Democratic chairwoman running for state post

Amid high-level resignations in the Florida Democratic Party, Palm Beach County Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo announced Monday she would seek the statewide leadership post.

“If elected to serve, I will work tirelessly and lead with unparalleled motivation to achieve the goals of our party to ensure the inclusion of those who have been left behind, protect every voter’s rights, lift up new leaders, and grow our Democratic base,” Rizzo wrote in a Facebook message announcing her candidacy.

Former state party chairman Stephen Bittel announced his resignation on Friday, effective Monday, after allegations of sexual harassment.

State party President Sally Boynton Brown announced her resignation on Monday, after defending Bittel.

“It is unfortunate that not everyone who has worked with Chairman Bittel has had the same experience I have,” she wrote on Medium.com. “In my experience, Chairman Bittel has been refreshingly open to feedback, given by myself and others, about his conversational style and modified his approach when he learned that others found it off-putting.”

Afterward, she became the target of recriminations by lower-level staffers who said she had been present when Bittel made harassing comments to young women who worked for the party.

Bittel’s resignation came after half a dozen women accused him of making inappropriate comments to female staffers in a Politico Florida ar-

ticle.

The high-level shakeup in the Democratic Party comes as the party prepares for what many assume will be an antiTrump wave election. Presidents typically lose congressional seats in offyear elections, and President Donald Trump suffers from low approval ratings. In addition, Florida Democrats this year won a special election for a state Senate seat in MiamiDade and the mayoral race in St. Petersburg.

Bittel’s resignation also follows an admitted case of sexual impropriety in the Florida Legislature, with state Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, resigning after admitting to an affair with a lobbyist. And state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, faces an investigation into sexual harassment charges as well.

Rizzo was already selected to be chairwoman of the Florida Democratic County Chairs based in part on her success in precinct-level organizing throughout the county, a grassroots model that is being studied in many other Florida counties and was touted as the way forward by Bittel prior to the revelations sexual harassment.