Ed Lopez
National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus
In office
September 13, 2011 – October 11, 2015
Personal details
Born
Eduardo Jesus Lopez-Reyes

(1974-06-26) June 26, 1974
San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States[1]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMarie Anne Lopez
Residence(s)Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationFairview High School
Alma materUniversity of Rhode Island (BA)
Durham University (MA)
Durham University (PhD)
WebsiteEd Lopez
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Reserve

Eduardo Jesus Lopez-Reyes best known as Ed Lopez (born June 26, 1976) is an American politician and activist for the Republican Party. He previously served as the vice chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. In 2022, Lopez unsuccessfully ran for Connecticut House of Representatives for the 150th District, which encompasses parts of Greenwich.[2][3] He currently serves as the Chairman of the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting (RTM) for District 3 in Greenwich, Connecticut.[4]

Lopez is a member of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry and has supported same-sex marriage. He participated in a national tour to advocate for third-party presence in national presidential debates. He is a former resident and was active in politics and community programs in Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Early life and education

Lopez was born June 26, 1976, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother was Puerto Rican and his father was an immigrant from Guatemala.[5] He was partially raised in Boulder, Colorado, where he graduated from Fairview High School.[6]

He served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic for two years.[1][lower-alpha 1] Thereafter he studied at the University of Rhode Island and pursued postgraduate studies at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University in Durham, England. Lopez graduated with a Master's degree in International Relations Middle East and Arabic Language studies.[7] Concurrently, he began PhD work, returning to Durham University. He augmented his Arabic language studies at American University in Cairo's Arabic Language Institute, in Cairo, Egypt.[8] Lopez was a member of Ustinov College at Durham.[9]

Career

He was the managing editor of the online GAIA Review.[10] While in the United Kingdom, Lopez served in the United States Army Reserve Military Intelligence Corps.[11][12] He was also a sergeant in the Connecticut Army National Guard.[12]

He is currently the owner and principal consultant of Wolf & King Strategies, a public relations firm, in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Politics

Early career

He was the founder and state chairman of the Republican Hispanic Assembly of Rhode Island by late 1997.[13] Lopez was a candidate for Rhode Island Secretary of State against incumbent James Langevin in the 1998 election cycle.[14] Lopez was a Staff Assistant to United States Senators Hank Brown in Washington, D.C., and for John H. Chafee in his Providence, Rhode Island, district office.[11][lower-alpha 2]

Republican Party

Lopez served as National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus from 2011 through 2015.[17] Lopez served on Rockingham County Leadership Team for former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. for President in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.[18]

Freedom to Marry

In March 2013, Lopez joined Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry along with S. E. Cupp, Abby Huntsman, Elizabeth Huntsman, Mary Anne Huntsman, Meghan McCain and other conservative and Republican activists.[19] In June 2013, Lopez joined the group on a nationwide campaign to change the Republican Party's platform points on the issue; the campaign included visits to New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada.[20][lower-alpha 3] He was among a group of Republican leaders who expressed their support of same-sex married by filing an amicus brief at the Supreme Court.[22] The brief was organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.[22] Others involved in filing the amicus brief included Senators Mark Kirk and Susan Collins; Former Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah and Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts; David Koch; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and retired General Stanley McChrystal.[22] On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges meant that the Freedom to Marry's movement could be brought to a close.[23]

2016 presidential election

Lopez, a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, participated in a national tour sponsored by Our America Initiative to advocate for libertarian party participation in national presidential debates.[24][25][lower-alpha 4] The 40-state tour included speakers such as Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, Free the People's Matt Kibbe, political and communications consultant Liz Mair, Reason Foundation’s David Nott, Foundation for Economic Education’s Jeffrey Tucker, Libertarian Party's Carla Howell and Lopez.[24][lower-alpha 5]

Lopez is an advocate of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact,[29] as he discussed on an interview on PBS' The Open Mind.[30] In 2020, Lopez became part of the board of advisory board for Libertarians for National Popular Vote, along with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee; the efforts seek to coalesce libertarian-leaning voters in support of the compact.[31]

Personal life

Lopez resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.[32][33][lower-alpha 6] He and his wife, Marie Anne, have been active in political and non-profit efforts together.[35] He presided over a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International in New Hampshire between 2009 and 2011.[11][36] He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[37]

Notes

  1. ↑ Lopez graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
  2. ↑ In 2000, he received support from Republicans including Frederick Lippitt and Republican National Committeewoman for Rhode Island Eileen Slocum for a potential State Senate race in Rhode Island's 3rd District against State Senator Rhoda Perry.[15] That same year, Lopez supported George W. Bush in the Republican presidential primary.[16]
  3. ↑ Lopez was identified as a leader in the movement.[20] Following an announcement of Republican support among state senators in Rhode Island, Lopez stated: "Rhode Island Republicans are leading the way to a more inclusive GOP — one that can continue to grow and stay relevant as America changes. Their actions today show that not only do they know the freedom to marry is completely in line with conservative values like personal liberty and the importance of family, they are working to make it a reality."[21]
  4. ↑ Lopez said he supported former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in the 2016 election during an interview with The Huffington Post in June 2016.[26] During an interview on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Lopez was asked whether he planned to remain a Republican and whether he felt Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were sufficiently libertarian to which his response was: "I still believe in the Republican Party. I would like to see the Republican Party come out of this stronger. I'm not here to define how libertarian the Johnson-Weld ticket is or isn't; I understand Libertarians debate this robustly."[27]
  5. ↑ Lopez said during the tour, "The main reason that I chose to come on this tour and talk to millennials and talk to students all over the country is because in addition to being libertarian, I’m a realist, and so, I sympathized a lot with one of Gary Johnson’s principles of good government. And that’s a principle of realism."[28]
  6. ↑ He was a collaborator and editor on Martin Popoff's book Pink Floyd: Album by Album and is the publisher of Publius Enigma, a website focused on Pink Floyd's post-1983 work.[34]

