The chairman of the Democratic National Committee Monday said the DNC has been withholding some payments from the Alabama Democratic Party due to a failure to develop a strategic plan or invest in state party infrastructure.

In a letter to Jefferson County Democratic Party chair Richard Mauk, Tom Perez wrote that the party held up at least $10,000 a month in payments to the state party.

“Alabama has fallen far short of meeting its basic obligations to develop an effective strategic plan and build the necessary infrastructure for success,” Perez wrote in the letter. “The ADP has chronically underperformed in virtually every aspect of operation.”

The letter is the latest sign of mounting impatience from the national party with the current leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party. The DNC last month stripped Alabama Democratic Party chair Nancy Worley and vice-chair Randy Kelley of their credentials, accusing the leaders of dragging their feet in implementing by-law changes and holding new leadership elections, as ordered by the national party in February.

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A message seeking comment was sent to Worley on Monday afternoon. A DNC spokesman said Monday "the letter speaks for itself."

Perez wrote in his letter that the Alabama Democratic Party was in a singular position.

"Alabama is the only state party in the country from which the monthly payment has been withheld," the statement said. "We have not had to take this serious action with any other party."

The DNC and the state party have been engaged in a year-long argument over the direction of the Alabama Democrats. The state party has been racked by arguments over leadership after a string of losses at the state level, with critics saying Worley has done little to invest in the party or build its profile. Worley has argued that her resources are restricted by debts the state party needs to pay off.

Worley held off a leadership challenge backed by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in August 2018. But the DNC ordered new elections in February, ruling that some members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) lacked the proper credentials to vote. The DNC also ordered changes to the state party bylaws to ensure representation of Hispanics, Asians, youth, disabled and LGBTQ individuals on the SDEC.

Critics of Worley have focused on a bylaw that allows the party's vice-chair of minority affairs -- a position currently occupied by Alabama Democratic Conference chair Joe Reed -- to seat a certain number of members of the SDEC to reflect the African-American presence in the Alabama Democratic electorate, without requiring oversight. The DNC in July signaled that it would need the full SDEC to approve the nomination of any additional members.

The DNC and the Alabama Democratic Party have gone through a push-and-pull over the orders since February. The executive committee of the SDEC seated an at-large minority member in March despite warnings from the DNC not to do so before they had developed a representation plan. As Perez wrote Monday, the DNC also says the state party has been slow to respond to requests and orders from the national party.

Worley has argued the DNC has given confusing or contradictory instructions, and has hired attorneys to represent the state party. At a meeting of the DNC's credentials committee in San Francisco last month, she suggested her critics were trying to minimize the voting power of African-Americans in the party, saying there would be "a special circle in hell as hot as it can be" for anyone who did so.

The state party's delegate selection plan for next year's Democratic National Convention remains in limbo until new leadership elections are held, Perez wrote. He called the lack of action by the state party "deeply concerning."

"We are in the midst of a critically important election cycle," he wrote. "Time is of the essence. We have real opportunities to win critical races in Alabama. The party can and must play an important role in these efforts. It is impossible to do so without leadership in place."

The $10,000 a month payments have been suspended since September 2018, Perez wrote. The figure is a baseline, meaning the DNC could invest more in a state party if it saw an opportunity. It was not immediately clear what percentage of funds those monies were for the state party.

Perez wrote that the national party "will continue to do everything we can to urge the ADP to come into compliance with DNC rules."

"As I said earlier, Democrats can win and are winning in Alabama, and I firmly believe we can sustain the success and increase the ranks of Democrats in Alabama," Perez wrote. "But we need a functional state party, and that starts with appropriate outreach, compliant bylaws, and a fair election."

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