The Republican Party of San Diego County reached out to the GLBT community on Monday asking for their support in the upcoming governor election.

Michael McSweeney, first vice chair of the San Diego County Republican Party, told the Log Cabin Republicans San Diego chapter at a public meeting held at The Abbey Café that the GLBT community had “great untapped potential” and insisted the community’s voice was both welcomed and needed within the Republican Party.

He contended that the Republicans did an “abysmal” PR job within the GLBT community and that far-right stereotypes of the party would only be overturned by the inclusion of groups such as gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

“We do an abysmal job of selling what our party stands for,” McSweeney said, “and there’s a high number of people in the gay community who have a hard time identifying with the [Republican] party they see on TV. I bet a third of people in that [the GLBT] community think as we do, but do they see themselves as Republican? Hell, no! It’s those people we have to reach out to, and it’s the two or three voters in each district that can make that big difference.”

He added: “It’s the people in this room who are better sales people for what this party stands for than I could ever be… [as] a straight, white man in a suit.”

McSweeney, who stepped in at the last minute in place of scheduled speaker Ronald Nehring, chair of the San Diego County Republican Party, faced a barrage of heckles during a question and answer session, in which some Log Cabin members felt unsupported by the party and called for public solidarity.

McSweeney acknowledged the bind Log Cabin members face from hostility within the Republican Party for their sexual orientation, and hostility from the GLBT community for their Republican support.

He called for more moderate speakers to engage with the media on behalf of the party and said, “I don’t understand what it’s like to walk in your shoes… you run in different circles than us and you are a better set of eyes and ears in your community. We’re about infrastructure at the local level. Whether it’s Mount Soledad or our pensions, you’re an important coalition and resource to this party.”

He concluded that if a gay candidate could successfully campaign and be elected for the Republican Party, “I can guarantee that this party will be all over them” with support.

President of the Log Cabin Republicans San Diego Chapter, Garrick Wilhelm, also announced a nationwide marketing campaign, aimed at gaining exposure for the role of Log Cabins and how they act as a bridge between the GLBT community and the Republican Party.

Initiated in San Diego, the campaign will include eye-grabbing advertising at Pride events across the country later this year, and will direct interested revellers to more information on an updated website.