The Salt Lake County Democratic Party is in turmoil following a failed attempt to impeach the party secretary at Saturday’s Central Committee meeting.
Several Central Committee members spoke to UtahPolicy.com about the meeting on the condition of anonymity. Party rules prohibit public disclosure of closed meeting proceedings, and they could face disciplinary action for speaking out. However, one member of the central committee said they were breaking the confidentiality rules because “Democrats in the County deserve to know what’s going on.”
The attempted impeachment of Party Secretary Ellen Brady was based on claims she created a “hostile work environment” for many in the party, including executive director Bonnie Billings. Brady was also accused of “working outside the scope of her assigned duties,” specifically intruding into the tasks of 1st Vice Chair Emily Hase.
Several sources tell UtahPolicy.com that Brady is “difficult to work with,” but said the impeachment attempt was due more to a personality conflict with Brady than actual misconduct.
The attempt to remove Brady from office failed because of a violation of party rules prohibiting public disclosure of the charges before the hearing. UtahPolicy.com is told there was an email effort to line up witnesses to speak in favor of Brady’s impeachment, which violated the party rules and led to the automatic dismissal of the charges. Sources say the impeachment had been in the works for several weeks.
In the aftermath of the meeting, 2nd Vice Chair Joe Bycroft and Treasurer Will Shiflett resigned, but Shiflett told UtahPolicy.com he rescinded his resignation before it took effect.
All of this comes amid two high-profile primary races, HD24 and SD2. Those are long-time Democratic seats, but several Republicans privately say they think they have a shot at winning the HD24 seat being vacated by longtime Democratic Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck.
The sense of frustration with the shenanigans inside the county party is palpable. One longtime Democratic stalwart who was at the meeting says the party has been in a state of perpetual chaos since the new executive committee took over last year.
“We’re spending so much time on petty-ass bullshit that the party is not helping candidates win races,” this person said.
Others who related the events of the meeting to UtahPolicy.com used colorful phrases like “dumpster fire” and “shit show” to describe the state of the SLCO party. Many expect another effort to remove Brady from office in the future.
The failed impeachment wasn’t the only contentious event from Saturday’s meeting.
You’ll remember the controversy arising from claims of sexual harassment against former State Party Treasurer Rob Miller during last year’s race for party chair. The allegations forced Miller from the race and prompted the state and county party to adopt new anti-harassment policies.
That new policy came into play on Saturday as the party’s Judiciary Committee meted out punishment for a member accused of harassment, ordering that they take a sensitivity course and report back on what they have learned before they’re allowed to return to any county party functions.
No information about the alleged harassment was shared at the meeting, but UtahPolicy.com has learned the incident in question occurred four years ago before the current harassment policy was in place. The allegations were investigated by law enforcement, who determined nothing criminal happened. However, the judiciary committee moved forward with the sanctions anyway.
Salt Lake County Party Chair Quang Dang declined to comment on, or confirm, the closed-door proceedings, but did send an email statement to UtahPolicy.com.
“Occasionally organizations like the SLCo Democratic Party go through internal issues which are addressed in closed meetings to protect the privacy of our members. The County Party’s primary goal is to elect more Democrats, and that is where our focus remains,” he wrote. “While there is always room for improvement, I am proud of the results. The Party and I are thankful for everyone’s hard work and contributions to our success.”
