Democratic Party Broke, Holmes Says

State Democratic Party Chairman Ivan Holmes says the party has less than $2,000 on hand to meet next month's operating bill of $30,000 and he's depending on donors to keep operating.

Holmes' remarks came after The McCarville Report Online disclosed on Tuesday that he had asked for staff resignations shortly after taking office and faced reluctance from some party donors to help fund his new administration. Holmes was elected chairman at the party convention on May 19th, defeating Norman attorney Ben Odom, the vice chairman.

Holmes said the party still faces a debt of about $75,000, the remainder of almost half a million dollars in debt left over from the 2004 elections. Former Party Chair Lisa Pryor is credited with reducing the debt and maintaining the party's operation for two years.

Holmes said that now, because of the lack of paid staff, "...I need help...." He said he may have to assume some of the duties of the party's executive director to keep expenses down. Pryor was both chair and executive director and paid $60,000 per year. Holmes planned only to serve as chairman and hire an executive director.

Odom said that, had he been elected chairman, he would not have asked for the staff members to resign, describing them as "all terrific folks...."

Among those asked to resign were staff members being paid by the Democratic National Committee in an arrangement designed to help Pryor maintain party operations while retiring the past debt.

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