What's a Retired D.C. Councilman To Do? Open a Gay Strip Club!

WASHINGTON, D.C.—It's not as if the D.C. Council has a lot of power. Sure, they can pass legislation and make rules for the District of Columbia much like states do, but anything they do can be overridden by Congress, which has the ultimate authority over the non-state. (Remember when the Council tried to legalize pot?) Still, many D.C. councilmembers take their job very seriously, and until he lost reelection last year, Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham was one of those, and the wags at Washington's City Paper even gave a nickname to some of his antics: Grahamstanding. That may have been in part because Graham was one of the Council's very openly gay members. But out of a job at 69 years old isn't the easiest thing to be in America, so Graham has accepted another post: Special Events Director for The House, a strip club located at 3530 Georgia Ave. NW, in one of D.C.'s more posh neighborhoods and just a stone's throw from Howard University. Although The House mostly features semi-nude women dancing for straight male customers, Graham has convinced the club's management to try something new: gay strippers for a gay clientele. House owner Darrell Allen liked the idea, especially since walk-in traffic has been down recently, owing both to warmer weather and the fact that everyone seems consumed by March Madness basketball. "I wanted it to be fun, and I wanted to make some money," Graham said. "People are a little bit surprised about the career choice," he added. "I've been through a lot of public controversy. I don't know why there would be that much more associated with this, because it's a business venture, I'm a private citizen, and it's fully legal. I know it's considered an unusual path for a former D.C. councilmember, but it's preferable to peddling influence, which is what some councilmembers do. I'm peddling entertainment." Actually, it's not too surprising that Graham wound up in the club business. Back in 2007, when the District decided to build a new baseball stadium for the Washington Nationals in the southeast part of the city, requiring all of the strip clubs in the area to relocate, Graham introduced a bill in the Council that would have eliminated the 600-foot buffer zone required between the city's clubs, though other zoning regulations would still be in force. But as part of his new position at The House, Graham has been given Thursdays and Sundays to bring in gay strippers, with the first event having debuted last weekend: a show dubbed "Rock Hard Sunday"—and Graham intends the shows to be more than simple bump-and-grind. "The dancers are not just going to be standing, gyrating," he told the Metro Weekly. "They're going to be giving a performance. They're going to start with their clothes on and take them off. There will be an opportunity for them to speak. It's just a very different atmosphere." Last Sunday's show was also in part a charity event, with proceeds from the opening night being donated to the Whitman-Walker Health Medical Center. "It’s closing a circle for me," he revealed. "I was head of Whitman-Walker from 1984 to 1999, during the height of the AIDS crisis, and some of the strip clubs would host benefits for us." Graham's also hoping to convince the dancers to wear bowties, as Graham does in his personal life. His idea is to have the dancers strip out of them on stage and throw them into the audience, with a free drink for anyone who catches one. "And as the dicks swung free during showtime—except Rick's, the guy whose abs were featured on the flier, because he wants to be different—Graham nervously settled into the first successful night of his new career as exotic entertainment manager," Jezebel.com summarized.