints and potentially tie the hands of future administrations.
“They’re sort of swearing not to go after it and not exercising their own discretion, but they’re also purporting to bind future administrations with respect to exercising that discretion,” one aide said.
The aide said the agreement raises constitutional questions about whether the current administration can limit how future administrations exercise the EEOC’s enforcement authority.
In their letter to EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas, Scott and Takano question the legal authority for an agreement that they say would prevent future administrations from pursuing certain claims. They cite a 1986 Justice Department legal opinion concerning settlement agreements that constrain the discretion of future administrations and ask Lucas to explain the legal basis for the EEOC’s decision.
The lawmakers also ask whether the commission has entered into similar agreements, whether other federal agencies were consulted and whether the EEOC believes there are limits to its authority to make such commitments.
Scott also criticized the EEOC’s handling of workplace discrimination involving transgender and nonbinary people, arguing that the commission has failed to uphold its responsibilities under federal law.
“Discrimination against transgender and nonbinary people is a serious and ongoing issue. A recent survey found that despite the Bostock decision, 27 percent of transgender people experienced workplace discrimination in the past year. The EEOC was created under Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 and charged with addressing discrimination against workers. Yet, under Chair Lucas’s leadership, the EEOC has abdicated this responsibility under the law when it comes to transgender and nonbinary workers,” said Scott.
The commission’s fiscal year 2026 litigation filings also reflect a shift in its enforcement priorities. The agency’s lawsuits largely tracked its National Enforcement Plan, which emphasizes religious discrimination, alleged anti-American bias, protections for women and purportedly unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
The EEOC filed 16 religion-based lawsuits, pursued several cases involving alleged discrimination against majority-group members and continued to bring pregnancy and sex discrimination claims. However, its filings included no lawsuits brought on behalf of LGBTQ+ employees, underscoring questions about how the commission is prioritizing workplace discrimination claims under Lucas’s leadership. The filings suggest the NEP has served as a roadmap for the agency’s litigation decisions, rather than merely a statement of policy priorities.
The letter raises a further concern: whether the agreement could allow employers to obtain protection from certain discrimination claims simply by joining the CEA.
The congressional aides questioned what safeguards would prevent employers from joining the alliance primarily to shield themselves from discrimination claims, rather than because of a genuine commitment to the organization’s stated religious principles.
“What kind of oversight is going to exist to even ensure that these future employers who join […] could just lie, right?” one aide said, questioning whether employers could claim to share the CEA’s beliefs while seeking liability protection.
The aides also raised concerns about the financial incentives the agreement could create for the organization as it recruits new members.
“It’s more than a little gross that this alliance is attracting other employers to join their alliance and making a buck off of workers’ discriminations, you know, complaints not being adjudicated by EEOC,” one aide said.
Scott and Takano are asking the EEOC to explain what requirements employers must meet to qualify for CEA membership and what safeguards will ensure they continue to meet those criteria. They also want to know how the agency will handle complaints involving multiple forms of alleged discrimination when only some fall within the settlement’s terms.
The agreement does not prevent workers from filing complaints with the EEOC, according to the congressional aides. Workers may also retain the ability to pursue private lawsuits. But the aides said employees could lose the commission’s support in cases the settlement prevents it from pursuing.
“They will still have the right to bring private lawsuits, they just won’t have the EEOC in their corner,” one aide said.
The lawmakers are seeking answers about what happens when an employee files a complaint against a CEA-member employer and the employer claims the case is covered by the settlement. They ask how quickly the EEOC would issue a right-to-sue notice in such circumstances and whether workers would be told that the settlement was the reason the agency did not pursue their cases.
The letter also asks whether the EEOC has developed — or plans to develop — notices explaining when an investigation is closed or partially closed because of the agreement.
The aides said the agreement’s precise scope remains unclear, including how it could affect complaints involving conduct beyond the specific issues challenged in the CEA’s lawsuit. They also questioned whether its implications could extend to other forms of sex-based discrimination, such as discrimination based on an employee’s appearance or failure to conform to gender stereotypes.
