Democratic chair backs down on Chavis appointment

by John Frank, Under the Dome, News and Observer, February 12, 2014.

Facing resistance, N.C. Democratic Party Chairman Randy Voller retreated from his intention to nominate civil rights leader and controversial figure Ben Chavis for a top post – at least for now.

In a contentious conference call with upward of 1,000 party’s executive leaders Tuesday night, Voller supported making state director Casey Mann the party’s interim executive director for up to 30 days as officials “explore a permanent replacement,” the party said in a statement. The executive council must approve Voller’s nomination.

Voller canceled a news conference for Wednesday morning at which he told party officials he would name Chavis as the party’s executive director, days after unexpectedly firing Robert Dempsey from the post. In the statement – sent by an interim spokeswoman after the party’s communication’s director resigned Monday – Voller said the weather played a role in the cancellation and the potential for hazardous weather.

But Voller made clear on the call that Chavis is his man, saying he approached him when he learned Chavis was returning to North Carolina. “I thought it might be a good idea to see if he would serve,” Voller said on the call.

Chavis, an Oxford native, is prominent civil rights figure in North Carolina from his days a member of the Wilmington 10 who went on to lead the NAACP and serve as a No. 2 under Louis Farrakhan in the Nation of Islam. Former Gov. Bev Perdue pardoned Chavis and the other members of the wrongly convicted group in 2012.

But his checkered record, including his ouster as NAACP head following a secret settlement for a sexual harassment case and another similar allegation while at Farrakhan’s organization, are now being reexamined given the political light that will shine on the party’s day-to-day leader. Farrakhan is a controversial political figure, so much so that then-Sen. Barack Obama rejected Farrakhan’s support for his 2008 presidential campaign.

On the call, Voller sounded angered about this scrutiny, saying he didn’t appreciate people “relitigating things from 20 years ago.”

In an interview with WNCN in Raleigh, Chavis said he wouldn’t let his past distract him. “I would strongly consider the position,” Chavis said, if he were offered the post.

“I am not currently a member of the Nation of Islam,” Chavis told the TV station. “I’m a member, in good standing, of Oak Level United Methodist Church of Christ in Henderson.”

He added that the allegations of sexual harassment at the organization were “utterly false.” In court papers, Chavis admitted no wrongdoing but the organization did reach a financial settlement with the woman.

“Sometimes when you’re in the public light, people will allege all kinds of things against you.” Chavis said the interview.

The party’s conference call proved raucous at time, according to participants who live-tweeted the action. Mann ran the motion to name herself interim executive director and apparently calculated the votes, too. Democrats who tried to interject on the call were apparently muted and not heard.

The state Republican is now making the Democratic disarray an issue, saying Kay Hagan and Roy Cooper ought to speak out on Chavis and Voller. The party notes a News & Observer story in which many party leaders declined to comment directly on the issue.