Statement on the Candidacy of Mark Powell

The Ninth District Democratic Committee, representing each of its 13 county parties and party leadership, released the following statement on the Candidacy of Mark Powell:
“The Democratic Party has always viewed an individual’s candidacy for public office as a distinct privilege that requires our party’s candidates to represent the highest standards of integrity and ethics in the conduct of political campaigns. We expect candidates to support and articulate policies that reflect our party’s platform and achieve our collective goals. We stipulate that our candidates act in a manner which respects the diverse viewpoints encompassing our communities, regardless of an individual’s political affiliation, personal beliefs, race, ethnicity, orientation or other identifiers.
Recent conduct undertaken by Ninth District Congressional Candidate Mark Powell, including the use of stereotypes, racial or ethnic epithets, and derogatory and demeaning rhetoric, is unreconcilable with our party’s standards and values. Having communicated the unacceptable nature of this behavior and witnessing no change in conduct, our Ninth District Democratic Committee has unanimously voted to disavow the candidacy of Mark Powell and withhold all party support and services for his campaign.
Our committee appreciates that our district requires an individual with grit, tenacity, and strong leadership to represent us in the United States Congress. We are fortunate to have primary candidates who reflect these characteristics. We urge our Democratic Party primary voters to seek out these candidates, engage openly and respectfully together, and unite behind a goal of building a better America for all of us.”