News

Log Cabin Executive Director Rich Tafel Renews Contract

Will Lead Gay Republican Organization Into Next Administration

June 13, 2000

(WASHINGTON, DC) – After seven years of service since the opening of the organization's national office, the executive director of Log Cabin Republicans (Log Cabin Republicans) has agreed to extend his contract an additional year at the request of the Log Cabin Republicans Board of Directors.

As a result, Tafel will continue serving as the executive director of the nation's largest gay Republican organization into the 107th Congress and the next presidential administration.

Tafel will also continue serving as President of the Liberty Education Fund (LEF), a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) educational organization affiliated with Log Cabin Republicans.

"Rich Tafel's visionary leadership for the last decade has taken Log Cabin Republicans from obscurity to a household name and a major player in national politics," said Robert Stears, Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans Board of Directors. "We are delighted that Rich will be leading the organization through the next year, which is certain to be one of the most transformative years in the history of gay politics."

"The conservative gay movement has truly come of age, thanks in no small part to Rich Tafel's leadership," said Robert Kabel, Chairman of the LEF Board of Directors. "He has not only awakened a national political movement that has become a force to be reckoned with, but he has helped create a philosophical, moral and spiritual shift in our community that has changed the course of our movement for the better. The Liberty Education Fund is grateful to have Rich continue at the helm of our educational and policy efforts, aimed at empowering more and more gay Americans to stand up for their values and be active citizens in their communities."

"With the range of political events on the horizon in this election, I'm glad that Rich Tafel will continue leading the Log Cabin movement," said Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), a founding member of the Log Cabin Republicans National Advisory Board. "Since he came to Washington in 1993, Rich has been an important and courageous leader in the Republican Party, and a force for positive change. I look forward to our continued work together on the important issues facing our nation, our community and our Party."

Tafel was elected volunteer president of a national federation of Log Cabin Clubs in 1990, and led the Log Cabin movement through the historic 1992 elections while serving as Director of Adolescent Health Services in the administration of Governor William Weld (R-MA). In 1993, when Log Cabin Republicans was incorporated as a 501(c)(4) organization, Tafel moved to Washington, opened the first Log Cabin national office, and was hired as executive director. He has served longer than any sitting executive director of a major national gay political organization.

The Liberty Education Fund was founded in 1995 as an educational and policy organization, focusing on civic activism training, policy development and educational efforts that build bridges between the gay community and conservative Americans. Under Tafel's leadership, LEF will launch a Policy Institute later this year.