TN county Democratic chair resigns after domestic violence dispute

Maury County Democratic Party Chairman Seth James Campbell resigned from the office Tuesday, reports the Columbia Daily Herald. Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini had called for him to do so after reports that he slightly injured his girlfriend in a confrontation, though the woman declined to prosecute and asked that a a domestic violence charge be dismissed. It was.

Campbell had initially rejected Mancini’s call for his resignation and said he would step down only in response to a request from the Maury County Democratic Party executive committee.  But the committee subsequently cancelled a Tuesday night meeting on the matter and he announced his resignation.

 Four past chairs of the (county Democratic) party — Greg Hanners, Lynn Nelson, Guy Derryberry and Linda Colley — said they did not support Campbell’s criticism of the state Democratic Party after it advised him to step down last week. They said they were not consulted before Campbell was critical in remarks to the newspaper Saturday.

“Mr. Campbell resigned his duties as chair on Tuesday, Dec 12 at approximately 4:30p.m. via text messages to some members of the Executive Committee,” the statement said. “He felt that this was best for the sake of the party. We appreciate Mr. Campbell’s contagious energy, enthusiasm and hard work as party chair over the past 19 months.

“However, we agree that in light of his personal distractions, Mr. Campbell’s resignation is the best path forward for both him and the Maury County Democratic Party.”

Campbell was arrested on a domestic assault charge in October after an incident involving his girlfriend. The state Democratic Party investigated and advised the 2016 independent candidate for the state House to resign.

Campbell said last weekend he would if the local Executive Committee asked him. An Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Shoney’s restaurant in Columbia on Tuesday night was cancelled after the state party said it would not attend.

“It was never our intention to put undue influence on the Maury County Democratic Party,” Mary Mancini said in an email to The Daily Herald on Monday. “That said, our conclusion has not changed and we still believe that the best way to move forward for all involved is for Seth to resign as chair.”

Campbell is a special education teacher and assistant football coach in Mt. Pleasant.

Note: Previous post HERE.