Corey Shearer, President of the Broward County Black Democratic Caucus, believes the firing of the Broward Democratic Party’s office director “smells funny to the Black community.” Shearer is referring to the firing of Michael Howson. BrowardBeat.com first reported on Howson’s dismissal at the hands of interim Party Chair Cynthia Busch. Longtime party chairman Mitch Ceasar stepped aside last week to run for the Broward Clerk of Courts position.
Busch told BrowardBeat, ““[Howson] was doing a fine job,” she said. “I just don’t think we need an (office) operations director….he was not fired. He was laid off.” Howson is well-regarded activist in the African-American and LGBT communities. Busch admitted the move angered rank and file Democrats. “There are people who are friends with him who are Democrats who are upset,” Busch conceded.
Democrat insiders told REDBROWARD that Howson was seen as a Ceasar loyalist by Busch and her ally, State Committeeman Ken Evans. Last month, REDBROWARD exposed Evans pandering to Palm Beach Muslims at a dinner honoring a very controversial FAU professor. Sources say Evans is close ally of lobbyist Judy Stern (D-Salami).
REDBROWARD spoke to Howson last Thursday at an event in Fort Lauderdale. He did not wish to speak about his firing, saying he still, “loves the Democratic Party.”
On Saturday, Shearer sent an email to party activists detailing his problems with the firing of Howson.
“This week, the less expensive, large, Black, openly gay, outspoken but yet still quite service oriented young man of great experience but also of great youth, was replaced with the more expensive, tall, slender white guy who is more subdued and highly customer service oriented although seemingly slightly less experienced,” Shearer wrote. “This was primarily for budget reasons as The DEC (Democratic Executive Committee) was burning through a lot of money attempting to keep both. The one let go, ‘The Black Guy’ was making considerably less than the one who was retained and will step up into both and all positions, ‘The White Guy’. And obviously this stinks for ‘The Black Guy’. But, it also smells funny to the Black community.”
Shearer admits this could be politics as usual. He wrote, “The outgoing chair put in ‘his guy’ and the incoming acting chair is installing ‘her guy’.” However, Shearer worries there is more going on behind the scenes.
Shearer wrote about the mistreatment of Christine Jones, the Second Vice Chair of the DEC. He wrote, “Jones, who is an African-American lady, was left out of the discussion on this change in the DEC office. For a while, she didn’t even have a key to the office and has been routinely left out of the loop even though she is the direct liaison to the Area Leaders and thus the committee people (The actual DEC) as well. BAD POLITICS.”
Michael Howson, right, via Facebook
