So This Is A Democracy?

I did not appear at the YDNC convention and I want you to know why. It has to do with one important board member, but before I get to that... I do want to say I love the YDNC and the YDA. I have been an active member of this organization for years now. I helped throw last years convention in Guilford county, along with Jason Coley and Tony McEwen. I have been told it was the largest YDNC convention in state history. I have taken days off of work to go to the legislature and fight with my brothers and sisters for the Same Day Registration and Voting bill and the Sudanese Divestment bill. I have been in the trenches with this organization. I will continue to be in the trenches.

I love this organization. What it stands for is something special. Only the experience of being part of this organization can fully explain it. The YD's are the ground workers that make campaigns run. They are the activists of the party. The energy and spirit that YD's bring to the table is like no other. I love being part of that spirit and energy.

As you all know I decided to run for US Congress in NC-06 this year, which made me a candidate by definition. I am still an active YD, but I am now a candidate. My involvement with, love and respect for the people in the YDNC only made the following circumstances harder to swallow.

The story starts back in November of last year. Zack Hawkins, President of the YDNC, called and asked Casey Mann (who is an integral consultant on my campaign as well as my girlfriend) to put together his YDNC Board of Trustees event. Casey asked if she could spend time away from the campaign to do it. We all came to agreement with Zack introducing me as a candidate from the mic when he announced the other candidates and officials. Let me say the event was a huge success, outdrawing the NCDP event that had 3 Congressmen at it. It was the hot ticket. Casey threw an event like only she could. Again, Zack's end of the deal was to simply make mention of me when he made mention of everyone else. So Zack introduces all the current representatives, mind you pointing over me while doing it. He introduces candidates running, pointing over my head while doing it. Then he put down the mic. He says he forgot. I find it hard to believe you can forget someone you are looking directly at and pointing over while doing it. After talking with Zack, I moved past the occurrence and accepted his apology.

YDNC Convention planning started in January and again the call for Casey comes. Again, as I had moved past the prior event, I was told I would speak at the convention, Casey went to help plan the convention. Everybody wins, right? Then a few weeks go by and it turned out to be I don't know if you are speaking at the convention. Now, I didn't want to give a stump speech. These are my people. They know me and what I stand for. I wanted to tell everyone what the YDNC meant to me and how it helped propel me to where I am today. That anyone sitting in the room could run for office. So, we fought and fought and fought. Casey almost walked from the convention, and once that was clear I was slotted in two places to speak. All Casey has ever asked for was for my name to be mentioned in everything that went out like the other candidates and speakers. It didn't need to prominent. I just needed to be there. Everyone else who is speaking was mentioned every time. I was promised time and time again by Zack that would be the case. So the schedule goes up on the YDNC site, a Facebook message is sent, a Facebook event is created and a newsletter goes out, none of which include me. We are told, oops my bad. We are told it will be fixed. Another schedule is shot out to everyone and again no mention.

So you see where I am going with this. Everything that has come out of Zack Hawkins mouth has been utter bullshit. At what point do I finally stop giving chances to make it up to me? How many times should I be snubbed before it is too many?

I was then slated to speak after John Edwards as Zack sent out a Facebook update, my name misspelled. No correction issued. I will be the first to stand up and say that I misspell words from time to time. I also issue corrections as soon as it is brought to my attention. It was brought to his attention immediately after it went out. There has been no updated schedule on the website, Facebook events page, no e-mail to the group, all things I was told would be done to make up for how I had been treated.

So was I to believe that I am actually speaking at the YDNC Convention? How can I believe anything that comes out of Zack's mouth. I seem to be the only person who has been left off of any schedule. I also know that if he had done what he has done with me to any other politician, they would not take it either.

In one of the last fights that Zack had with Casey over this ongoing snub, Zack threatened that if we didn't fall in line he was going to call Gov Hunt about the situation and badmouth both Casey and I. Neither of us had done anything wrong, unless you count fighting for a hair of respect. Well call Zack. If that is what you want to do. I believe Congressman Brad Miller said it best at last years convention after I introduced him: “Jay is a good friend, and I want to keep him a friend because I have seen what he does to his enemies.” I urge you to do whatever it is you think you are going to do. Just know there are consequences.

Everyone else on the board has fought for me to be at the convention, until I had called each personally, they had no idea how I was being treated. So there is a decision to make. To go or not to go? After heated discussions within my campaign staff, I had actually decided to go give my speech, because they wanted me to. Most had no idea what I had been through up to this point and I didn't want to let them down.

