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« Opinion
There was no party coup
There was no party coup
EDITOR:
While I appreciate all the hard work Tom Lamb has done on behalf of the Democratic Party, I must take exception to a number of points he raised in a letter to The Vindicator last Sunday.
First of all, the chair of the party does not appoint all the members of the executive committee. This group is comprised of all the elected party officers as well as members named by the chair. When I was elected earlier this year I expanded this important committee to include every elected Democratic officeholder in Mahoning County. As a result, it is now more diverse and representative of all Democrats than at any time in our history. I took this step because I am committed to ensuring that no one person — including the chair — can control our party.
Second, under Article XIV of the party’s constitution, the “Executive Committee [is] to act at all times for the Central Committee when the Central Committee is not in session.” That means that when the executive committee unanimously adopted a resolution regarding the deeply flawed casino initiative it was doing so on behalf of the central committee. As a result, it is entirely proper to say that the Mahoning County Democratic Party is officially and vehemently opposed to the scheme currently being pushed by the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee.
I would also note that although the resolution gives me the authority to expend party resources to fight the proposal, both County Commissioner John McNally and I are providing our legal services free of charge.
Finally, I want to assure Mr. Lamb and every resident of the Mahoning Valley that the party will be at the forefront of the health care debate in our area. We are in daily contact with the Ohio Democratic Party and we are preparing to participate in the concerted effort to help President Obama, Sen. Brown, and Reps. Ryan and Wilson reform America’s broken health care delivery system.
DAVID BETRAS
Boardman
X The writer is chair of the Mahoning County Democratic Party.
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Comments
I wonder...
Is the writer's frequent use of "I" a reflection of an egocentric personality or the continuing problem of our local Democratic party's leadership void?
The Democrat Party, just like unions are unneeded relics from the past. Both organizations are motivated into robbing Americans of individual freedom. I resent having nation "health insurnance", forced union membership (The Employee Free Choice Act in a misnomer), government owned and controlled automotive, banking, education, energy and health industries. The Europeans finally have seen the evils of socialism and are moving toward freedom and personal responsiblity. Obama claims Iran is entitled to nuclear energy; but we in American are denied the same right. Why can't we drill for oil in and offshore in our own country? Sounds like a comspiracy to bring America, the greatest nation of all time, in spite of her faults, down to the level of the rest of the world.
It should be said that the executive committee never met before the chair announced that he was going to have a press confrence, along with the republican party vice-chair, to oppose the gambling initiative. The central committee met after that news confrence where they voted to oppose. The executive committee has 61 members. At the most twelve are elected party officers, the rest are appointed by the chair. The only reson they are on the executive committee is because he appointed them. They are not accountable to the elected committee people, only to the person who appointed them. It should be noted that at the recent meeting of the reform health care group at the Newport library, no executive committee members were there!