Tensions between the Clark County Democrats and the Young Democrats of Clark County were eased Monday evening when they reached a compromise over the Young Democrats’ endorsement in June of a non-Democrat for county chair.
The Clark County Democrats’ executive committee voted Monday that any member of its executive board who has personally or is a member of a group that has endorsed a candidate competing against a party-supported candidate must leave during discussions of that campaign.
The change to the local party’s ethics policy was prompted by the Young Democrats’ endorsement of former Republican county commissioner Marc Boldt, who states no party preference in the chair race, over his opponent, Democrat Mike Dalesandro. Three members of the Young Democrats — Mike Pond, Seamus Davis and Melissa Boles — sit on the Clark County Democrats executive board, and will therefore have to leave meetings during discussion of the Clark County chair race.
The Young Democrats also may not use the county party’s office or resources to campaign until after the general election.
Deanna Pauli-Hammond, chair of the Clark County Democrats, said the two groups have been discussing the endorsement, and decided last month to pull access to resources from the Young Democrats.
“Our donors don’t want them using our resources to support a candidate that we don’t support, especially in a race that we have a good contender in,” Pauli-Hammond said. “We’ve had donors calling and threatening to pull their donations away because of this decision.”
The Young Democrats violated the Clark County Democrats’ policy by endorsing Boldt over the Democratic candidate, Pauli-Hammond said.
“Our main mission is to get Democrats elected,” Pauli-Hammond said. “They opted to take a different route.”
After the meeting, Young Democrats who had feared they would completely lose their seats on the board said they felt they had reached a fair compromise.
“I feel like this was possibly the best resolution we could have come to,” said Boles, who is the secretary for both the Young Democrats and Clark County Democrats.
The Clark County Democrats’ decision is one instance of internal party politics centered on Boldt. In 2012, the Clark County Republican Party censured the then Republican county commissioner, citing votes and decisions he’d made that were deemed too liberal for the party.
Last month, the Clark County Republicans voted to support a write-in campaign for state Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, in the county chair race. The party also voted to formally oppose both Boldt and Dalesandro. Many who argued for supporting Pike said voters are faced with a choice between two liberal candidates.
Dalesandro was the top vote-getter in the chair race in the August primary by four votes. He received 17,137 votes, or 26.64 percent, while Boldt took 17,133 votes, or 26.63 percent.
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