Gay Republicans Rally Behind Besieged L.A. City Hall Aide

Members of a gay Republican group are rallying around besieged mayoral aide Michael Keeley, who drew a vote of no confidence from the Los Angeles City Council last week after he surreptitiously gave city documents to opposing attorneys in a contract dispute.

Carol Newman, president of the 200-member Los Angeles chapter of the Lincoln Club, said the organization at its monthly meeting this week urged members to send letters to their council representatives. The next edition of the club’s newsletter also will urge others to write, said Newman, an attorney and member of a mayor-appointed city commission.

The one-paragraph letters, which started showing up in council offices late this week, begin: “I am one of your constituents, and I support the retention of Michael F. Keeley as chief operating officer” to Mayor Richard Riordan. It goes on to say that Keeley’s departure “would only derail” efforts to adopt “a sensible city budget” and urged the council to “put this matter behind us and go forward for the good of the city.”

Keeley, a confidant and attorney who joined Riordan at City Hall as a key implementer of the mayor’s agenda to reshape city government, is one of the highest-ranking, most visible gays in local political office across the nation.

Newman said Keeley is scheduled to speak at the club’s May 20 meeting.