"I am a gay American."
Posted on 04/15/2012 3:24:36 PM PDT by csvset
RALEIGH The executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party resigned Sunday as calls for his ouster mounted amid questions regarding a secret agreement to pay a former staffer to keep quiet about sexual harassment allegations.
Jay Parmley, who served a year at the helm of the party, denied harassing any employee and blamed right-wing blogs for "spreading a false and misleading story" about the incident.
"Even though I have not done anything wrong, it is clear to me that I need to move on," Parmley wrote in his resignation letter.
Party Chairman David Parker accepted his resignation but avoided any comment on the case and suggested Parmley didn't deserve to be fired for cause. He blamed politics.
"After consulting legal counsel, and based on my own experience in harassment cases and my own personal philosophy, it became my opinion that there have not been grounds for termination for cause of Jay Parmley," said Parker, an attorney. "In this political world of rushing to judgment and the presumption of guilt, however, my legal and personal opinion has been outweighed by this having become a political distraction and issue."
Earlier this weekend, party activists called for Parmley and Parker to resign amid questions about a financial settlement given to a low-level staffer earlier this year who was fired soon after he complained about being sexually harassed by a senior party official. The settlement agreement and nondisclosure statement came to light Friday in internal party emails obtained by The News & Observer, but the documents did not identify the party official responsible.
At the Wake and Durham county party conventions Saturday, party activists introduced resolutions demanding Parker and Parmley resign or be fired. Other party officials also are privately asking the two top officials to leave for the sake of the party.
In Wake County, Democratic consultant Perry Woods put forth a resolution saying the party "must deal with sexual harassment claims in an open and transparent fashion."
The party must be "not only beyond guilt but above suspicion, and event a hint or perception of a cover-up is damaging to the party's credibility," the resolution stated.
In introducing the resolution, Woods noted North Carolina's prominence in the national political picture as a battleground state in the presidential race and host of the Democratic convention, suggesting the state party scandal could taint the 2012 election.
The resolution also said Parker's statement Friday - which said the party won't comment the matter - only raised more questions about how it was handled behind closed doors, even out of the purview of other top party officials.
Muriel Offerman, the treasurer of the state Democratic Party and a Parker ally, spoke against the resolution. "This is a personnel mater with in the party," she said in an interview Sunday. "Personnel matters are not to be discussed in public. Period."
A couple other Democrats echoed Offerman's remarks, saying the party should handle the matter, and Woods pulled the resolution before a vote took place. Woods declined to comment about the matter.
At the Durham County party convention, Danielle Adams, a member of the local soil and water conservation district board, put forth a handwritten resolution also calling for the party's top two officials to be removed. It came soon after Parker addressed the convention. He didn't mention the scandal in his remarks and again no vote took place and it was referred to the state party's executive committtee for consideration.
The tumoil in the party ranks came the same day Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton suggested party officials should resign or be fired if the allegations are true. "We cannot tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace," Dalton said Saturday at the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party convention. "If there's any truth to the allegations, somebody should resign or be fired immediately. We won't tolerate that."
The other two leading candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, former Congressman Bob Etheridge and state Rep. Bill Faison, declined to take a stance, saying they didn't know enough to comment.
The party is not talking about the matter. But former party administrator, Sallie Leslie, said Friday she recently quit in part because of how the party handled the matter, citing "unethical actions by party leadership."
Leslie's longtime service to the party and solid reputation is helping drive activists' concerns. The Wake County Democratic Party approved a resolution supporting Leslie at its convention and her comments were cited in Woods' resolution demanding party leaders' removal.
blamed right-wing blogs for "spreading a false and misleading story" about the incident.
The homo website blames some organization called the Civitas Institute.
Sure, pay off some guy and quit your job because of "false and misleading" stories.
"I am a gay American."
Sure he has done “nothing wrong”. From a loser lib’s point-of-view, nothing one might do is ever “wrong”. This lib moron lackls integrity and values. So what’s new?
http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/10980861/
"Sallie Leslie, a former administrator, quit the state party six weeks ago. She told WRAL News on Friday that the decision came after much thought."
"I, quite frankly, could not be a part of any organization that protected a predator," Leslie said.
Late Friday, state party Chairman David Parker issued a statement saying that people who have left the party in recent months did so for professional reasons. "Over the last several months, several employees left their employment with the NCDP for business or professional reasons unrelated to their job performance, by mutual agreement of the parties involved," Parker said. "These are personnel matters about which we cannot and will not comment further."
"The staffer who left last fall said he cannot talk about the issue."
***********************************************************************
OK....
A major Operative resigns in disgust and hints of more than one person leaving if I read this right...
This is more than a "wide stance" goin' on here IMHO...
If this does break it could get real ugly...
The only problem with instituting Cultural Marxism is living by all those pesky rules yourself.
Funny how these Democrats always blame Right-wing conspiracy for their sexual indiscretion and impropriety.
By contrast, the Republicans readily admit to such an accusation.
Parmley on the left, Ortega on the right.
Is Parmley a "bully" ? A bully is the worst sort of savage these days.
I’ll wait to get the full story on 60 Minutes or Nightline or any of the Sunday shows today.
Let’s hope it does.
If it's BS, then it's BS. The old adage, "Where there's smoke, there's fire" comes to mind.
White homo sexually bullies Hispanic homo, the Democrat's War on Women?
D'oh
“calls for his ouster mounted”
I’m sure he tried, but it wasn’t at hand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.