TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Florida's Democratic Party Chair has announced on her Facebook page that she will not be seeking another term as state chair.
In her message poster Friday around noon, Alison Richard said that when her term as the state Democratic Party Chair comes to an end in January, it will come to an end for good.
She said that though there were many reasons that she would not be looking for a re-election, "most of the reasons are closest to home."
However, Richard encouraged her supporters and Democratic Party members to keep up the fight even as the party deals with shock following Hillary Clinton's shocking defeat to President-Elect Donald Trump.
READ HER FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
My personal note to close friends and local party leaders this morning:
My term as state party chair comes to an end in January. I have made the decision not to seek another term as state chair.
There are many reasons why I am not seeking re-election, but most of the reasons are closest to home. My oldest son, Jonathan, leaves for college in six months and I want to maximize my time with him before he goes. My oldest son by marriage, Todd had a debilitating brain bleed in March that lead to extremely risky thalamic cavernous malformation brain surgery in May leaving him in a state of recovery that he is managing well but I want to be more helpful to him. My oldest daughter by marriage just had her second baby making me a grandma of 2, both under the age of 4 whom I have had precious little time with since their births. My 13 year old daughter is distraught by the election and needs my attention as she finds herself in these crucial years, and my disabled son needs me to help him transition to whatever is next for him after high school. My husband is 74 and I am too aware, since the death of my mom June a year ago, that time is fleeting and precious. We've had little to no time as a family and I've had none for myself.
While I am woefully disappointed by the outcome of our national elections, I take great comfort in the fact that we are on the right side of all of the issues that matter in this country and to humanity, and for that I am very proud. I would rather go down fighting for our values: bettering the conditions of others, standing up for people of color, those who are poor and disenfranchised, people of ALL or even no religious beliefs, for LGBTQ family members, for disabled people, for protecting our vulnerable and aged citizens, people striving to get into or stay in the middle class, people seeking the opportunity to work hard and those struggling to provide for their families, standing up for our fragile environment and investing in public schools, than being on the side of a carnival barker who was endorsed by the KKK and has divided our nation. The arc to justice is long and we will not give up. However, I am going to continue our fight in a different way. I am taking a step back from politics to reflect on how I can be most impactful with my time, treasure and energies as well as determine the efforts I will invest myself.
I encourage you to join me in finding a cause aligned with your passion b/c our individual efforts on behalf of others have never been in greater need once the Trump administration begins. We will personally have to stand in the gap as the cuts to health and human services, environmental protections, education, criminal justice reforms occur and families, elders and children are battered by new policy decisions.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working alongside you for the last 4 years as you chair. And thank you, all of you who have worked so hard for others.
allison tant richard
