Patrick Guerriero
Encyclopedia
Patrick Guerriero, a former Massachusetts state legislator, mayor and advocate for equality, is a founding partner of Civitas Public Affairs Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based government affairs firm. Working on the local, state and federal level for two decades, Guerriero has advised and counseled many of the nation's leading Democratic and Republican elected officials and political donors on a wide range of issues. Civitas Public Affairs Group, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Boston, provides bipartisan government relations, issue-based donor-giving strategies, and public-policy campaign management to individuals, non-profits and corporations.
Previously, Guerriero served as the founding executive director of Gill Action
an issue advocacy group with offices in Washington, DC and Denver, Colorado, from September 1, 2006 to June 30, 2011. At Gill Action, Guerriero managed nationwide political operations and supported successful gubernatorial and legislative candidates in various states. He also advocated for passage of state laws on nondiscrimination and relationship recognition.
Guerriero entered national politics when he served as president of the Liberty Education Forum and Log Cabin Republicans
from January 1, 2003 to September 1, 2006 leading both organizations through periods of unprecedented growth. From 1993-2001, Guerriero won five consecutive elections. He served three terms as a Massachusetts
state representative where he served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and never missed a roll call, casting more than 1,000 consecutive votes. In 1998, Guerriero was elected mayor
of the city of Melrose, Massachusetts
where he served two terms, winning reelection with more than 80 percent of the vote. In 2002, after serving as then-Governor Jane Swift's deputy chief of staff, Guerriero became the nation's first openly gay candidate for lieutenant governor when he was chosen by Gov. Swift to be her running mate
. .
Guerriero is a nationally recognized advocate for equality, having appeared on major television programs such as "Nightline", "Hardball with Chris Matthews", "The Today Show", and "The O'Reilly Factor". He has written op-eds for publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Denver Post and has been profiled in The New York Times Magazine, The L.A. Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Advocate. Guerriero is the recipient of the U.S. Mayor's Association 2000 City Livability Award for his nationally recognized "Civility Initiative" and the 1998 Fenn Award for Political Leadership from the John F. Kennedy Library's New Frontier Society.
immigrant
and mason father
and a social worker mother. He worked his way through college, spending summers mixing cement and hauling bricks for his family's masonry business. Guerriero attended The Catholic University of America
in Washington, DC, where he played soccer and graduated summa cum laude in 1990. The next year, Guerriero attended Boston College
's Thomas P. O'Neill Jr.
Fellowship in American Government Program. After college, Guerriero moved back to Melrose to manage the successful mayoral campaign of Richard Lyons.
(35th Middlesex
District). He went on to twice win re-election. In the House, Guerriero served on several legislative committees, including Ways and Means, Ethics, Insurance, Health and Human Services, and Long-Term Debt and Capital Expenditures. He supported initiatives related to lower taxes, limited government expenditure, improved public schools, public safety, and welfare reform
. Guerriero was a staunch supporter of the landmark 1993 Education Reform Act
that required students pass standardized graduation tests (MCAS
). He was also an advocate for gay and lesbian issues, effecting strict anti-hate crime
s legislation and increased AIDS
awareness funding.
Guerriero was awarded the John F. Kennedy Library
's Fenn Award for politicians 35 years of age and younger on November 10, 1998.
. He served two consecutive terms, receiving more than 80% of the vote in both elections. A December 7, 1997 Boston Globe article referenced his platform of ‘restoring small town values to the small city’ of Melrose. This platform included fiscal discipline, better public schools, and a more friendly community. A July 12, 2001 Melrose Free Press article listed investments in infrastructure (new schools, parks, and restoration of historic properties), keeping the budget in check, and his hands on approach to governing among his successes as mayor. As a result of his fiscal stewardship, Moody's Investor Services upgraded the city's bond rating. During his tenure as mayor, Guerriero created a "civility initiative" which encouraged residents to show each other respect and courtesy. This project earned him the City Livability Award at the U.S. Mayor's Association 2000 City Livability Awards. In 2001, the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers named Guerriero the municipal official of the year.
