In a major election year shake-up, the Florida Democratic Party suspended three local party chairs in Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County and Franklin County in order to get them “back on track.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried announced the suspensions of Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Robert Dempster, Palm Beach Democratic Party Chair Mindy Koch, and Franklin Democratic Party Chair Carol Barfield.
“Over the past year, the Florida Democratic Party has made repeated attempts to mitigate complaints received prior to my election as Chair and support the leaders of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Franklin Democratic Executive Committees (DECs),” FDP Chair Nikki Fried said. “One of my first actions as Chair was the launch of an assessment team to evaluate issues, review plans and provide guidance to parties identified as noncompliant.”
The suspension is effective immediately, according to Florida Democrats, but removal is a 3-step process with one step remaining. Effective at the time of a chair’s suspension, the First Vice Chair becomes Chair.
“Due to ongoing and unresolved issues, and failure to comply with the rules that govern all local parties, the Florida Democratic Party has made the decision to suspend the Chairs of the Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Franklin DECs and rebuild in 2024 — because the cost of inaction is too high,” the head of the Florida Democrats continued. “Candidates and elected officials rely on their local democratic parties to register voters, mobilize volunteers and engage donors to support their efforts — and they are impacted the most when they are not working effectively.”
The three steps to remove a party chair include: 1. Compliance Notice (issued February 2024; 2. Suspension by Chair, Florida Democratic Party (March 4, 2024); and, 3. The Central Committee must vote to confirm the suspension by a two thirds vote to remove the chair from office. There are approximately 120 members on the Central Committee, composed of congressional district committee chairs, elected officials, caucus leaders and appointed members.
“The success of Florida Democrats depends on the success of our local parties on the ground, and the majority of our DECs are working tirelessly to organize year-round across the state. There is too much at stake to ignore the challenges before us and we need all of our local parties engaged in our mission to take back Florida,” FDP Chair Fried said. “Florida Democrats are serious about creating the infrastructure and party apparatus we need to take back our state, restore our rights and freedoms and re-elect Democrats all the way up the ticket. The country is counting on us.”
The Central Committee will take up the vote to confirm the suspension or reinstate at its next meeting, which has not yet been scheduled, according to Florida Democrats. The Central Committee will vote to remove the suspended chair or reinstate at its next meeting. If the chair is removed, the affected DEC will have 45 days to elect a chair.
