The Democratic National Convention is facing a scandal of its own

(Image credit: ERIC BARADAT/Getty Images)

published 4 February 2020

Things just aren't going well for Democrats right now.

The party is still trying to work out the results of Monday's Iowa caucuses, but across the border in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, another major problem is unfolding. That city is hosting the Democratic National Convention this summer, and is facing allegations of a "toxic and unstable working environment" that have "sidelined" two of the host committee's top officials, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

In a letter sent to the Milwaukee 2020 board of directors, senior women members of the Milwaukee 2020 staff complained the host committee's chief of staff Adam Alonso has "consistently bullied and intimidated staff members," particularly women. This has created "a culture that coddles male senior advisors and consultants who have no clear role or clear lines of management," the letter continues. Host Committee President Liz Gilbert has "enabled" this "mismanagement," and even gone on to "defend" Alonso since staffers first complained in November, they write.

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The board has since placed Alonso on administrative leave as it probes the allegations, and said Gilbert would be working outside of the office and "will not have direct contact with staff," per the Journal Sentinel. But this isn't the first problem Alonso and Gilbert have faced: They were also criticized over their continued work with the New Jersey Democratic party that apparently detracted from their full-time work in Milwaukee. Alonso was ousted from his $15,000-a-month consulting job for New Jersey Democrats on Monday.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.