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Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee, is named in a lawsuit filed by a former gay outreach adviser.
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: Joshua Lynsen
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A former gay outreach adviser for the Democratic National Committee has sued the organization, alleging discrimination.
In a lawsuit against the DNC, its chair, Howard Dean and two party officials, Donald Hitchcock says he was the target of discrimination, retaliation and defamation during and after his tenure as director of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council.
The lawsuit was filed April 17 in Washington, D.C. Superior Court. Responses were filed May 31.
Hitchcock, who joined the DNC in June 2005, was fired May 2, 2006. The termination came days after Hitchcock’s domestic partner, Paul Yandura, a longtime party activist, sent an open letter to gay Democrats saying Dean failed to adequately defend gay rights.
Yandura’s letter, sent in April 2006, criticized Dean and the party for not getting involved in state ballot measures seeking to ban gay marriage. It also suggested that gays should temporarily withhold donations to Democrats.
Yandura did not immediately respond this week to interview requests.
Hitchcock, meanwhile, said that he has been advised by his lawyer not to discuss the lawsuit.
Answers filed by DNC attorneys challenge “each and every” one of the lawsuit’s allegations.
“The DNC strongly believes that Donald’s charges have no merit and the DNC is committed to defending its position vigorously in court,” said Joe Sandler, the DNC’s general counsel.
“We regret that we cannot say much more publicly and we ask that readers of this and other publications keep in mind that since the DNC is not able to speak publicly about the case, everything you’ll see may be one-sided for a while. We hope people understand why and ask that they take that into account.”
The complaint says Hitchcock, who was brought aboard primarily for finance activities, was told early during his tenure that he also would participate in political discussions.
But despite the promise from Julie Tagen, the DNC’s deputy finance director, and others, the complaint says Hitchcock spent months trying to become involved with the DNC’s political and outreach activities regarding gays, but made little progress.
According to the complaint, Yandura criticized “the DNC’s de-emphasis of LGBT issues, its lack of a comprehensive LGBT strategy, and its refusal to give the LGBT community a real seat at the DNC table.”
The criticism culminated in an open letter that the complaint says “urged donors to refrain from contributing money to the DNC until the DNC started affirmatively supporting the rights of the LGBT community.”
The complaint says the letter was written without Hitchcock’s knowledge and sent April 20, 2006.
Five days after the letter was sent, the complaint says, Tagen “lost her temper and launched into a loud tirade” against Hitchcock during a DNC meeting on gay issues.
“She told Mr. Hitchcock that Mr. Hitchcock needed to ‘stop it,’ referring to Mr. Yandura’s public criticisms of the DNC. She also told Mr. Hitchcock ‘not to fight this fight,’ and he was ‘going to get fired.’”
In her response, Tagen denies she told Hitchcock that he was going to get fired.
In the aftermath of that meeting, the complaint says Andy Tobias, the DNC’s treasurer, suggested to Yandura “that the DNC could cut costs by eliminating Mr. Hitchcock’s position.”
In his response, Tobias denies he ever threatened to eliminate Hitchcock’s position.
In responses filed by the DNC, Dean, Tagen and Tobias, the defendants collectively deny the allegations. A scheduling conference for the case is set for Sept. 7. No trial date has been set.
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