There was talk of bullying and bribes. There were claims that political participation by Black people was relegated to second-class status. Then the @PADems elected @SenSharifStreet as their new party chair.https://t.co/dCBSxmgSCW via @phillyinquirer
— Chris Brennan (@ByChrisBrennan) June 18, 2022
On Saturday (June 18), Sharif Street was elected as the new Chair of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee. According to the Inquirer, Street defeated Gerald “Jerry” Lawrence of Delaware County, the party’s Southeast Caucus chair, by a vote of 174 to 138 in a meeting Saturday in Gettysburg.
Lawrence had the support of gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, as well as Senator Bob Casey.
Linda Fields nominated Street. In 2020, Fields was embittered when the leadership of the Montgomery County Democrats refused to support her in the 17th District Senatorial Primary. Instead, they rallied around the younger, far-less experienced, Amanda Cappelletti, who defeated the incumbent, Daylin Leach, in the primary. Cappelletti went on to win a landslide victory in the general election.
Shortly after the 2020 Primary, Fields wrote Joe Foster [former Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee] implied I could not win because I a Black Woman and he said there were questions about my residency. When I heard this I went straight to Joe about it and I also reported to a State Committee Official.
Anyone who knows me know if he had said that to may face I would have demanded that he be removed immediately . Twisting my words is not going to change the fact the fact that there was racial bias in Montgomery County .