Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans and president of the Liberty Education Forum, will address students and members of the community Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. His lecture, [sm]Speaking Out: A Gay Republican's Personal Journey, begins at 6:45 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Guerriero, a two-term mayor of Melrose, Mass., has earned a reputation in public service as a champion of lower taxes, smaller government, improved public schools, and gay and lesbian issues. He has fought for and won tough anti-hate crimes legislation and advocated for increased AIDS funding, as well as expansion of domestic partnership benefits.
In January 2002, he received national attention when then-Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift named him as running mate, the first time an openly gay candidate was named to a statehouse ticket.
Guerriero graduated summa cum laude from Catholic University of America in 1990, and attended the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Fellowship in American Government program at Boston College. He won a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1993, casting more than 1,000 consecutive votes during his three terms. He also received the 1998 Fenn Award for Political Leadership from the Kennedy Library's New Frontier Society and the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
His visit is jointly sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students and the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.