I am calling on Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel to expel state legislative candidate Frank Liberati from the party and revoke his use of the Democratic ballot designation.
Liberati, a former state representative, filed a campaign complaint against Joanna Whaley, a transgender Democratic candidate, challenging the legal validity of her name — a name supported by completed legal proceedings. This was not a legitimate legal concern, as the clerk denied the challenge. I believe it was an act of discrimination, bullying and harassment targeting a transgender woman within our own party, in clear violation of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Code of Conduct.
Whaley said she didn’t expect this from a fellow Democrat. Neither did I.
As a lifelong Democrat, I have given decades of service to this party because I believe in what it stands for. Liberati’s actions are a betrayal of those values. Hertel has said that attempts to disqualify candidates for using their legal name betray the foundational principles of this party.
I agree. Now I am asking him to act on those words.
Karen Schaeffer
Wyandotte
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Legislative candidate Liberati doesn’t deserve to be a Democrat | Opinion
Reporting by Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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