Guerriero stepped down as in May 2001 to accept the position of deputy chief of staff with acting Gov. Jane M. Swift
’s administration.
's 2003 decision in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
as a conservative ruling supporting stable families, relationships, and society, limited government, individual liberty, and religious freedom. In early 2004, Patrick earned national recognition for successfully challenging President George W. Bush - launching the first national television ad that helped defeat Bush's proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. In October 2004, Patrick filed "Log Cabin Republicans vs. the United States of America" challenging the constitutionality of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It was not until the White House came under democratic control, however, that any significant legislative progress toward the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was made. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the legislation repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in December of 2010. .
, an organization working to advance gay
and lesbian
equality through the legislative, political, and electoral process. During his tenure, Guerriero oversaw a national network of donors contributing more than $15 million to political campaigns and organizations in dozens of states with the aim of electing equal-rights politicians and advancing or blocking legislation. In 2006, of the 68 campaigns supported by Gill Action, 56 were successful. Gill Action under Guerriero also advocated for nondiscrimination and relationship recognition legislation in 13 states.
Previously, Guerriero served as the founding executive director of Gill Action
Gill Action Fund
The Gill Action Fund is an American 501 issue advocacy organization founded in 2005 by philanthropist and entrepreneur Tim Gill to provide resources to individuals and organizations on both sides of the aisle working to advance equality for LGBT people through the legislative, political, and...
an issue advocacy group with offices in Washington, DC and Denver, Colorado, from September 1, 2006 to June 30, 2011. At Gill Action, Guerriero managed nationwide political operations and supported successful gubernatorial and legislative candidates in various states. He also advocated for passage of state laws on nondiscrimination and relationship recognition.
Guerriero entered national politics when he served as president of the Liberty Education Forum and Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
from January 1, 2003 to September 1, 2006 leading both organizations through periods of unprecedented growth. From 1993-2001, Guerriero won five consecutive elections. He served three terms as a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
state representative where he served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and never missed a roll call, casting more than 1,000 consecutive votes. In 1998, Guerriero was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the city of Melrose, Massachusetts
Melrose, Massachusetts
-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...
where he served two terms, winning reelection with more than 80 percent of the vote. In 2002, after serving as then-Governor Jane Swift's deputy chief of staff, Guerriero became the nation's first openly gay candidate for lieutenant governor when he was chosen by Gov. Swift to be her running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
. .
Guerriero is a nationally recognized advocate for equality, having appeared on major television programs such as "Nightline", "Hardball with Chris Matthews", "The Today Show", and "The O'Reilly Factor". He has written op-eds for publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Denver Post and has been profiled in The New York Times Magazine, The L.A. Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Advocate. Guerriero is the recipient of the U.S. Mayor's Association 2000 City Livability Award for his nationally recognized "Civility Initiative" and the 1998 Fenn Award for Political Leadership from the John F. Kennedy Library's New Frontier Society.
Early life
Guerriero was born to an ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrant
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and mason father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
and a social worker mother. He worked his way through college, spending summers mixing cement and hauling bricks for his family's masonry business. Guerriero attended The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in Washington, DC, where he played soccer and graduated summa cum laude in 1990. The next year, Guerriero attended Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
's Thomas P. O'Neill Jr.
Tip O'Neill
Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...
Fellowship in American Government Program. After college, Guerriero moved back to Melrose to manage the successful mayoral campaign of Richard Lyons.
State Representative
In 1993, Guerriero was elected to the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMassachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
(35th Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
District). He went on to twice win re-election. In the House, Guerriero served on several legislative committees, including Ways and Means, Ethics, Insurance, Health and Human Services, and Long-Term Debt and Capital Expenditures. He supported initiatives related to lower taxes, limited government expenditure, improved public schools, public safety, and welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
. Guerriero was a staunch supporter of the landmark 1993 Education Reform Act
Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993
The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 is legislation passed in Massachusetts mandating several modern educational reforms over a 7-year period. The reforms included the introduction of charter schools and the standardized test, the MCAS. It is based on Outcomes Based Education.- External...
that required students pass standardized graduation tests (MCAS
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, commonly shortened to MCAS , is the Commonwealth's statewide standards-based assessment program developed in 1993, in response to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of the same year...
