Montco Democrats Call for State Senator Daylin Leach (D) to Resign

The Montgomery County Democratic Committee and other party leaders have asked State Senator Daylin Leach (D) to resign over the way he conducted himself after he was accused of sexual misconduct. The way the letter reads is that they are basically tired of dealing with his issues that “threaten party harmony” (not so much concerned about the accusations).

If you are wondering if Leach represents you, he represents Plymouth Township, West Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Bridgeport, Norristown and parts of the Main Line and Delco.

There are actually three different issues for Leach. There are two sets of accusations. The first involved claims made by former staffers. The second involved accusations made by a daughter of a former legal client over an alleged incident when she was 17. The third involves how he responded to the accusations (a Democratic candidate, and now State Senator Katie Muth, refused to share a stage with him and he sent an email to the party leadership that referred to her as a “toxic hand grenade“). That is just one example of how he reacted.

The Montco Democrats are basically late to the party of asking Leach to resign. Delaware County Democrats did it last month and Governor Wolf did it when the original accusations came out in 2017 and again in January of 2019.

It is election season locally and last year the National Organization of Women in PA threatened that it would not endorse anyone who did not call for Leach’s resignation. This seems to solve that issue.

Leach still refuses to resign. He is up for re-election in 2020.

Here is the letter:

14 March 2019

Senator Leach,

With a very heavy heart, we, the leadership of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, are calling for your resignation.

To be clear, you have been a champion for liberal causes for twenty years and stood for far reaching progressive ideals at a time when very few would. No one could or should deny that.

Nonetheless, we regret that we find ourselves in an untenable situation; we have reached a crisis point. As to the accusations, that is for others to decide. Our concerns are the following. Over the past fifteen months, your reactions and behaviors to your set of circumstances has created a divisiveness that threatens Party harmony and undermines our cause at a time when we need to be united. Without exaggeration, Party members have described your lashing out, lack of judgement, and tone-deafness, as examples of behavior not becoming a state senator and leader of our Party. Regretfully, it has imposed disruptiveness among many members of the committee and elected officials. Our call mirrors that of the steady appeals made by committee members from across the county, as well as those elected officials who have already issued individual statements.

We further note that holding elected office is a privilege, and to that end every officeholder has the responsibility to maintain the trust of the electorate and the Party with which that individual stands. We do not lightly dismiss that trust, but recognize that when behaviors so weigh down that trust as to shatter it to the point of continuous controversy, the damage becomes irreparable. What has been done, cannot now be undone.


Joseph S. Foster, Chairman, Montgomery County Democratic Committee

Jason E. Salus, Executive Vice Chair, Montgomery County Democratic Committee; Area Ten Leader; Montgomery County Treasurer

Marie Beresford, First Vice Chair, Montgomery County Democratic Committee

Jeanne Sorg, Second Vice Chair, Montgomery County Democratic Committee; Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds; Mayor of Ambler

Michael Barbiero, Esq., Corresponding Secretary, Montgomery County Democratic Committee; Area Eight Leader

David Nasatir, Esq., Treasurer, Montgomery County Democratic Committee

Olivia Brady, Recording Secretary, Montgomery County Democratic Committee

Dennis Erb, Area Three Leader

Ashley Wilkerson, MD, Area Four Leader

Albert Rieck, Area Five Leader

Pat Costello, Area Six Leader

Howard Rovner, Esq., Area Seven Leader

Noah Marlier, Esq., Area Nine Leader; candidate for Montgomery County Prothonotary

Bill Caldwell, Area Eleven Leader

Tom Kohler, Area Twelve Leader

Jonathan Shapiro, Area Thirteen Leader

Rachel Hendricks, Area Fifteen Leader

Val Arkoosh, MD, MPH, Chairwoman, Montgomery County Commissioner

Ken Lawrence, Jr., Vice Chair, Montgomery County Commissioner

Kevin Steele, Esq., Montgomery County District Attorney

D. Bruce Hanes, Esq., Montgomery County Register of Wills

Karen Geld Sanchez, Esq., Montgomery County Controller

Sean Kilkenny, Esq., Montgomery County Sheriff

Michael Milbourne, MD., Montgomery County Coroner

Madeleine Dean, Congresswoman, 4th Congressional District

Maria Collett, State Senator, 12th Senate District

Katie Muth, State Senator, 44th Senate District

Steve Malagari, State Representative, 53rd House District

Liz Hanbidge, State Representative, 61st House District

Matt Bradford, State Representative, 70th House District

Joe Ciresi, State Representative, 146th House District

Mary Jo Daley, State Representative, 148th House District

Tim Briggs, State Representative, 149th House District

Joe Webster, State Representative, 150th House District

Ben Sanchez, State Representative, 153rd House District

Steve McCarter, State Representative, 154th House District

Melissa Shusterman, State Representative, 157th House District

Kevin Boyle, State Representative, 172nd House District