Dear all,

Some months back, our chapter voted to endorse Alex Morse, and many of us
put in countless hours to support his run for Congress against Richie Neal.
As you may remember, his campaign was torpedoed by a *baseless and
spineless homophobic smear campaign* orchestrated by UMass students, which
was encouraged
<[link removed]>
by members of the MA Dem State Committee (DSC), in particular, the Chair,
Gus Bickford. Despite this clear lack of leadership, *Bickford might be
re-elected* as DSC Chair -- if we do nothing. That's why we're writing.

If you're registered as a Democrat, please email the DSC Rules Committee
Chair to request that he convene a *public meeting to discuss Bickford's
involvement in the homophobic attacks against Alex Morse*. His name is Bill
Eddy, here is his email: [email protected]. There's a sample email
below you can copy/paste/edit as you see fit. *Please do this ASAP, because
the DSC election is tomorrow, Thursday (11/12).*

There are two other candidates running for the DSC Chair -- Bob Massie and
Mike Lake, either of whom would be more qualified than Bickford, though as
Democratic Socialists, the Dem Party's dirty laundry is not particularly
interesting for us. Our main concern is standing up against homophobia,
which is absolutely, never acceptable, and those who engage homophobic
attacks need to be held accountable. If you are registered as a Democrat,
you can personally make a difference here, and can embody the integrity
evidently so lacking in the DSC.

In solidarity,
Sid


Mr. Eddy:

As Chair of the Rules Committee, it is your responsibility to convene a
meeting to discuss the complaints filed on 9/25/20 and signed by over 500
MA Dem Party members before the vote for Chair on November 12th. Attorney
Cheryl Jacques' investigation clearly shows violations occurred, so they
were not "frivolous" in nature. Your committee needs to meet about this and
DSC members deserve a chance to vote whether to remove Bickford from the
Committee before the DSC Chair election.

I'm sure you can appreciate the urgency of this matter. Please advise me
when a day and time have been set. And - if possible - provide a way for
the public to view (Zoom?).

Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

--
__________________
Christian Kennedy
Sidney Rothstein
Co-Chairs, Executive Committee
Berkshires DSA
berkshiresdsa.org

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