A tempest in a teapot. That was how David Parker, embattled chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, described the sexual harassment scandal that led to a meeting of the party’s state executive committee Saturday in Greensboro.
Parker said publicly that he would resign at the meeting, following calls for withdrawal from party members and elected officials including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton. But Parker’s resignation speech sounded more like a rallying cry, and after deliberations described by one party leader as “pandemonium,” the committee voted to reject his resignation.
Parker’s self-centered decision to stay undermines the efforts of Democrats in the hugely important November elections. If the party hopes to defeat the Republicans this fall, they must resolve to remove Parker from the equation.
Sexual harassment charges were made against Jay Parmley, the former executive director who resigned after they were publicly revealed. Parmley was right to step down, and Parker should have followed suit. His refusal to deal with the situation has caused great embarrassment and could have detrimental effects for the party.
As 2012 is a critical election year at both the state and national levels, Parker’s willingness to put self-interest before party interest could not come at a worse time for Democrats. The party was swept out of the North Carolina legislature in 2010 by a Republican tide fueled by the Tea Party movement.
The effects of the strict budget they subsequently passed have been felt across the state.
As a result, the UNC-system Board of Governors approved tuition increases at all 16 campuses.
Democratic candidates, including Dalton, are pledging to return funding to schools. But Parker’s contentious leadership could jeopardize the party’s efforts.
As North Carolina’s gubernatorial race is one of only 12 in the nation this November, that contest might very well come down to fundraising ability. And Parker may put Dalton at a disadvantage.
More fundamentally, Parker’s actions — the attempted cover up in response to the sexual harassment charges and his refusal to acknowledge the importance of image to a political party — reflect values at odds with the transparent and unified leadership which Democrats desperately need right now.
By going back on his word to the public and the candidates depending on him, he violated the trust of the people of this state.
