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Expect big things from HRCs new president |
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| Expect big things from HRCs new president | ||
| by Lisa Keen
- Special to the SGN
Like his predecessor at the nations largest and most influential Gay organization, Joe Solmonese is a Massachusetts liberal with close ties to the Democratic Party. But unlike Cheryl Jacques, who was nudged from the helm of the Human Rights Campaign after less than a year, Solmonese has experience in running a Washington-based political organization. And U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) calls him ideal for the job. Joes got more Washington experience thats relevant, said Frank, in an interview. The experience is 12 years at EMILYs List, the top money-raiser among the 1,563 political action committees that are not administered by a corporation, union, or association. EMILYs List, headed by former HRC board member Ellen Malcolm, has been around for 20 years, focusing on electing pro-choice Democratic women to elected office. In 1993, Solmonese served as its deputy political director, in 1998, he became its chief of staff, and, for the past two and a half years, he has served as its chief executive officer. Between election cycles 2001-02 and 2003-04, the PAC increased its money raised by more than 50 percent from $22.6 million in the 2001-02 cycle to $34.1 million in the 2003-04 cycle. In a statement released by HRC, Malcolm praised Solmonese as a masterful political strategist with a long track record of success. He received high praise from other important quarters in Washington this month, as HRC announced his appointment. Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights called him the perfect choice to lead HRC. Rep. Frank called him the ideal pick. Hes an organization guy, very smart, said Frank. Hes got very good political judgment. He knows how to take a moral stand and translate that into reality. U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) praised him as being committed to working with Republicans. And although Log Cabin Republican Executive Director Patrick Guerriero was quick to label Solmonese a Democratic activist, he pledged to work with his fellow Massachusetts native on our bi-partisan work to provide basic fairness for Gay and Lesbian families. Solmonese, 40, Gay, and single, hails from Attelboro, a Massachusetts town near Providence, Rhode Island. In a phone interview two days after his appointment, he said he first became involved in HRC when he was 22 and attended one of its fundraising dinners in Boston. After graduating with a degree in communications from the Boston University in 1987, Solmonese began his career as an aide in the office of Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis. Soon thereafter, he helped fundraising to re-elect Rep. Frank, who represents his district and Rep. Les AuCoins 1992 Senate campaign. Hes doggedly loyal to an organizations mission, even when it does not suit his personal politics. When EMILYs List took heat from Gay organizations for supporting a Congressional candidate who voted for the Federal Marriage Act, Solmonese deflected the criticism. As head of EMILYs List, I was charged to uphold that organizations mission, said Solmonese, in a phone interview last Friday. That mission was to elect pro-choice Democratic women. Thats not HRCs mission, but in my tenure with HRC, I bring with me an understanding that you only succeed when guided by your mission. HRCs mission, he said, is to be an advocate for all GLBT Americans and thats what I will do. Solmonese said his first order of business, when he assumes his position April 11, will be to tour the country to talk to HRC members and leaders of various organizations, Gay and straight, conservative and liberal. From early statements, it appears he hopes to build on an idea to persuade every GLBT person to enlist three other non-Gay people in the organization one straight friend, one co-worker and one family member. The organization currently has about 600,000 members, according to its website. We are broadening the conversation about equality, said Solmonese. Ill be meeting with GLBT families, religious leaders, corporate leaders, communities of color, employee groups and GLBT community leaders across the country, and talking about the path to our equality. Asked whether he considered it a bit of a swipe that Log Cabin Republicans press release welcoming him to the HRC helm made prominent mention of him as a Democratic activist, Solmonese didnt miss a beat. Its a Republican group, said Solmonese. And Id have to say that, being just three days into having this job, no one has said nicer things or been more helpful to me than Patrick Guerriero. Hes been incredibly helpful, incredibly positive. Its a partnership their excited about working across the aisle to get things done. I dont take offense at all. But, he added, HRC is still a non-partisan group. The work we have to do and the gains we seek are much bigger than any kind of partisan bounce, said Solmonese. This is big work that were setting out to do, and HRC is bigger than me. Solmonese will, in fact, have the benefit of some proven seasoned veterans with even more Washington organizational experience already on board at HRC. In particular, David M. Smith and Winnie Stachelberg were moved into key positions shortly after Jacques resigned late last year. Smith, who served as the organizations chief spokesperson for many years and then worked for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), now works as HRCs Vice President for Policy. Stachelberg, who has headed up the organizations work on Capitol Hill for many years, assumed a position as Vice President of the HRC Foundation, where she will head up HRCs public education and research activities. In particular, she has been charged with developing a project to secure greater support for Gay equality among religious communities, where heretofore, right-wing conservatives have pummeled Gay civil rights efforts. Having them in place will, no doubt, make it easier for Solmonese to concentrate on fundraising and public relations. Though he did not say so, Solmoneses national talking tour is almost certainly an effort to reassure Gay community leaders and HRC members that the organization still intends to take an aggressive stand in support of such currently critical issues as same-sex marriage. Shortly after Jacques departure, friends of Jacques in Massachusetts told reporters that Jacques was pushed out because she wanted to give the marriage issue too much attention. Then a top HRC official, Hilary Rosen, penned an article in The Advocate magazine, suggesting that the movement might consider a more incremental approach toward marriage and, with the re-election of President Bush and more Republican Senators, it should concentrate on other issues. The organization soon found itself defending its commitment to equal marriage rights for Gays and the perceived damage was great enough to prompt a large number of Gay organizations, including HRC, to sign onto a statement affirming their commitment to the battle for equal rights over marriage rights. Vic Basile, co-chair of the search committee that selected Solmonese and co-chair of the HRC Foundation, said the tour is about reassuring people but not about smoothing over any ruffled feathers from the marriage issue. Want to get him out there as quickly as possible to meet the HRC community and to let them meet him and express their concerns about policy or whatever, said Basile. But, among our folks, were not getting a lot of people concerned about allegations that were backing away from marriage. Were not. And people understand that. Both Basile and Rosen said Solmoneses primary strength is not in his Washington connections so much as in his connections and abilities at the grassroots level. Rosen, who helped co-chair the organization until a new president could be hired, expressed confidence this week in Solmoneses ability to change strategies in the current political climate. When we looked around, we saw a lot of losing going on among progressive groups in Washington, said Rosen. So we asked, Whos winning things? And Joes won a lot over the last two years. Hes created program in 13 states that helped change the electoral makeup for progressive issues, hes done lots of innovative stuff. His experience is in on the field, said Basile. And we realize that the states are the battleground now. We need somebody who can speak to people in the red states and the blue states, somebody who knows people out there. And hes comfortable doing that. A prominent Democratic activist herself, Rosen said she is not concerned about Solmonese being identified as a Democratic activist as head of a non-partisan organization. In Washington these days, theres no such thing as an independent in politics anymore, said Rosen. So what we looked for was not someone who is non-partisan but someone who has the ability to get along with the other party somebody who has a track record and can get along with the other side. Joe believes in HRCs bipartisan agenda and hes committed to it. Solmonese becomes the seventh president in HRCs 25-year history, although initially the position was called executive director. He follows, in chronological order, Steve Endean, Vic Basile, Tim McFeeley, Elizabeth Birch, and Cheryl Jacques. Four out of the seven Basile, McFeeley, Jacques, and Solmonese have come from Massachusetts. Lisa Keen, a freelance correspondent for the Boston Globe and other papers, has been reporting on Gay political issues since 1981. |
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