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Bickering Democrats react to pink slips
By DAN DeWITT "One of the poles in this dispute" says the county's executive committee needs a leader who can restore the peace. Steve Zeledon has one idea how to help smooth the process of rebuilding the Hernando County Democratic Executive Committee: by not running for chairman. "Since I have been one of the poles in this dispute, I think it wouldn't be constructive for me to be chair," Zeledon said Wednesday. "We need someone who is respected and can bring the party together and restore the collegial atmosphere." Scott Maddox, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, ordered all officers of the Hernando DEC to resign in a letter sent this month. That includes the two main protagonists in a long-running battle among DEC members -- Zeledon, the treasurer, and Dom Cabriele, the chairman. Maddox was not available Wednesday to say how they will be replaced. But the party's bylaws give the state chairman the right to appoint interim leaders. That might be for the best, said several DEC members, because any election would likely aggravate the current hard feelings. The other officials ordered to resign are vice chairwoman Jean Konski, secretary Carol Burgess, state committeeman Al Hernandez and state committeewoman Jean Scumaci. The state party is allowing all six officials 30 days to leave; if they fail to do so, they will be removed, the letter said. Cabriele said Tuesday that he would refuse to step down and planned to challenge the letter. On Wednesday, he was more elusive. "I may plan to do something; I may not plan to do something," Cabriele said, though he added that he was angry that the state party sent the letter when it did -- just weeks before the local party's annual Jefferson/Jackson Dinner, scheduled for May 17. The event is the DEC's biggest fundraiser of the year, and Cabriele said former gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride had committed to attending. Cabriele's success in arranging such events -- including the attendance of three Democratic candidates for governor at last year's dinner -- was among the accomplishments mentioned by his supporters. He has raised more money for the party than his predecessors, and attracted more new members, they say. "He's been the best chair we've had in the 10 or 11 years I've been in the party," said DEC member Gil Williams. Cabriele has also been blamed for the poor showing of Democratic candidates in last year's local elections. But Williams pointed out that voters retained County Commissioner Nancy Robinson in a year when Democrats were defeated throughout the state. Burgess also was upset by the state party's action. "I think it's very unfair," she said. Like Cabriele, she said she would refuse to step down. She also said Cabriele had attempted to comply with an earlier order from the state party. In July, the party told Cabriele to reinstate Zeledon, whom Cabriele had tried to remove from office. The party also required Cabriele to have a representative from the state party monitor all DEC meetings. Maddox's letter said the officers were removed from their positions because they failed to comply with the directives. Zeledon was not interested in taking over the chairman's duties, and the state party ignored Cabriele when he tried to inform it of meetings, Burgess said. "I know for a fact that our chair has sent certified letters to Tallahassee, made phone calls to Tallahassee and sent e-mails," she said. Like Cabriele, she blamed the bickering on a small minority of party members. As has been typical during the more than two years the feud has raged, the two sides fired off personal insults. Cabriele's allies suggested Zeledon was mentally unbalanced and prone to violence. "The man should be locked up. He's a little bit loose in the head," Williams said. Those in Zeledon's camp compared Cabriele to notorious dictators and doubted his truthfulness. "He wouldn't know the truth if it slapped him in the face," said Carol Maas, the former secretary. But Zeledon's supporters, unlike Cabriele's, agreed that the state was probably right. It is time for everyone involved in the fight to step back from their involvement in the party. That includes Cabriele, they said. "I think he should quietly disappear," Maas said. "It's over." -- Dan DeWitt covers politics, the environment and the city of Brooksville. He can be reached at 754-6116. Send e-mail to dewitt@sptimes.com
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