Resignation letter shows Democratic division remains

Published December 13, 2014

by Colin Campbell, News and Observer, December 12, 2014.

A scathing resignation letter from an N.C. Democratic Party leader sheds light on a bitter divide in the organization as it prepares to replace Chairman Randy Voller, who is stepping down.

Grace Galloway, the party’s chairwoman for the 8th Congressional District and a former Cabarrus County chairwoman, resigned this week and sent her parting words to the media. Galloway blasted Patsy Keever, a former state House member from Asheville and the only candidate so far for party chairman.

“I thought about all the time wasted sniping, fighting and having our real Democratic values compromised, and I realized that the Democratic Party that I originally knew is no longer – what is left is a group of people who continue to pursue the wrong paths and thus lose elections,” Galloway wrote, adding that she’ll now register as an unaffiliated voter.

Tensions have been running high for years. Voller, a former Pittsboro mayor, was narrowly elected chairman in 2013 after another candidate dropped out. He has moved the party further to the left, endorsing the “Moral Monday” protests and the legalization of medical marijuana.

Ending the infighting will be the key challenge for the new leader as the party seeks in 2016 to take back the governor’s mansion, Richard Burr’s Senate seat and turn North Carolina blue in the presidential race.

Without a show of unity, campaigns could again avoid the state party. Sen. Kay Hagan’s re-election effort formed a coordinated campaign with the Wake County Democrats – a role normally played by the state party. That meant less collaboration as the statewide organization ran its efforts separately.

After Hagan’s defeat, “there are a lot of things that we need to work on, and the gargantuan divide in the Democratic Party is one of them,” said Brian Fitzsimmons, who’s running for Wake County chairman. “None of this infighting ... is going to help elect Democrats.”

Galloway, who’s a Voller supporter, argues that electing Keever as state chairwoman would further divide the party. She points to Keever’s signature on a controversial voter shaming letter sent to registered Democrats in October, as well as Keever’s family connection to Gov. Charles B. Aycock.

Keever is married to Jim Aycock, a descendant of the former governor. Aycock, who was in office from 1901 to 1905, was a leading figure in white supremacy campaigns. His name was recently stripped from the Democratic Party’s annual Vance-Aycock Dinner. Jim Aycock has defended his ancestor’s legacy, pointing to his role as a champion of public schools.

“Putting an Aycock in the chairmanship of the NCDP will lead to such an uproar amongst the African-Americans that the Democrats may just lost that bloc of voters for a few generations,” Galloway wrote.

Reached Thursday, Keever said she doesn’t want to address Galloway’s criticisms. “She’s done what she felt like she needed to do, and we appreciate the service she’s given the party in the past,” Keever said.

Voller, who came under fire from Keever and other top Democrats during his turbulent tenure, said Galloway’s letter raises a “valid critique,” and he forwarded it to other party leaders.

“That issue does raise concerns,” he said of Jim Aycock’s support for keeping the family name on the annual fundraising dinner.

Voller also noted that Keever was critical when he picked former civil rights leader Ben Chavis as the party’s executive director. That appointment was ultimately scrapped amid questions about Chavis’ ouster as NAACP president decades ago and his tenure as a deputy under Louis Farrakhan at the Nation of Islam.

“Patsy Keever is a good Democrat, a good person, and she’s served with honor and dignity in her roles,” Voller said. “The main question here is, is she the right person to take the job?”

Keever says she’ll work to bring together all Democrats as they work toward the 2016 elections. “We need to reach out to all aspects of the party. We need to respect each other and realize that we have different opinions, and that’s OK,” she said. “The main thing is that we stick together and work together for the good of everybody.”

While he’s critical of Keever and says “people want a choice” in the election for the state party’s leader, Voller also wants Democrats to rally behind the state party.

“There’s been an obsession with the political celebrity of the candidates, and the candidates running away from the party or the president,” Voller said, adding that the party organizations have a crucial role ensuring Democratic victories up and down the ballot.

In selecting down-ballot candidates like judges, “you’re going to rely on someone who’s an authenticator, and the authenticator is the party,” Voller said.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/12/4398377/resignation-letter-from-nc-democratic.html?sp=/99/102/