San Diego Democrats Elect New Leadership, Decry ‘Swiftboating’ Attempt
The torch got passed on Tuesday at the San Diego County Democratic Party executive board meeting as Will Rodriguez-Kennedy was elected to a two-year term as party chair. The vote was 39-32, with party stalwart Craig Roberts coming in second in the election, held at the IBEW Local 569 Hall.
Activist Oren Robinson was elected to be Secretary of the County Democratic Party by a 33-28 vote.
It should surprise nobody that a some last minute drama emerged.
An anonymously written letter was circulated to executive committee members making claims about one of the candidates’ complicity in three sexual harassment scandals dating back to the days of Bob Filner.
I’ve seen the letter, and won’t go into more detail about its contents, since it makes provably false/ taken out of context allegations and makes unsubstantiated claims about a currently serving elected official.
Both candidates for chair denounced the surreptitious communique, with Roberts (correctly) saying he’d been “swiftboated.”
A snip from Craig Roberts’ response on Facebook:
Will Rodriguez-Kennedy has contacted me personally to deny his involvement in this attack and I believe him. But the fact remains that someone is willing to lie about me and to you to prevent me from being the next Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, even stooping to the same dirty tricks as the Republicans. We can't let them divide us.
A snip from Will Rodriguez-Kennedy’s reaction on Facebook:
While Craig Roberts and I have many differences of opinion on the future of the Democratic Party, I genuinely believe that he cares about every community the Party represents and serves the Democrats of San Diego with integrity and compassion. There is no room for defamation in civilized political debate.
The local election was in some ways a reflection of national debates going on within the party over the demeanor and direction of the party.
While Craig Roberts would likely dispute any characterization of his candidacy as favoring the status quo in the local party, support from past party chair Jess Durfee and a Who’s Who of local elected officials certainly gave his candidacy a certain momentum.
As president of the California Young Democrats, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy was a candidate symbolic of the newer, more activist wing of the party. His participation in 2018 campaigns throughout the state won support from grassroots organizers.
It’s notable that the only big name public official to appear at the Central Committee meeting was newly-elected District 4 Council member Monica Montgomery, who supported Rodriguez-Kennedy.
On the positive side of things, one observer told me they were impressed with the depth of discussions surrounding the future of the party coming out of the discussions prior to voting. Their observation about the candidates was that Roberts was the better administrator and Rodriguez-Kennedy was the better organizer.
What made this election significant was rank and file dissatisfaction with decisions and actions taken by outgoing chair Jessica Hayes, who’d had elected to step down in the face of divisions within the party between community activists and long-term party regulars.
There was widespread suspicion that she ran interference for now-dethroned union leader Mickey Kasparian as he was enveloped in sexual harassment scandals because of his role as financial supporter of the party.
An op-ed published at Voice of San Diego signed by 29 party activists last April revealed the dissatisfaction with the leadership these and similar issues:
Activism, employment and candidacy within the San Diego County Democratic Party, however, remains unsafe, rife with potential for unchecked sexual harassment and worse, despite several attempts to create fair internal systems of accountability since the resignation of disgraced former Mayor Bob Filner in 2013.
We have had enough. Now is the time to reject silence and demand action from the party whose very success and future rests on the backs of women. Most telling about the current state of affairs: We have been meeting in private for months, keeping our activities secret, because we suspected our efforts to make change might be subverted by the very party whose ideals inspire us, and for whose successes we continue to work tirelessly.
There were charges of racism following the re-locating of the Martin Luther King Democratic Club to the back of the room at the annual Roosevelt Dinner after some of the club’s members wore buttons and signs condemning sexual misconduct. Police were called on Black activists protesting this and other actions by party leadership at a subsequent Central Committee meeting.
From a Union-Tribune account of the protest:
San Diego’s local Democratic Party leaders are under fire and facing calls to resign after a meeting fell into disarray and a black woman was handcuffed by police.
Officers were called to the party’s Central Committee meeting on Tuesday evening at a Kearny Mesa union hall after as many as 20 protesters showed up to the closed-door meeting, including some who made it past private security and into a conference hall — at least one with a bullhorn.
Hayes had a distinct aura of hostility towards those who challenged her authority at party functions. At the Tuesday meeting, she declared that no photography would be allowed, even though party rules only prohibit audio and video recordings.
The election of Rodriguez-Kennedy means a gay, ex-Marine, Latino activist is now in charge. Although his rise through party ranks has not been without controversy, his ability to lead while being inclusive should prove to be a real strength.
The introduction of new ideas and increased diversity in the Democratic party should prove to be a good thing. Now all we have to do is see less talk and more action.
I found this UCSD Guardian editorial about the future of the Democratic party to be relevant in view of what’s transpired in recent days:
Local chapters of the Democratic Party across the nation would be apt to serve as intermediaries to these debates, allowing platforms for both politicians and voters to connect in order to work out any discrepancies. For the San Diego County Democratic Party, however, pushing for cohesion does not appear to be a priority. On its Facebook page, the organization comes across as only interested in either rallying voters behind a mutual hatred of President Donald Trump or hosting blanket “Get Out the Vote” events without actually facilitating an opportunity to hold the national Democratic Party and its representatives to a standard of overcoming disagreements. Rather than attempting to appease both sides, local groups like the SDCDP should offer better opportunities for voters to voice their concerns and learn the facts on bills, issues, and candidates
👀Hey folks! Be sure to like/follow Words & Deeds on Facebook. If you’d like to have each post emailed to you check out the simple subscription form on the right side of the front page.👀
💬Email me at DougPorter@WordsAndDeedsBlog.com💬