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CA Gay Republicans Appointed

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recently appointed three members of Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) to State Councils and Commissions:

One of the founders of Log Cabin, Leonard Olds of Laguna Beach, has been appointed to the California Council for the Humanities. He has a long and impressive career in education: He served as an educational advisor in the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1991 to 1995 and was a bilingual teacher in various elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1965 to 1991. Olds is the current Chair of the Bipartisan Liberty Education Forum.

The Governor also appointed Hollywood resident Don Norte to the California Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. This committee is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to assist disabled youth and adults to enter the workforce. Norte has served on the Board of Directors and later as President of the California Public Parking Association. He has been employed by the City of West Hollywood’s Department of Transportation and Public Works since 1990 and currently holds the position of Parking Services and Development Officer for the City’s parking division.  Norte currently serves on the board of Log Cabin Republicans’ Los Angeles chapter.

Alan Howard of Carmel, California was appointed by the Governor to the California Osteopathic Medical Board.  Since 2004, Howard has served as a project manager for American President Lines, a global leader in container shipping, logistics and technology management.  He previously held several positions including director for the TNT Post Group, where he worked from 1994 to 2002. He is the owner of a real estate development business in Carmel and provides consulting services on systems development, implementation, and project management to the transportation industry. Howard has been a national board member of the Log Cabin Republicans since 2005.

“Log Cabin is proud to provide a talent pool to the Governor for service to the citizens of California,” said James Vaughn, Director of California Log Cabin Republicans. “Once again, we applaud the Governor for demonstrating his commitment to bringing the best and brightest to public service from all segments of the California community.”

Over the past few years, Log Cabin has been focusing its efforts on recruiting LGBT Republicans for appointment to positions of influence and public service at the state and local level.   Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed over twenty five LGBT staff, board, commission and other staff political appointees. 

But these are not token efforts to meet affirmative action goals; I have met several of these men and it is clear that the Governor has chosen the best and most dedicated people he could find. They just happen to be Log Cabin members.

Besides Alan Howard, Don Norte and Leonard Olds, other openly gay State Commission and Board appointees include; Jon Stordahl (Commission on Teacher Credentialing); Patrick Adams (Fair Employment and Housing Commission); Greg Gandrud (Recreational Trails Committee); and Rory Diamond (Student Aid Commission) as well as Tod Burnett (Vice Chancellor, California Community Colleges) among other political staff appointees.