“The scope of this seems really big. Well, actually, it seems undefined, which is really the scary part,” one aide said.
The lawmakers are also seeking information about the role of EEOC Chief of Staff Shannon Royce, who, according to the letter, was CEA president when the organization filed its lawsuit. They ask whether Royce participated in the settlement process, whether she recused herself and whether the commission will provide records of relevant communications and meetings.
Scott and Takano are requesting quarterly reports on the number of investigations involving the CEA and its members that the EEOC closes because they fall within the settlement’s terms. The aides said the letter is intended to establish a record of the lawmakers’ concerns and signal that they intend to continue scrutinizing the agreement.
One aide warned that the settlement could contribute to a broader chilling effect on LGBTQ+ workers.
“I think this is one more move by this administration to shove people back in the closet,” the aide said.
The Blade contacted the EEOC on Friday seeking comment on the settlement’s implications for workplace protections and responses to the questions raised by Scott and Takano. The EEOC has yet to respond.
California
Trans woman says Kyle Brazeal used anti-trans slur, threw purse at her in 2024
WeHo City Council candidate denies he said ‘tranny’ during argument at Gym Bar
A transgender woman claims that West Hollywood City Council candidate Kyle Brazeal called her a “tranny” and threw a purse at her at Gym Bar in 2024.
The Los Angeles Blade spoke with the alleged victim and two people who say they witnessed Brazeal’s actions that night. The Blade has also obtained timestamped video that places Brazeal at Gym Bar that evening and text messages from the following day describing in detail what allegedly occurred on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024.
Brazeal said in a written statement that “I categorically deny the allegations.” He added that while he was involved in “a disagreement” at Gym Bar that night, that “this incident is being deliberately misrepresented and weaponized for political purposes in the final weeks of this election.” Addressing the transgender community in West Hollywood, Brazeal said, “I will continue to stand with you as a Council member, just as I did before I was a candidate,” citing his donation to a GoFundMe for gender affirming surgery as evidence of his support.
Upon requesting comment, Brazeal referred the Blade to Rolandos Liatsos, his current campaign treasurer and friend of Brazeal’s who was with him at Gym Bar that evening. Liatsos gave his account of the night and said he never witnessed Brazeal use any slurs or throw the purse.
‘Get out of my way, tranny’
On Dec. 29, 2024, Amber says she went to Gym Bar with a group of friends, including Tommy Craven and Rick Turpin. Amber’s real name is not being used to protect her privacy.
The group arrived at Gym Bar around 5 p.m. The evening started out well. “Just being around friends that night was really good,” Amber said. “There was no problem whatsoever.”
Turpin also recalls having fun. “We were having a good time,” he said. Amber came out as trans a few years earlier and was still adjusting to life as an out transgender woman. “It was nice to see [Amber] embracing her transition and … it seemed like she was feeling herself,” Turpin said.
After chatting with her friends for an hour or so, Amber left to use the bathroom. At the time, Gym Bar had only two single-occupancy restrooms, so there was a line of people waiting to use them. After a few minutes, the line advanced and Amber went into an open restroom.
Soon after entering, Amber said she heard knocking on the bathroom door. She yelled, “Hey, there’s someone in here.” A minute later, the knocking began again. It was a “really rude knock,” Amber said. “So, I felt like I needed to rush through. I felt really uncomfortable.”
For Amber, the situation was especially stressful because of her identity. “I’ve had situations in the past as a trans woman where I have been attacked for using the ‘inappropriate restroom,’” she told the Blade.
Flustered, Amber said she quickly left the bathroom, leaving her purse inside. After exiting, she asked the line of people waiting, “Who was knocking?” she said.
“Me,” she said a man replied while looking down at his phone. He then brushed past her and entered the bathroom while saying, “Get out of my way, tranny,” Amber said. She said she later learned the man’s name was Kyle Brazeal.
Amber was stunned. She had faced transphobia before but not at an LGBTQ bar. Not in West Hollywood.
