Jefferson County Young Democrats
The Jefferson County Young Democrats (JCYD) is a political organization affiliated with the Young Democrats of America and the Alabama Young Democrats (AYD).
The group gained notice for its leadership in public demonstrations supporting an increased minimum wage in Birmingham and Jefferson County.
In the 2016 Democratic primary the group endorsed a slate of candidates, many of whom had made payments to president Le'Darius Hilliard and to a consulting firm owned by JCYD treasurer Emma Tolbert. Under its constitution, the JCYD was barred from making endorsements in the primary, and within hours AYD president Beth Clayton issued a retraction of the chapter's slate of endorsements and suspended the chapter's charter.
Hilliard protested the move as "sabotage", saying that the endorsements had been made not by the JCYD itself, but by a Jefferson County Young Democrats PAC it had established. After the AYD determined that leaders of the JCYD had not complied with the terms of the suspension, the chapter was dissolved until new leaders could be identified to organize under a new charter.
Hilliard later organized a new group called the Jefferson County Millennial Democrats.
References
- Archibald, John (January 21, 2016) "Candidates seeking endorsement paid thousands to young Democrats." The Birmingham News
- Britt, Susan (January 29, 2016) "Alabama Young Democrats Dissolve Jefferson County Chapter." Alabama Political Reporter