Donors Rescue Log Cabin

A couple of weeks ago we learned that the Log Cabin Republicans were going into 2009 with a substantial debt. Today the Washington Blade reports that things are looking up for the LCR.

A number of donors have come to the rescue of the Log Cabin Republicans in an attempt to alleviate the group’s debt of at least $100,000, according to Patrick Sammon, the group’s outgoing president. Sammon confirmed earlier this month that his organization had at least $100,000 in consolidated debt. He told the Blade Wednesday that a number of donors have recently committed “upwards of $125,000” to the organization. “So I hope and expect that by the end of March, our long-term debt … will be all paid off,” Sammon said.

Sammon declined to identify any of the donors. He said he still expects 2009 to be a “very tight year” for Log Cabin. “We’re on the right track, but as I said, with the economy and with the nature of the environment right now, we’re still going to be proceeding very cautiously and conservatively as the organization moves ahead,” he said. At a national meeting in Atlanta last weekend, Sammon said the board also approved a “significantly” reduced budget in response to the organization’s financial woes. Sammon said he could not immediately provide any numbers for how much the budget was cut for this year. In an interview earlier this month, Sammon said he expected the board to approve a budget that would be about 35 to 40 percent less than what Log Cabin had in 2008.

According to the Blade, LCR head Patrick Sammon is presently their only full-time employee. Sammon is stepping down later this year, but his replacement has not yet been announced.