Mitch Perry
Former Florida Democratic Party president Sally Boynton Brown is in Tampa Thursday night to lead a “progressive message trailing” session.
Some Hillsborough Democrats aren’t happy about Brown coming to town.
The former executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party was hired in April 2017 by then-FDP chair Stephen Bittel to replace longtime President Scott Arceneaux.
But Boynton Brown’s tenure ended unceremoniously last November, days after Bittel resigned when POLITICO reported he had been accused of inappropriate and demeaning behavior toward women.
Bittel resigned November 16, the same day the story hit the internet.
Boynton Brown initially suggested she would stay with the party, but soon came under criticism during the following weekend for defending Bittel. Two former staffers also accused her of “enabling” Bittel’s misconduct toward women in the workplace, as reported by Ana Ceballos of Florida Politics.
At the time, two women told Florida Politics they were upset reading Brown’s letter because she put the responsibility on victims to come forward, even though as a top staffer, she knew about the misconduct and did nothing about it.
“She is trying to cover her ass (with the letter),” one woman told Ceballos. “And it is disgusting.”
Immediately after Boynton Brown’s resignation, some Florida Democrats argued that it was wrong that she had to go; the invitation for Thursday night shows she still has supporters in the party.
While the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee is not an official sponsor of the event, Party Chair Ione Townsend said that Boynton Brown has “tremendous grassroots” support for work during her short tenure at the FDP.
Townsend said election victories of Miami state Sen. Annette Taddeo and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman was indicative of Boynton Brown’s competence within the Party and “people recognize that.”
Others disagree.
“Miss Boynton Brown has her supporters and her detractors, including strong advocates in the ‘Me Too’ movement,” said Hillsborough County Democratic State Committeewoman Alma Gonzalez. “As a result of that division of feelings toward her, I think it’s currently in the best interest of the Florida Democratic Party to move beyond this moment.”
Another longtime Hillsborough County Democrat — who wished to remain anonymous — was incredulous that party members were calling on Boynton Brown for consulting advice.
“She saw all this sexual harassment sh*t that went on day after day after day at the Florida Democratic Party with Stephen Bittel, and to invite her down is mind-boggling,” one man said, adding that this was a gift to the GOP in the wake of Donald Trump.
“Twenty million people in Florida and this is who you have to teach you strategy?”
Sponsoring Thursday night’s event was the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay, the South Tampa Democrats, the Pasco Democratic Executive Committee and Plant City Democrats.
“I know you’ve heard (criticism) from a couple of Democrats, but that’s not a widely held position,” Townsend added.
2 comments
Melissa Doff
March 2, 2018 at 1:49 am
What happened to fact checking before putting a piece like this out there for public consumption? For starters, it is the Trinity Democratic Club of Pasco County that was the sponsor of the training … NOT the Pasco DEC as you wrote — basic fact checking. Not only were we responsible for bringing Sally Boynton Brown to Tampa Bay, we are proud of that decision to have her as our guest speaker this weekend at our Annual Breakfast Fundraiser. We were thrilled that so many other Democratic clubs and caucuses in multiple counties wanted to join us in holding specialized training with Sally as an additional event. How about that story? Between the inaccuracies and the multiple typos, I wouldn’t call this piece journalism. It read like a gossip rag. I found it to be embarrassing that given the pressing issues facing this state and this nation, a three-hour training seminar by a grassroots activist on the topic of “positive messaging for Democrats” got this much traction. Why not come out to Pasco to write about real news like the county’s opioid crisis or rampant homelessness? How about interviewing some of our incredible first time Democratic candidates seeking to bring responsible leadership to Pasco. Seriously, Mitch? This was a legitimate story in your eyes? Let us know in Pasco, in Hillsborough, in Pinellas when you want to write an accurate story about what is really happening in the Democratic Party right now in our counties because it sure isn’t this … and you are better than stooping to this level.
Richard Payton
March 2, 2018 at 12:26 pm
Skills training to a group of progressives by an obviously talented woman is a step in the right direction. The whiners need to get the f$@# out of the way and retire due to their obvious feeble skills. Next let’s recruit high school kids like Parklands skilled speakers. Time for youth innovation. They’re energized. Harness it.
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