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 CommitteeJason 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