A political strategist from California who has played a leading role in trying to overturn the state's same-sex marriage ban has been named president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights lobbying and education group.
The Washington-based campaign's directors voted Friday to hire Chad Griffin to replace outgoing president Joe Solmonese, who announced last year he would step down after seven years at the organization's helm.
The 38-year-old Griffin is an Arkansas native who went to work in President Bill Clinton's communications office at age 19 and eventually moved to Los Angeles to run a charitable foundation for director Rob Reiner.
Most recently, he has served as president of a group Griffin and Reiner founded to bring a lawsuit to strike down California's voter-approved gay marriage ban