“I was in a full moment of just frustration, anger,” she said. Amber said she slammed her palm on the bathroom door and stormed off, going back to her friends who were still chatting at their table.
Amber’s friends saw she was upset. “I sat down, and my friends knew something was wrong,” she said. Then Amber told her friends she was called a slur.
“They were, like, wait, what?” she said. “Everybody was in fun-drinking mode, so they didn’t understand what had occurred.”
Amber sat watching the bathroom. As soon as Brazeal exited, she walked over to confront him about what he said.
“What did you call me?” Amber loudly asked him.
At this point, Craven and Turpin heard the yelling coming from the restrooms. The two walked toward the commotion to see what was happening. They saw Amber confronting Brazeal by the door to the bathroom. Craven knew Brazeal beforehand from other community spaces they were both involved with. “I could recognize him right away,” he said. Turpin also said he recognized Brazeal.
Amber said that Brazeal took the purse that she left inside the bathroom and threw it at her, saying, “You left your tranny purse in there.” Craven and Turpin both corroborated Amber’s account of the events, saying that they heard Brazeal use the slur and saw him throw the purse at Amber.
After Brazeal threw the purse and used the anti-trans slur, Amber shoved him and the two got into a shouting match, according to Amber. Craven also recalled seeing “shoving” but did not specify who did what. The two were soon separated by security and staff.
Craven quickly called the owners of Gym Bar, Erik Braverman and Jonathan Cottrell, to inform them of what happened. (Cottrell is also currently running for West Hollywood City Council). Craven had known Cottrell and Braverman for years and considered them friends. The owners then told Gym Bar’s general manager about the incident.
Soon, the general manager spoke with Brazeal and “Kyle was asked to leave the bar,” Craven said. Upon being asked to leave, Brazeal began yelling profanities and “used the word ‘tranny’ toward Amber again,” Craven said. Turpin also recalls Brazeal using the slur as he was asked to leave. “He kept saying ‘tranny,’” according to Turpin.
Video footage taken by Tommy Craven shows Kyle Brazeal outside Gym Bar on Dec. 29, 2024. Craven says the video shows Brazeal after he was asked to leave by security.
The incident left Amber shaken. Afterwards, she sat down with her friends, and Craven and Turpin tried to cheer her up by making jokes about the situation. It didn’t improve her spirits.
“She was jarred; it happened at a bar that she considers a safe space,” Craven said. He described Amber as “a very private person” and said that she was satisfied with how Gym Bar handled the situation and did not file any complaints with law enforcement.
Amber said that time constraints also factored into her decision to not speak to the police. She was living in a housing program with an enforced 10 p.m. curfew, meaning she had to leave the bar soon after the incident occurred to get home in time.
Amber took an Uber to go home and did not see Brazeal again.
‘No throwing of the bag, no hate speech or anti-trans stuff’
But according to Rolandos Liatsos, the incident that evening played out very differently. Liatsos said he went to Gym Bar with Brazeal and a few others to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The two have known each other for more than a decade and are good friends. Liatsos is also Brazeal’s campaign treasurer.
According to Liatsos, after hanging out at the bar, Brazeal went to get in line for the bathroom and was on the phone. Once Brazeal entered the bathroom he saw Amber, whom he had never met before, return to a table with her friends. She seemed very upset.
Brazeal soon exited the restroom, carrying the purse Amber had left. Brazeal walked up to the table and attempted to hand the purse back to Amber but was stopped by her friends who moved to stand between them. Then they started arguing and yelling at each other.
But never at any point did Brazeal throw the purse, according to Liatsos. “There [was] no throwing of the bag, no hate speech or anti-trans stuff,” Liatsos said.
He also claims that he did not see anyone get shoved, or the two parties getting physical in any way. “There was no physical contact,” he said.
After the arguing between Brazeal and Amber’s friends, Gym Bar staff asked Brazeal and his friends to leave. “Good, let’s just go, … let’s defuse the situation,” Liatsos recalled thinking. Soon after, he, Brazeal, and their friends left the bar.
