The race for Chair of the Florida Democratic Party – and the future direction of the state Democratic message – is heating up around the holidays. Two candidates still remain in the field after some shuffling in recent days. Alan Clendenin, a Democratic National Committeeman and Hilsborough County State Committeeman, and Allison Tant, a fundraiser and former lobbyist, are currently courting votes.
Senator Bill Nelson and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz inserted themselves to hand-pick the next chair and are pushing for Allison Tant. The establishment clearly wants to keep control not just of the party message, but the party money.
However, the Political Hurricane broke an exclusive exposing Tant’s controversial professional past as a lobbyist for a firm that purged African-American voters from the Florida voter rolls before, during and after the 2000 recount. This sparked the Democratic Black Caucus to endorse Clendenin yesterday as the best candidate to take control of the FDP. Clendenin is also pro-labor and has strong support from unions and organized labor interests.
But even Orange County Tax Collector-elect and Orange County Democratic Party Chair Scott Randolph officially endorsed controversial candidate Allison Tant this week. After hyping his wife’s progressive credentials, in a statement Randolph continued saying Tant was the “type of leader that will continue building our strengths.”
In a county where minority voters overwhelmingly turned out and delivered a decisive victory for President Obama and Democrats down ticket, these statements seem to once again be at odds with the reality. Randolph was recently challenged for Chair of the local party by Lawanna Gelzer and the election showed a large group of minority voters angry and concerned over lack of inclusion and outreach. Tant is clearly the insider and establishment choice. Her history is very relevant and telling.
Alan Clendenin on the other hand has provided a detailed plan to rebuild the FDP with a focus on rebranding the party image and message, rebuilding from the bottom-up and recruiting new Democrats and stronger candidates.
The support and strong-arm tactics of Wasserman Schultz and Nelson indicate that they do not care about the base communities of Florida Democrats or in building a grassroots, people-driven party at the county level. It is also clear where Randolph now falls given his new positions.
[…] FDP Chair Candidate Tant Purged Black Voters, Randolph Enters Controversy […]
The Deal Breaker for Democratic African Americans:
Thank you for your responses:
News and Commentary: FDP Chairman Candidate Clendenin Registered Voters, while his Competitor helped the Company That destroyed the Democratic Party of Florida’s Most loyal base: By their Purging of more than 57,000 African American Voters in Florida, alone; utilizing methods that purged African Americans in other key states as well.
Placing candidate Tant at The top of the Same party she helped a company to destroy is unrealistic; and is The same as placing a former counter-operative in charge if your future.
The equation of placing dangerous Tant in the Chairmanship; is far too risky, and the people who persuaded this candidate Did Not bother to seek Tge Grass Roots supporters of Senator Nelson or President Obama by Vetting this candidate in the Presxence of our party’s Most Faithful voters: African Americans who are the most loyal Democrats in The entire State of Florida. Plantation Politics are extremely dangerous politics!
* The Susan Rice Incident shows That peope who are opposed to a candidate on moral grounds shouldn’t be compromised by Glowing Resumes, but the entire life actions of the Candudates’ Associations, such as; in thus case: Actually helping the Cukprits who stoke Tge 2000 elections in nit only Florida, but Nationwide, by stealing votes- including in Jacksonville, From Democratic Voters, simply because Katherine Harris, the software and vote thirds, , aided by The Lobbyist who now wants to be the Big cat; of the FDP, after slaying The chances for voting, of Fifty Seven Thousand African American Voters, In Florida, with a company That helped The Republican Party to defeat the Florida Democratic Party, with unlawful means.
This is far worse than reaching across the aisle; This Plantation Politics in Florida needs to end right here, and Senator Nelson is wrong for attempting to dimiss African American Voters, who have supported him, despite his failure to Support mist of the Congressional African American Issues.
We cannot be successful with a Paid Lobbyist for Republican-Led African American Voters Rights violations of laws, leading our party!
/S./ Central Florida Voters Congress, SM,
Editorial Advocacy Panel, SM