References

  1. 1 2 Shawn Zeller (June 25, 1998). "Language of Lopez". Providence Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ Borsuk, Ken; Marchant, Robert (2022-11-09). "Greenwich Democrat Stephen Meskers beats Republican Ed Lopez to win CT state House 150th District race". GreenwichTime. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  3. ↑ Borsuk, Ken (2022-05-20). "Lopez to challenge Meskers for House seat as Greenwich finalizes races for state legislative seats". GreenwichTime. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  4. ↑ "District 3 | Greenwich, CT". www.greenwichct.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  5. ↑ "Language of Lopez". Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  6. ↑ "Greenwich Representative Town Meeting District 3 candidate: Ed Lopez", Greenwich Time, Norwalk, Connecticut, October 25, 2019, Updated October 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ Eduardo J. Lopez-Reyes (2011). "Moving from Durham into Politics" (PDF). University of Durham. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ "AUC Today Class Notes - Special Programs" (PDF). AUC. Fall 2008. p. 39. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Alumni Beyond Ustinov". Ten years of Ustinov College. 2015. pp. 36, 47.
  10. ↑ "New student run political journal goes online at Durham - Durham University". Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  11. 1 2 3 "Business People: Donna Nicholaides, Walter Schnecker, Clara Doss, Ed Lopez, Marie Lopez, Chris Houpis, Peter Dobratz, Karen Files, Kimberly Kohm, Krista Lalibert". Nashua Telegraph. December 9, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Ed Lopez State Representative", official campaign website. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  13. ↑ Mark Bazer (December 18, 1997). "Born to be Mild: Rhode Island's College Republicans Defy the Stereotype of Hard-Core Party Animals". Providence Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Official Election Results, Statewide Offices". State of Rhode Island Board of Elections. November 3, 1998. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Young Eddie Makes his Move". Providence Phoenix. November 4, 1999. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ Jonathan Saltzman (September 9, 1999). "In R.I., Bush opts for contributions over kids". The Providence Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Republican Liberty Caucus. Retrieved December 4, 2016. National Board serving through 2015: Vice Chair Ed Lopez of Connecticut
  18. ↑ Robert Cook (November 18, 2011). "Five Portsmouth Residents to Serve on Jon Huntsman's Leadership Team". Portsmouth Path. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Huntsman Hotties Join Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry Group". The Contributor. March 13, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  20. 1 2 John DiStaso (June 4, 2014). "'Young Conservatives for Freedom to Marry' in NH to launch campaign to reform RNC platform". NH Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ "RI Republican Senate Caucus Supports Marriage Equality". The Contributor. April 23, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  22. 1 2 3 Zeke J. Miller (March 5, 2015). "More Than 300 Republicans Call on Supreme Court to Recognize Gay Marriage Nationally". Time. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  23. ↑ Karen Heller (July 30, 2015). "Freedom to Marry is going out of business. And everybody's thrilled". Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  24. 1 2 Jack Jacobs (October 18, 2016). "Liberty Tour comes to Williamsburg to talk election, personal freedom". The Virginia Gazette. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson to Advocate for Third Party Inclusion". Good4Utah.com. October 31, 2016.
  26. ↑ Michelle Fields (May 24, 2016). "Koch-Funded Efforts To Win Hispanics Crashing, Burning". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Republican Support for Libertarian Candidates (video)". C-SPAN. August 8, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016. Ed Lopez, co-chair of Republicans for Johnson/Weld, talked about why he and other Republicans were supporting the Libertarian ticket in 2016, as well as their work to bolster third-party candidates.
  28. ↑ Allie Dignan (October 25, 2016). "Liberty Tour Visits Campus To Advocate For Johnson: Governor Gary Johnson Funds National Tour, Uses Comedy To Engage Students". Flat Hat News. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  29. ↑ "A Popular Electoral College (video)". Thirteen. September 2, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019. Republican political strategist Ed Lopez discusses the federalist argument for the National Popular Vote.
  30. ↑ "Ed Lopez on The Open Mind: A Popular Electoral College (video)". YouTube The Open Mind Channel. September 2, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021. On this episode of The Open Mind, we're delighted to welcome Ed Lopez-Reyes to continue our discussion of the national popular vote movement with one of its most important grassroots advocates on the eastern seaboard.
  31. ↑ "Libertarians for National Popular Vote About Us". libertariansfornationalpopularvote.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021. We Are Libertarians for National Popular Vote.
  32. ↑ Huge Shake-up on RTM
  33. ↑ Eduardo J Lopez-Reyes: a Goal RTM members can agree on
  34. ↑ New website explores the Pink Floyd universe post 1983
  35. ↑ City Couple Supports Huntsman
  36. ↑ Vision 2020 Should Focus on Nashua as Destination City
  37. ↑ "New Hampshire Mormons Hope GOP Candidates Raise Awareness". Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2011-11-28.

Further reading

  • Avila, Tomas A. (2007). Rhode Island Latino Political Empowerment. Milenio Publishing. ISBN 978-1928810063.
  • Popoff, Martin (2018). Pink Floyd: Album by Album. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0760360613.
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