Most
gay
activists
familiar
with
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
see
Emily’s
List
CEO
Joe
Solmonese,
the
group’s
newly
designated
leader,
as
a
highly
skilled
political
strategist
who
is
well
suited
to
take
the
helm
of
the
nation’s
largest
gay
civil
rights
group.
But
Solmonese
is
also
a
longtime
associate
of
a
small
group
of
HRC
power
brokers
who
have
played
a
key
role
in
determining
the
organization’s
direction
and
tone
for
nearly
20
years.
At
the
top
of
the
list
of
HRC
movers
and
shakers,
insiders
say,
is
veteran
Washington
lobbyist
Hilary
Rosen,
former
CEO
of
the
Recording
Industry
Association
of
America
and
current
media
industry
consultant.
Rosen
led
the
HRC
campaign
against
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment
and
has
run
the
organization
on
an
interim
basis
since
January.
Also
at
the
top
of
the
list,
say
insiders,
are
Emily’s
List
founder
and
former
CEO
Ellen
Malcolm
and
former
labor
union
official
and
past
HRC
executive
director
Vic
Basile,
who
led
the
search
committee
that
handed
the
HRC
and
HRC
Foundation
boards
an
up
or
down
vote
on
Solmonese.
Malcolm
is
longtime
friends
with
Rosen
and
her
domestic
partner,
longtime
HRC
executive
director
Elizabeth
Birch,
and
are
seen
by
activists
as
having
collaborated
on
developing
strategy
and
policy
for
HRC.
Solmonese
served
as
Malcolm’s
top
lieutenant
until
he
replaced
her
in
2003
when
Malcolm
took
on
the
role
as
head
of
the
pro-Democratic
Party
political
advocacy
group
America
Coming
Together.
The
gay
movement
insiders
interviewed
for
this
story,
who
spoke
only
on
condition
that
they
not
be
identified,
said
they
viewed
Rosen,
Malcolm,
and
Basile,
along
with
a
dozen
or
so
others
considered
part
of
the
HRC
inner
circle,
as
highly
qualified
political
strategists
who
have
been
an
asset
to
the
organization.
But
at
the
same
time,
the
movement
insiders
had
mixed
views
on
whether
what
appears
to
be
a
self-perpetuating
clique
could
present
problems
for
HRC
in
the
future.
“I
don’t
see
this
as
a
problem,”
said
one
of
the
movement
insiders.
“It
is
what
it
is.
They
are
all
very
influential,
but
I
don’t
see
this
as
being
bad.”
Another
person
interviewed
said,
“HRC
does
good
work.
But
there
is
a
mentality
and
a
culture
at
HRC.
While
it
is
an
open
place,
they
do
best
with
people
who
think
the
HRC
way.
A
lot
of
people
become
alienated
if
they
think
differently.”
Steven
Fisher,
HRC’s
vice
president
for
communications,
said
the
HRC
board
and
the
board
of
the
HRC
Foundation,
which
serves
as
the
group’s
educational
arm,
voted
unanimously
to
appoint
Solmonese
because
of
his
experience
and
skills
both
in
Washington
and
in
states
across
the
country.
Fisher
points
to
women
candidates
who
are
in
favor
of
gay
rights
and
abortion
rights
that
Solmonese
helped
elect
to
Congress
and
state
legislatures
in
his
role
as
Emily’s
List
CEO.
Fisher
said
any
suggestion
that
Solmonese’s
experience
is
limited
to
inside-the-Beltway
politics
would
be
wrong.
Others
considered
part
of
HRC’s
inner
circle
of
movers
and
shakers
include
Gwen
Baba
of
Los
Angeles,
Terry
Bean
of
Oregon,
Tim
Boggs
of
New
York
City,
Mary
Breslauer
of
Boston,
Edie
Cofrin
of
Atlanta,
Curt
Decker
of
Baltimore,
Andrew
Tobias
of
Miami,
and
Jeff
Trammell
of
Washington,
D.C.
“I
would
take
any
of
those
people
on
my
home
team
in
a
minute,”
Rosen
said.
“It’s
true
that
they
have
been
involved
with
HRC
for
a
long
time.
But
they
are
all
excellent
people.”
Rosen
acknowledges
that
a
good
number
of
HRC
insiders
have
also
hailed
from
Boston
or
nearby
communities
in
Massachusetts,
a
development
that
some
have
jokingly
referred
to
as
the
gay
“Massachusetts
Mafia.”
Tim
McFeeley,
who
served
as
the
HRC
executive
director
from
1989
to
1995,
is
from
Boston.
Birch,
who
served
as
executive
director
and
president
from
1995
to
January
2004,
came
from
Cupertino,
Calif.,
where
she
served
as
legal
counsel
for
the
Apple
Computer
Company.
But
her
successor,
Cheryl
Jacques,
who
held
the
HRC
president’s
post
for
the
brief
period
from
January
to
December
2004,
was
a
Massachusetts
state
senator
prior
to
her
tenure
at
HRC.
Solmonese,
a
native
of
Attleboro,
Mass.,
is
set
to
begin
his
tenure
as
HRC
president
in
April.
“Not
another
gay
leader
from
Massachusetts,”
wrote
gay
Republican
activist
Jim
Driscoll
in
an
e-mail
to
several
fellow
gay
Republicans.
“What
do
HRC,
LCR,
etc.,
have
against
the
other
49
states?”
Driscoll,
in
addition
to
commenting
on
Solmonese,
was
referring
to
Log
Cabin
Republicans
executive
director
Patrick
Guerriero,
who
also
hails
from
Massachusetts.
Abby
Rubenfeld,
a
gay
civil
rights
attorney
in
Nashville,
Tenn.,
who
just
completed
a
7-year
term
as
an
HRC
board
member,
said
she’s
not
bothered
by
either
the
Massachusetts
connections
nor
the
longtime
involvement
of
leaders
such
as
Rosen
or
Malcolm.
“I’m
very
committed
to
HRC,”
she
said,
adding
that
she
happily
voted
for
Solmonese’s
appointment
as
president.
“I’m
not
a
Washington
insider.
But
it
sounds
like
he
is
very
well
connected
to
the
states
and
very
knowledgeable
on
the
issues.”
Oregon
state
Sen.
Kate
Brown,
a
bisexual
Democrat
who
became
majority
leader
this
year,
credited
Solmonese
with
playing
a
key
role
in
making
that
happen.
“Emily’s
List
is
one
...