Liatsos later learned from Brazeal that he knocked on the bathroom door as Amber was inside, which he believed upset her. “I see this as a situation escalating from knocking at the door, feeling rushed,” and nothing more, Liatsos said.
He said the claims of transphobic and aggressive behavior were not consistent with what he saw that night and contrary to who he knows Brazeal to be. “I’ve known Kyle for so many years and we’ve been out so many times,” Liatsos said. “I’ve never seen him attacking … any individual.”
Aftermath
The next morning, Dec. 30, Craven sent a text message to a group chat that included Jonathan Cottrell describing what happened and naming the alleged perpetrator as “Kyle (seen in video),” referring to the video that shows Kyle Brazeal outside Gym Bar on Dec. 29.
Screenshot of an excerpt of the message sent by Tommy Craven to a group chat with Jonathan Cottrell on Dec, 30, 2024. Identifying details have been redacted.
Braverman and Cottrell told Craven that Brazeal was banned from Gym Bar. However, both Craven and Turpin claim to have seen him at the establishment multiple times after the incident. Cottrell said in a written statement that “it was a temporary ban,” but would not discuss why or when the ban was lifted because Gym Bar “(doesn’t) share internal incident matters.”
This temporary ban is contradictory to a message from Cottrell’s Instagram account that was sent to Amber on Dec. 30, 2024. In it, he states that he would make sure that the “individuals” involved in the incident “don’t ever come back” to Gym Bar.
Screenshot of a message sent by Jonathan Cottrell’s Instagram account to Amber’s account on Dec. 30, 2024. Identifying details have been redacted.
The race for City Council
Brazeal announced his candidacy for City Council in April 2026. Craven heard about his campaign in June. “I was aware it was the same person,” he said, immediately recognizing him as the man who allegedly berated his friend a year and a half ago.
Later that month, Craven reached out to Braverman and Cottrell, who had recently announced his own campaign for City Council, to inform them that Brazeal was the same man from the night. “They were definitely surprised by it,” Craven said.
After being made aware that Brazeal was allegedly the same man from the transphobic incident at their bar, the owners did not state anything publicly, following Amber’s wishes. Cottrell has not mentioned anything on the campaign trail even as he and Brazeal have been endorsed by some of the same organizations like Equality California and Sunset West Alliance.
“At the time of the incident, our staff asked the woman involved whether she wanted us to take any further action, and she said she did not,” Cottrell said in a written statement. “This was never our story to tell. Gym Bar has always been a safe space for everyone in our community, and that will never change.”
Craven and Turpin waited to talk publicly about the incident because they wanted to keep their friend’s experience private.
“Ricky and I thought … something [else] would be said to kind of give light to the kind of person that Kyle is without us having to use our friend’s story,” Craven said. “But now because it’s closer to the election [and] stuff has not come to light, I feel the community would be safer knowing.”
Amber did not hear about Brazeal’s candidacy for City Council until last week, when she was informed by friends that a reporter for the Los Angeles Blade was investigating allegations of a transphobic incident involving him. These days, she splits her time between the Los Angeles area and other parts of the country so she has not been following local politics closely. But when she looked up his campaign, she instantly realized that this was the same man from that night. “I saw the face and pictures … and I made the connection,” she said.
“This is something that I need to address,” she added. She said that it can feel “impossible” as a trans woman to call out people who express bigotry without facing “repercussions.” Brazeal’s bid for City Council motivated Amber’s decision to speak publicly about the incident. “He is seeking a position of power in the city,” she said. “He needs to understand that this is stuff that just doesn’t go away.”
Reflecting on the incident, Amber said she’s still shocked and upset. “I was floored that he would use that word in that bar,” she said. By speaking out, she hopes to heal some of the pain caused by Brazeal’s alleged actions and regain her confidence.
“Words do matter and they do hurt and the T-word [used] toward me hurt,” Amber said. “Now I’m trying to use my words to share my story.”
Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
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