WASHINGTON – The head of National Log Cabin Republicans, R. Clarke Cooper, will step down from his position Monday and the board of directors announced today that Gregory T. Angelo has been named interim executive director of the organization. Cooper had served as executive director since 2010.
“I hope LGBT Republicans and our allies who support freedom and liberty will join me in welcoming Gregory T. Angelo as the interim executive director of Log Cabin Republicans,” said National Board Chairman Peter Bertelsen. “Gregory’s longstanding involvement with Log Cabin as leader of the New York State chapter, and his demonstrated ability with grassroots advocacy as head of our sister think tank, the Liberty Education Forum, make him the clear choice to continue the significant strides made by Clarke Cooper over the last three years.”
In a statement Cooper said, “It has been a tremendous honor to work with our Republican allies in Congress, various partners in liberty, and the Log Cabin Republicans national staff and chapters across the country to advance freedom and equality for all Americans regardless of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. I am also proud of our work as a force multiplier and LGBT voice within the Republican Party and remain committed to building a stronger more inclusive GOP focused on the core conservative values of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets and a strong national defense. For the good of the Republican Party, the LGBT community, and our nation as a whole, it is vital that Log Cabin Republicans continue its work. Victory for equality is on the horizon, and Log Cabin must continue to lead the way onward and upward.”
According to a report in the Washington Blade Cooper said he informed the board he would depart the organization at the year’s end during an Oct. 20 meeting at the California Republican Party headquarters in Burbank. Cooper said his announcement kept in line with earlier stated plans to leave Log Cabin in that time frame.
Angelo is the current chairman of Log Cabin Republicans of New York State, a position he has held since 2009. As New York State chairman, Angelo led Log Cabin Republicans as part of New Yorkers United for Marriage, a coalition that collaborated to make marriage equality legal through legislative vote for the first time in a Republican-controlled legislature. He is also the executive director of the Liberty Education Forum, a non-partisan think tank that advocates a message of gay acceptance among conservatives and people of faith throughout the United States.
“I am both humbled and thrilled to have the support of the Log Cabin Republicans National Board of Directors and to follow in the footsteps of the inimitable Clarke Cooper,” Angelo stated. “There has never been a more exciting and historic time to be a gay Republican-with the wind at our backs following four referendum victories for the freedom to marry last November and the United States Supreme Court soon to rule on marriage equality, 2013 could mark a turning point in the fight for equal rights for all. It has never been more critical to advocate for equality to Republicans, as Republicans. As the interim executive director of this esteemed organization, I will do everything I can to work for Republican victories that return the party to its roots of freedom, fairness, and liberty for all.”
Angelo’s first day as interim executive director of Log Cabin Republicans will be Jan. 2.
