Message To Our Supporters
Hello,

Slating has begun! As the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward, we take slating very seriously and with the utmost care. As the slating process moves along, we will be transparent and clear in all of our communications. However, most importantly, we will uphold the democratic principles that are so critical for the future progress of this country.

We must make you aware that last week, the Executive Committee of the Cook County Democratic Party, of which the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward is an affiliate, asked all candidates for county office seeking the party’s endorsement to sign a “Loyalty Oath.” Click here to view the pledge and the article here.

We find this not only to be anti-democratic, but irresponsible. When our country's democratic institutions are fragile and people either have mistrust or are actively seeking to undermine the foundations of this country, we as Democrats must not fall prey to what the Republicans have already embraced. Oaths, symbols, blind unity will not preserve our democracy. In fact, these tactics serve to further undermine people’s faith in our institutions and our party.

The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward has a history of standing up for what we believe, even when it runs counter to the actions of our party. We have continued in that tradition. We sent a letter to all the candidates who have asked for an endorsement stating that we do not support such a pledge from the Executive Committee of the Cook County Democratic Party and that candidates who refuse to sign this pledge should not fear retribution from our organization. You can view our message to the candidates below.
Letter in Response to Cook County Democratic Party's Loyalty Pledge
Dear Candidate,

This week, the Executive Committee of the Cook County Democratic Party, of which the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward is an affiliate, asked all candidates for county office seeking the party’s endorsement to sign a “Loyalty Oath.” Click here to view the pledge.

The document is peppered with words like “agree” “promise” and “pledge” as it relates to candidates being prohibited from engaging in an assortment of activities that could be perceived as opposing any slated candidate, supporting an un-slated candidate, or for judicial candidates, choosing to run themselves if not slated. It also appears that candidates are being told that unless they sign this document by Friday of this week, they shouldn’t appear at slating and therefore won’t be considered for endorsement, despite assurances given to our committeeperson that there were no consequences associated with the pledge.

The 49th Ward, and our ward party organization, has a long history of independence. Unlike at the county party level, we have never told candidates seeking our endorsement that if they run in spite of not being endorsed, they’ll forfeit potential future endorsements. We make clear to candidates that if they choose to run anyway, we will still consider them for endorsement because we feel strongly about the importance of fielding the strongest candidates regardless of who sent them or to whom they’re related. As an organization, and as individuals associated with it, we can not abide by the use of retrograde loyalty oaths in the endorsement process. Running for office and voting are among the most sacred forms of free speech protected by our constitution and we categorically condemn the use of intimidation and unenforceable “oaths” to exert control over candidates. 

As a result, our Ward Organization feels it important to convey to all candidates seeking our endorsement that they need not feel compelled to sign this oath or any other to seek our support and we urge the leadership of our county party to rethink this misguided and ham-handed attempt to move us back to the days of the old school machine politics we’ve worked so hard to relegate to the history books.
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Kelly Cassidy
49th Ward Democratic Committeeperson

David Kogan
President
Democratic Party of the 49th Ward

On behalf of the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward