News & Features Feedback
New This WeekAround TownMusicFilmArtTheaterNews & FeaturesFood & DrinkAstrology
  HOME
NEW THIS WEEK
EDITORS' PICKS
LISTINGS
NEWS & FEATURES
MUSIC
FILM
ART
BOOKS
THEATER
DANCE
TELEVISION
FOOD & DRINK
ARCHIVES
LETTERS
PERSONALS
CLASSIFIEDS
ADULT
ASTROLOGY
PHOENIX FORUM DOWNLOAD MP3s

  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
POLITICAL MOVES
Patrick Guerriero to lead national Log Cabin Club
BY SUSAN RYAN-VOLLMAR

It’s been quite a year for Patrick Guerriero. The first week of January, Governor Jane Swift tapped him to be her running mate. The move made him the first openly gay politician in the nation to be picked to run for the number-two spot by a sitting governor. After Swift withdrew from the race, then-candidate Mitt Romney made it clear that he didn’t want Guerriero in the race. The former Melrose mayor, who had been working as an advisor to Swift was facing unemployment come next January. Not anymore. The Washington, DC–based Log Cabin Republicans on Monday named Guerriero their new executive director. Guerriero will also be president of the Liberty Education Forum, a nonpartisan think tank on gay and lesbian issues (www.libertyeducationforum.org).

It’s a big move for the Log Cabin Republicans, who came to prominence under the 12-year tenure of Rich Tafel, who was once named by Newsweek as one of the 30 most influential gay leaders. But it’s also a big move for Guerriero, who is leaving the arena of elective politics for advocacy, as well as Boston for Washington (though he’s going to keep his Melrose digs). The Phoenix recently spoke with him.

Q: How do you feel about going from an insider position as a politician to an activist outsider?

A: I see it as just another step in the great opportunities I’ve had. I’ve been a local official as a mayor and a state representative. I’ve been a candidate for lieutenant governor. This opportunity allows me to be the head of a national organization making the case that we need to have a strong moderate-centrist wing of the Republican Party.

Q: It’s one thing to work with Republicans like Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, and Jane Swift — who are liberal enough to be considered Democrats in many states — but it’s another thing altogether to work with conservatives like Tom DeLay and George W. Bush.

A: I’m about as pragmatic as you get when it comes to looking at politics in America. The reality, whether you like it or not, is that Republicans are going to control the White House, Senate, and House for the next two years. I see my role as working very diligently to advocate for an inclusionary approach to public policy. The midterm elections are probably the clearest signal we’ve seen in a long time that we need a two-party strategy when it comes to advocating civil rights. I’m convinced that the only way we’re going to see advancement in civil rights — whether it’s ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) or hate-crimes legislation — is to have Democrats and Republicans on our side.

Q: How do you get leverage with the conservative Republicans in office today?

A: I’m actually really pleased that next year we won’t have Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, and Dick Armey in office. They don’t represent the kind of Republican Party that Lincoln helped found years ago. There are many who said this administration would turn back the clock. I don’t see that they’re doing that. I think they’ve sent some very clear signals that they’re much more inclusive and open-minded than people expected. As a Republican in Massachusetts, as a gay Catholic, and as a gay Republican, I have been in plenty of awkward positions in sharing a dialogue with people who don’t agree with me all the time. We need to be at the table.

Issue Date: November 28 - December 5, 2002
Back to the News and Features table of contents.
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend