Monday, May 27, 2013

Mike Berlon: It's time to remove yourself and your baggage as Chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party

It's time for Georgia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Berlon to step down as head of the State Party so it can move on in preparation for 2014.Recently, Berlon had his law license suspended and received a reprimand from the state Supreme Court, and he's facing a lawsuit from a Gwinnett County man over missing funds, etc, etc. David Worley, a former chairman of the state party, said Mike Berlon’s legal woes tarnish the party’s image and hamper its abilities to raise funds. I agree with Worley who said he’ll ask the Democratic Party of Georgia’s executive committee to recommend Berlon’s ouster at next month's June 6 meeting.

Now Berlon has his staunch supporters who voted for him in huge numbers over former Secretary of State Candidate Darryl Hicks (who I supported) back in 2011 in a bid to take over as party chair from Jane Kidd.

But given his legal woes and the woeful state of the once-powerful Georgia Democratic Party, now is the time to remove Berlon as chair of the beleaguered Democratic Party.

The Georgia Democratic Party is in desperate need of a leader who can come in and knock some heads together. With 2014 Statewide & Legislative races right around the corner, the sooner State Dems can deal with this problem, the better.

Now who would take over as chairman and finish out Berlon's term? I suggest looking at current and former state legislators.

Former State Legislators such as Terry Johnson of Marietta, Don Wix of Austell, Kevin Levitas of DeKalb County Stephanie Benfield of Atlanta, Dubose, or Current Legislator Calvin Smyre of Columbus ought to be considered for serving out the rest of Berlon's term.

1 comment:

Juliana said...

I'm baffled why anyone would think an elected official would make a good chair. Especially a failed elected official/candidate.

Ask yourself, which interest do they represent? Theirs, the party, their constituents?

Who are they most likely to raise money for? Themselves & their campaign or the party?

If State Committee votes for something that they don't support legislatively who decides which one gets their efforts. For example, the issue of non-partisan qualifying.

Will serving as Chair benefit their election chances in the future?

Here's an example. Do you want the best surgeon in hospital operating on you or running the hospital?

At this point, I just can't advocate for the past, it hasn't worked and we need something else. Something dramatic like a completely decentralized party like other states have done.

Folks who worry about the rural voice at the DPG, well right now 51 rural counties have no representative on the SC, not one person from those counties to speak for the Democrats there.

Shockingly Taliaferro is missing a committee member, a county that votes almost 66% of the folks there voted for the President.

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