Berlon in Hot Water, Push for Him to Resign Immediately!

Over at the Liberal Blog, Blog for Democracy Democratic Activist Catherine Smith laid out what appears to be a letter asking for Mike Berlon to resign as chair of the Georgia Democratic Party.

Read Below:

TO: DPG State Committee Members

Since his election 14 months ago, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Mike Berlon has violated multiple sections of the DPG Charter and By-Laws, circumvented the the authority of the State and Executive Committees, and put our Party in serious financial peril.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

The State Chair has failed to provide a budget to the State or Executive Committees during his 14 months as Chair.

The State Chair has failed to take the necessary steps to raise sufficient funds for ongoing activities (call time, one on one donor contact, etc) despite the strong recommendations of the Executive Director and Party employees.

The State Chair made hiring and compensation decisions, a responsibility granted only to the Executive Director, without the authorization or approval of the State or Executive Committees (BL1.6.4 , BL1.6.5).

On Monday, February 27, the State Chair fired two Party employees, a responsibility granted only to the Executive Director, without the authorization or approval of the State and Executive Committees. These employees were fundraising staff (BL1.6.4 , BL1.6.5).

The State Chair denied, from the outset of her employment, the Executive Director’s enumerated responsibility of “hiring of qualified staff members for all budgeted and other approved or temporary positions and institute dismissal or other disciplinary actions as necessary against such employees”, severely restricting her ability to successfully perform her role as Executive Director. (BL1.6.2 ).

The State Chair brought disgrace upon the party by discussing internal Party matters with the media and jeopardizing the fundraising apparatus of the Party (BL2.8.2 ).

The State Chair has threatened (with lawsuits, and other repercussions) multiple members of the State and Executive Committees merely for speaking out against him in legitimately called meetings and in email exchanges, bringing disrepute upon the Party (BL2.8.2 ).

Mike Berlon has forgotten that the ultimate authority in our Party belongs to the State Committee, not the Chair.

Well it appears that the honeymoon is over at the Georgia Democratic Party.

Berlon became chairman after besting Darryl Hicks, (who I supported) for the position. Think Hicks would want the job now? H.E.L.L. NO!

Mike Berlon on Democrats here in Georgia

I'm late putting this up so here it is:

As the newly elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, I am keenly aware of the challenges we face over the next several years. All Democrats realize that the election losses in November were devastating. In addition, the impact of nine party-switchers made the situation even worse. The question then becomes: What do we do now as a party and how do we regain prominence?

First, the Democratic Party of Georgia must find its voice. For many years, we have been reactive instead of proactive and have simply lost our message. We have let Republicans frame the debate. We cannot do this and win. We must develop a strong message about jobs, education and the economy. These are winning issues for us, and we must define ourselves in a way that makes sense to Georgia citizens from all walks of life.

We also need to put to rest the perception that we are solely a metro Atlanta party and reconnect with all of Georgia's citizens. A crucial step in this process will be to establish satellite offices throughout the state. We need to rebuild our base at the county level, neighbor-by-neighbor, Democrat-by-Democrat, precinct-by-precinct.

We must aggressively recruit future candidates and give them the tools to succeed, including year-round training for these aspiring leaders. We need to establish a team of candidates that is experienced and well-trained at all levels of government, from city hall to the Capitol. We will honor the promises that we make to them in order to foster their success. We will also compete vigorously in those districts that were formerly represented by party-switchers to show them that political deception has a steep price.

As a party, our main goal is to elect Democrats. Therefore, we will establish long- and short-term measurable goals, as well as strategic planning and accountability, from both our staff as well as our state party officers; now and well past my tenure. We no longer have the luxury of using the party as a campaign extension of our highest-ranking officials while developing a new strategy for the DPG every four years.

We are invested heavily in the redistricting process. I fully expect that Republicans will attempt to increase their majority by gerrymandering districts throughout the state. These tactics will be met with strong resistance from the Democratic Party of Georgia as well as the courts, where I believe the matter will ultimately be decided.

Finally, we must develop a sound organization and multi-level fund raising plan that can serve us well now, and into the future. This does not mean simply covering our expenses. It means developing a long-term strategy and fiscal policy that will give us the reserves we need to run the party without worrying about operational expenses. I have been involved at every level of politics for over 35 years. I know how these cycles work. With hard work and discipline, we will turn the party around. It won’t be easy and it’ll take some time, but we are a resilient group. Working toward a brighter future might be tough, but with a strong executive committee, an invigorated staff, the right funding and planning, and a strong message, a return to Election Day success is just a matter of time.

For democrats, its all about 1) Educating & 2) Communication. Berlon & Co are off to a good start at the Georgia Democratic Party. There will be some seats, depending how redistricting goes that dems will be able to pick up, but it will depend how Miguel Camacho, newly elected Candidate Recruiter for the party does in finding candidates to fit his'her district & Don Weigel providing support for that candidate.

Then you have congressional races coming up in which there maybe the possibility that the 8th becomes a open seat in which Austin Scott gets drawn into Sanford Bishop's 2nd Congrssional District, leaving State Senator Ross Tolleson who has said in the past that he is interested in a run for congress. If that happens, then finding a candidate there will be critical.