Jump now to Wednesday night before convention. It is 11ish at night and we both get a text from Zack. He was asking if we were attending the Governors Mansion on Thursday night. I replied “Nope”. A little short on my behalf, but I was already in bed exhausted. A few minutes later he comes back with, “So I take it that you are declining the invite to speak after Sen. John Edwards?” He pulls back immediately after with a little less snippy a message. I replied that I would speak and it was I will be attending. I also asked him to keep it to business hours as the time was getting a little late. His reply, “In campaigns 11pm is business hours. See you Saturday.” This argument went on until after midnight. Where I decided that this has been a microcosm of how Casey and I had been treated and I would not go and speak. Casey also decided at this point that she would not attend either and she is the Convention Administrator.

I am a man of principals. I believe in treating others as I would want to be treated. I always live up to that standard. I also believe in showing due respect to others. What would it say to the people of the 6th District if I was to lay down and take it? If I won't fight for my own principals, how could I fight for their principals? I can assure you that the people of the 6th District will never have to question my principals, and how I will stand and fight for theirs.

To treat another as you have treated me would be wrong. Taking into account that I am a YD, doing this to one of your own is deplorable. I don't know if what you are doing is on purpose. You say it is not. That leaves only one explanation, incompetence and incompetence must be held accountable. We want to hold the Bush Administration accountable. The same rules apply here.

A few more housekeeping issues to deal with. First, the fact that every convention to date has gone through a bidding process. I had to bid last year, Mecklenberg the year before. This convention is being held in Zack's home county and there was never a bidding process for other counties to have a chance. That is so he won't lose his election. So no one will run against him. Second, a friend of my campaign, and of both Casey and I, had paid in full to go to this convention. She arrived to find her name purged from the voter rolls, told to bring her receipt to prove she had paid. Also removed from the voter roll were Casey and myself. Last, two YD's were to run for the to be vacant Treasurer's seat. One was Zack's friend, one was not. Zack's buddy did not show at the convention and a sitting President, Zack, read his speech to the crowd. The other guy won. As it was told to me, the newly elected Treasurer went to shake Zack's hand and Zack refused to shake his hand and was dismissive. Two things wrong here, the obvious being the reaction show towards the new board member and the not so obvious being that under the Rules of Organization, board members have to remain neutral in elections. Reading a speech for someone not present and running, as a sitting President, is a gross infringement of these rules.

As I see it, “no-bid” contracts, the purging of voter rolls and the illegal attempt at electing a crony seem like plays out the Republican play book. Add to it the above threat and attempt at intimidation and you have the Republican party play book.

There is so much more I could go into and I will at some point. I think you get the point for now.

I love the YDNC and I can not stand and watch the leader of this organization run it into the ground. I refuse to ignore my principals and speak just because it will help my campaign. I hate not speaking to those whom I love so dearly. It pains me greatly. Speaking after John Edwards would surly be a moment to remember, as he has been inspiration for me being involved in politics. I am giving that up for my principals. I am sure my true friends in the organization will understand. I do know that unorganized, unfair, not reliable and untrustworthy are not characteristics I want to see running any organization. Well maybe the Republican party, but that is a whole other story.

What I did do was send current Guilford County YD President, my successor, Malcolm Kenton, to read a statement for me. Mind you, no matter what Malcolm might think of the situation, he was reading my words, not his.

The following was the speech he gave:

I am speaking on the behalf of Jay Ovittore, Candidate for NC's 6th Congressional District. Jay will not be speaking today and it pains him greatly, but he wanted me to deliver the following remarks:

Please accept my apologies for not being here today to speak in person. It hurts me not to be at this convention. Especially after the one I threw last year with the help of Jason Coley and Tony McEwen. As far as the circumstances go, I will not go into them today. You will have a chance to read about it Monday at www.bluenc.com. Thank you in advance for your understanding and thank you for your time.

Malcolm was about halfway through and asked to stop. He didn't.

All I ever asked for was a little respect and to be treated like Zack would treat say, Congressman Miller, Gov Hunt, or any other in office or running. He surely wouldn't be calling at such late hours and he surely wouldn't be treating others in my position, a candidate, like he has treated me. If he did, I am sure the reaction would be similar. I have given Zack opportunity after opportunity to treat me like he would want to be treated and he has failed time and time again.

Whether I was right or wrong in not speaking and sending a surrogate will be debatable to those uninvolved. To me and those around me, it was the right thing to do. Acting in a way in which you feel is right is not always the easiest path or path of least resistance, but it is the only path that leads to a good nights sleep. Reading this you might feel this is all petty. Some maybe, but the whole of it is unacceptable and I feel in the end, I made the right decision. I also felt strong enough about this situation to tell an insiders story to those who wouldn't otherwise hear it.

I hope the YDNC does well in the coming years. I hope it continues to be a force in Democratic politics. I wish the YDNC well and will be there if and when you call on me. Time will tell. I sure hope so.