Democratic Party Members Call for Resignations of Top Convention Officials, Release of Fundraising Records

By Dustin Slaughter

A group calling themselves ‘Reclaim Philadelphia’ penned a letter to the 2016 Democratic National Convention’s Host Committee this week demanding the resignation of three top committee officials.

The group, which describes themselves as “concerned Democrats” who want to “transform the Democratic Party,” called for the resignation of Ed Rendell, former mayor of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania governor; David Cohen, executive Vice President of Comcast; and Dan Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross and chairman of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America, an insurance industry trade group.

‘Reclaim’ counts as members approximately 50 “former Bernie Sanders campaign staff and volunteers,” according to spokesperson Alex Nagle.

“The three figures are multimillionaire lobbyists and high-profile supporters of political positions that most Democrats abhor…Granting lobbyists privileged access to elected officials reveals the Party leadership’s hypocrisy,” the letter reads in part.

The group also calls on Host Committee officials to obey a state order to release donor lists and other fundraising documents after a successful Right-to-Know request filed by The Declaration. The committee indicated earlier this week that they would instead release the records 60 days after the convention.

“Our letter asks for a response by July 1, and if we do not receive a satisfactory response, we intend to take direct action to follow up with each of the three host committee members as the convention approaches,” Nagle told The Declaration.

A Host Committee spokesperson declined to comment on the letter.

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