Thoughts from a Conservative Democrat one week from the DPG Leadership Elections

As we attempt to rebuild the Georgia Democratic Party, it is essential that we establish a moderate tone for the state party & bring back those disaffected by the 2010 campaign. The first step in doing that is to replace Jane Kidd with Darryl Hicks who's mix of rural/urban appeal would be a huge asset in getting the party back on its game in competing with the Georgia GOP.

Or select Mike Berlon of Gwinnett County. Berlon has run for office, worked with many candidates over the years in both grass roots and statewide campaigns, most recently as Carol Porter’s campaign manager for Lt. Governor, has spent several years as a county party chair and is the only candidate with a short and long term written plan for success.

Hicks centrist themes, plus his roots being born & raised in Taylor County will show voters, especially those who have drifted away from the party over the past decade that the party is paying attention to their concerns & is not a clone of the much more liberal National Democratic Party.

In addition, the party then needs to:

1) Nominate Wendy Davis of Floyd County as Vice-Chair of DPG. Davis, Davis, twenty-year political veteran, has returned to Georgia to serve as my campaign manager. In the last 17 months, Wendy has worked in 22 states as National Field and Training Director for 21st Century Democrats and as a senior political staff member for Governor Bill Richardson’s Presidential campaign. A Georgia native, she is a DPG state committee member, former president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, and active with the Floyd County Dems. Wendy has worked around the state for many notable Democrats such as Secretaries of State Max Cleland, Lewis Massey and Cathy Cox; Congressman Sanford Bishop; State Senator Steve Henson; former Atlanta City Council Member Doug Alexander.

2) Nominate Chris Sloan of Troup County as Vice-Chair of County Parties. Sloan is a 28 year old rural democrat who chairs the Troup County Democratic Party. Sloan, a workaholic & devoted democrat is from a demographic that the party needs to bring back into the party: Rural, White Male voters. His passion & drive, is a asset to the party & not taking anything away from RJ Hadley & Will Fowlkes, but Sloan is the critical piece of this puzzle if the party wants to regain a foothold in our rural communities.

3) Nominate Miguel Camacho of Chatham County as Vice-Chair of Candidate Recruitment. Camacho is the Chairman of Candidate Recruitment for Chatham County one of only two County's in Georgia than ran a Democratic challenger against every Republican incumbent in the Georgia State Assembly who's district includes Chatham County. Chatham County received the 2010 Georgia Association of Democratic County Chair's President Award for outstanding and meritorious service for our recruiting efforts. Chatham is one of the few counties where democrats have prospered during the last 10 years.

Most of the Congressional Chairs races are nor-competitive, but for the 2nd, 1st, 11th, 5th & 12th, these districts need chairs who have a vision for "outside the box thinking" & not the same 'ol tactics that have been used for years by democrats.

In the 1st, you can't go wrong with Jeana Brown, a rural activist who has track record of success of electing dems on the local level or Will Claiborne, a former staffer for then-senator Zell Miller (D-Young Harris) who may bring some of the former governor's views & ideas to the crimson-red district.

In the 2nd, you can't go wrong with myself, who knows how important rural Georgia will be to the party regardless if the region cede power to North Georgia & addition being vice-chair of Macon Co Dems or Jeanne Dugas who ran the successful Muscogee Co. Democratic Party, now serves as vice-chair

The 11th would be greatly represented by either Mary Caldwell or Wendy Davis. Both are hard working pols who will get the job done up in NW Georgia

The 12th, its R. Lee Wester of Burke Co. A farmer & contributor to Congressman John Barrow, Webster will bring a different element to the 12th.

In the 5th, it really doesn't matter. Its a democratic district & either Will Curry or Kip Carr would do a fine job.



Now there are two measures that can repair the damage done by the National Democratic Liberal Agenda on Georgia Democrats & for Georgia Democrats to reclaim its standing as the party in the mainstream of Georgia Values:

1) As I mentioned before installing Darryl Hicks as chair & 2) the eventual recruitment of Carol Porter, Dubose Porter, JimMarshall, Rob Teilhet to campaign around the state for local & congressional candidates in 2011 & '12, leading up to 2014 statewide elections. All of these candidates have either centrist/conservative tones that will help remake the party image in the mold of Georgia's conservative electorate. By fomer candidate campaigning for candidates for races like Commissioner, City Council, Mayor, etc that will pay off as a I.O.U. for whoever decides to run for statewide office in 2014 or maybe congressional office in 2012. Getting out on the chicken & peas circuit & appearing with numerous candidates will invaluable for democrats * will payoff down the road in 2-,3 or 4 years.

I believe that we should attempt to develop a image of the party of the working man who are not out to raise taxes, restrict gun rights, legalize Gay Marriage, spend tax dollars on useless programs & instead who supports Family Farms, keeping taxes low for the average working, blue collar family, protect communities from crime, a strong & vibrant public school system for example.

I don't want to see the party of Russell, Nunn & Miller be destroyed, which at this moment is on "Life Support" . Dems have to talk about ways of separating the National Democratic Campaign from the state & local races.