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 In the Belly of No on 8

When former Log Cabin Republicans president Patrick Guerriero came to San Francisco to visit the No on 8 headquarters, he didn’t know he’d wind up staying to run the biggest LGBT rights political campaign in history. But with a measly million in the bank and the Mormon church raising money hand over fist, No on 8 needed help, and Guerriero stepped in to close the gap -- and, with any luck, make history.


 The Reverend Jonipher Kwong helps with the phone bank.

The No on 8 campaign headquarters is located on San Francisco’s Market Street in a space that was once the home of Tower Records. Dance mix CDs and DVD displays have been replaced with table after table of volunteers, who on the last Wednesday before the November 4 election are working their cell phones to encourage Californians to vote no on the ballot measure. If passed, Proposition 8 would ban same-sex marriages in California just months after the state supreme court voted narrowly to strike down laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from getting hitched.

Considering the polls showing 8’s potential passage, the onslaught of out-of-state money raised by the Yes on 8 campaign, and the damage done by Yes on 8 ads featuring scared parents and vulnerable children, I expect to find a much more tense, scared office. But the receptionist seems to represent the energy of place: focused, businesslike, and surprisingly calm.

I’m there to see Patrick Guerriero, who less than a month ago became No on 8’s campaign director. The former president of the Log Cabin Republicans, Guerriero now runs the Colorado-based Gill Action Fund, an issue advocacy organization founded by gay software mogul Tim Gill that promotes LGBT political rights. After being ushered into a smaller set of offices that are nonetheless full with No on 8’s media team and a “war room”–like conference call among No on 8 staffers, Guerriero comes out of an even smaller room, working his BlackBerry. It’s clear that if you told Guerriero six weeks ago he would be in California working full-time on the fight of his life, he would have said you’re crazy.

“I just came to visit in late September to check on the status of the campaign and to offer support from Gill Action,” he said. “Right about the time I came here there was a growing awareness the Mormon church had basically made an unprecedented financial commitment to raising a record amount of money in a social issue campaign.”

During the summer, No on 8 organizers were estimating $20 million would be needed to defeat the amendment, and with early polls showing a lack of support for Proposition 8 and a fairly muted opposition that hadn’t yet launched a media campaign, the No campaign appeared on track.

But the October fund-raising report brought No on 8 supporters cataclysmic news. Proposition supporters, with major help from very organized out-of-state Mormon donors, had raised $25 million and boasted $12 million in the bank, while No on 8 had raised only $15 million with a measly $1 million in the bank.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Preston
    Date posted: 11/3/2008 7:08:00 AM
    Hometown: Shreveport

    Comment:

    It amazes me that the Log Cabin Republicans vote for a party that wants to treat Gay's like second class citizens and then support Gay Marriage. They seem very CONFUSED!

  • Name: chin
    Date posted: 11/2/2008 10:53:00 PM
    Hometown: seattle

    Comment:

    torqueflite i agree... Editors please get rid of Montreal guy ad it's torture! we get it. you can knock boots in montreal! i made the mistake of leaving the page up after i went to bed... around 3am my computer clicked out of standby mode and suddenly my apartment was filled with HI GUYS!!!!!!!!!!111one11!!1... i nearly wet the bed i was so freaked out. but i digress... please support No on Prop 8 everyone... it's never too late to fight the good fight.

  • Name: torqueflite
    Date posted: 11/1/2008 5:09:00 PM
    Hometown: Niwot, Colorado

    Comment:

    Sorry to be off-topic but I couldn't find a better place for this observation. Advocate editors, can you disable the automatic audio from the clip about the guy in Montreal? It's really irritating to open the homepage and every time be greeted by "HI guys!" ad nauseam. Just leave the audio off so that if the reader wants to hear it, he/she must click on it first. thanks for listening!

  • Name: anthony newsome
    Date posted: 11/1/2008 3:19:00 PM
    Hometown: dublin

    Comment:

    best of luck with the No vote on Prop 8, human rights dont exclude lgbt people, the two adds posted on Advocates home page last week were fantastic, much praise to everyone who helped and gave their time, I really hope this devious ploy by the right-wing backfires, it is so vital that everyone goes out and cast your vote Tuesday next, I wish Obama/Biden well as president/vice president elected also, anto

  • Name: Jim
    Date posted: 10/31/2008 8:19:00 PM
    Hometown: Los Angeles

    Comment:

    Nice story, but something's missing. As a potential volunteer who has time available this weekend, it would have been helpful to have a DIRECT LINE phone number listed, that connects to a LIVE person. Or at the very least, phone numbers & addresses of regional offices running phone banks, & organizing for Nov. 4th.



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