). He was also an advocate for gay and lesbian issues, effecting strict anti-hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s legislation and increased AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
awareness funding.
Guerriero was awarded the John F. Kennedy Library
John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
's Fenn Award for politicians 35 years of age and younger on November 10, 1998.
Mayor of Melrose, MA
In 1998, Guerriero was elected mayor of the city of Melrose, MassachusettsMelrose, Massachusetts
-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...
. He served two consecutive terms, receiving more than 80% of the vote in both elections. A December 7, 1997 Boston Globe article referenced his platform of ‘restoring small town values to the small city’ of Melrose. This platform included fiscal discipline, better public schools, and a more friendly community. A July 12, 2001 Melrose Free Press article listed investments in infrastructure (new schools, parks, and restoration of historic properties), keeping the budget in check, and his hands on approach to governing among his successes as mayor. As a result of his fiscal stewardship, Moody's Investor Services upgraded the city's bond rating. During his tenure as mayor, Guerriero created a "civility initiative" which encouraged residents to show each other respect and courtesy. This project earned him the City Livability Award at the U.S. Mayor's Association 2000 City Livability Awards. In 2001, the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers named Guerriero the municipal official of the year.
Guerriero stepped down as in May 2001 to accept the position of deputy chief of staff with acting Gov. Jane M. Swift
Jane M. Swift
Jane Maria Swift is an American politician, who served as the 69th lieutenant governor from 1999 to 2003 and acting governor of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2003. She is the only woman to perform the duties of governor of Massachusetts, doing so from April 2001 to January 2003...
’s administration.
Governor Swift
In May 2001 Guerriero accepted the position of deputy chief of staff to acting Massachusetts Governor Jane M. Swift. On January 3, 2002 Swift named Guerriero her running mate. In March when Governor Swift made the announcement that she pulling out of the race for Governor, she openly supported his continued run as Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket.Log Cabin Republicans
On January 1, 2003, Guerriero succeeded Rich Tafel as the leader of the Log Cabin Republicans. While at Log Cabin he praised the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
's 2003 decision in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 , was a landmark state appellate court case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S...
as a conservative ruling supporting stable families, relationships, and society, limited government, individual liberty, and religious freedom. In early 2004, Patrick earned national recognition for successfully challenging President George W. Bush - launching the first national television ad that helped defeat Bush's proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. In October 2004, Patrick filed "Log Cabin Republicans vs. the United States of America" challenging the constitutionality of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It was not until the White House came under democratic control, however, that any significant legislative progress toward the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was made. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the legislation repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in December of 2010. .
The Gill Action Fund
On September 1, 2006, Guerriero became the first ever executive director of the Gill Action FundGill Action Fund
The Gill Action Fund is an American 501 issue advocacy organization founded in 2005 by philanthropist and entrepreneur Tim Gill to provide resources to individuals and organizations on both sides of the aisle working to advance equality for LGBT people through the legislative, political, and...
, an organization working to advance gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
equality through the legislative, political, and electoral process. During his tenure, Guerriero oversaw a national network of donors contributing more than $15 million to political campaigns and organizations in dozens of states with the aim of electing equal-rights politicians and advancing or blocking legislation. In 2006, of the 68 campaigns supported by Gill Action, 56 were successful. Gill Action under Guerriero also advocated for nondiscrimination and relationship recognition legislation in 13 states.
External links
- A Time to Lead - op ed on the need to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- The Lesson of Danny and Marilyn - op ed
- The Advocate profile of Gill Action's work
- Atlantic Monthly feature of Gill Action's work
- Log Cabin Republicans biography
- Fenn Award press release
- The New Face of Gay Conservatives
- http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/The_Lesson_of_Danny_and_Marilyn/
- http://www.cityofmelrose.org/departments/opcd/Lincon.cfm
- http://usmayors.org/usmayornewspaper/documents/05_15_00/city_article.htm