Washington Blade - August 26, 2005
Kevin Naff, News Editor

THE D.C. CENTER for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender People hasn't provided much in the way of services to D.C. gays, but it sure is delivering in the drama department.

The board on Aug. 4 fired a vice president and an office staff member, triggering the resignation of board member Patrick Menasco, a co-founder. Center Vice President Larry Stansbury was expelled, along with Managing Director Robert Bruening, the Center's only paid staffer.

Sources familiar with the Center have hinted at a power struggle between Michael Sessa, the Center president, vs. Stansbury and Menasco, who both signed the Center's incorporation papers in 2002.

Gossip, politics and internal strife are common to most business offices; unfortunately, the Center hasn't offered D.C. much else, despite raising - and spending in dubious ways - tens of thousands of dollars from local gays.

The Center's cash reserves have apparently dropped from about $275,000 in early 2003 to about $25,000 as of earlier this month. We can't be sure of the numbers because Sessa stubbornly refuses to make them public.

In 2003, Menasco said the Center had amassed about $275,000 in donations from the Cherry Fund, the group that sponsors D.C.'s annual Cherry circuit party. He said the Center spent about $80,000 on a study to assess the need for a Center and another $10,000 on equipment, advertising and other expenses, leaving the Center with about $185,000 in cash.

Sessa has declined Blade requests to release detailed financial information on the Center, but two sources familiar with the Center who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the organization has just $25,000 left in its accounts.

So, where did all the money go, considering the Center had only one paid staff member?

WE KNOW THAT the Center paid $10,000 to the partner of a board member to prepare a "strategic business plan." That's been kept confidential as well, but some of those who have seen it say it is merely a summary of the Center's actions since it was founded in 1999 - not exactly a daunting undertaking.

"It's not a real business plan," one source told the Blade. "It's certainly not worth $10,000."

How the rest of the money was spent remains mostly a mystery.

Sessa noted that the Center sponsors outdoor film screenings in a Dupont Circle park. We all love "Mommie Dearest," but she's not worth thousands of dollars. I would have loaned them my copy for free.

Sessa also said the Center is about to open a "CyberCenter" computer lab in its offices on 14th Street, another questionable service. How many area gays lack access to computers? For those who don't have a computer, there's always the public library.

And then there's the matter of Leather Fest, a pet project of Sessa's involving sponsorship of a leather pride event and two sexually oriented parties. According to minutes of a Center meeting, the leather events were to include "play parties."

If Center officials can't come up with anything more useful than sponsoring sex parties, then the whole project should be disbanded post-haste and all remaining funds returned to donors. That anyone connected with the Center would even entertain the idea of spending resources on "play parties" illustrates just how broken the organization is.

The news that Center officials are talking with the Whitman-Walker Clinic about collaborating to sponsor Capital Pride next year is surprising given that the Center is apparently in no financial condition to assume responsibility for Pride. The Center needs to get its financial house in order, which includes publicly disclosing details about its finances, before it takes any part in staging Pride.

THE PATH TO maintaining a successful gay community center is difficult enough without the missteps and infighting that characterize D.C.'s effort. Of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., 10 have centers with less than a $100,000 annual budget, and 18 do not have centers at all, according to the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Centers.

Indeed, there is much debate among local gay residents about the need for a center at all. Rick Rosendall, a past president of the city's Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, has raised doubts about the need for such a facility.

"I think that with the growth and diversity of our community, the whole idea of a single, central gay community center represents a great leap into the past," Rosendall told the Blade in 2003.

Despite that sentiment among some gay leaders, Center organizers forged ahead with plans to build a permanent home at Stead Park in Dupont Circle, with cost estimates ranging from $10 to 20 million. Of course, no one is going to fund a multi-million dollar home for an organization with just $25,000 in the bank.

If Center organizers would like to see what a useful gay community center looks like, they ought to take a short drive to Baltimore.

Founded in 1977, Baltimore's gay community center hosts a broad range of practical seminars and services for Maryland residents. There are legal presentations on asset protection strategies for gays; testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings; professional networking groups; AIDS support groups; yoga and fitness classes; a youth hotline; a host of programs for transgendered residents and women of color; a support group for gay parents; and much more.

Those services aren't as fun as "Mommie Dearest" in the park and leather "play parties," but they're a lot more practical and would justify the tens of thousands of dollars in contributions made by local gay residents who, so far, have seen no return on their investment.

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