Mass. Democrats Investigate Allegations Against Alex Morse — Was It a Hit Job?
The head of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, Gus Bickford, has announced that there will be an investigation into actions taken by collegiate Democrats who, a recent media report alleged, may have hatched a plot to scuttle the congressional bid of an openly gay mayor, reports Politico.
As reported previously at EDGE, Alex Morse, 31, a four-term mayor of the city of Holyoke, is running against fellow Democrat and incumbent Rep. Richard Neal, who is the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
A week ago, on Aug. 7, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian - the newspaper of UMass/Amherst - reported that the College Democrats of Massachusetts had accused Morse of "inappropriate sexual relations with college students before and during his congressional campaign," with the student group alleging that Morse had exploited his position at the college (where, until last fall, he had been an adjunct professor) and his office as Mayor of Holyoke" 'for romantic or sexual gain.' "
The group claimed in a letter sent to Morse that the congressional candidate had contacted students using Tinder and Grindr and that students felt "pressured" by "adding them to his 'Close Friends' story and DMing them," the college newspaper reported.
Morse immediately issued an apology in which he stated that he had never been involved in a sexual relationship or encounter that was not consensual, and noting that he had never pursued a sexual or romantic connection with anyone who was not of age.
"However, I also recognize that I have to be cognizant of my position of power," Morse added. "I am committed to meeting with any person or group, including the College Dems, to answer any questions and address any concerns."
The damage had been done, however: Politicians and organizations that had endorsed Morse began to back away from his campaign.
But that, an explosive story published by The Intercept on Aug. 12, may have been the intended result all along. The Intercept reported that the college group seemed to retreat from implications that Morse had made advances on a number of students, acknowledging that Morse only contacted one student, Andrew Abramson.
"Morse reached out to Abramson on Instagram to say it was a pleasure meeting. (The two had previously matched on Tinder, Ennis said in the chats but had never met up. To match on Tinder means both parties must swipe in the same direction in order to begin a conversation.)," The Intercept reported.
Their conversation was casual and friendly, with no hints of anything prurient. "Not overt but it's very clear he's not talking to me for no reason," Abramson said when he shared Morse's texts with friends. "Like read that message. Also don't mind me totally leading him on."
"This will sink his campaign," concluded one of the participants, Timothy Ennis, the chief strategist for the UMass Amherst College Democrats, the group who made the initial accusations in The Daily Collegian.
Ennis admitted to being a "Neal Stan" and conflicted about going against Morse, The Intercept reports. "But I need a job," concluded Ennis. "Neal will give me an internship."
The Intercept reported that prior to The Daily Collegian publishing the accusations against Morse, Ennis "floated the possibility of leaking allegations against Morse to Politico, and, indeed, in June, the College Democrats did so, pitching the story to Alex Thompson, a political reporter at the outlet. Thompson reached out to the Morse campaign as part of his reporting, though ultimately did not run the story until months later, after the college paper ran it."
Politico revisited the story with the news that the state's Democratic Party will be looking into allegations that the students may engineered the scandal in order to tip the balance to favor Neal's prospects for re-election.
Noted Politico: "The state party has a policy to stay out of primary elections, so Bickford will convene the group after the Sept. 1 primary to avoid weighing in on the race."
The Neal campaign denies any involvement with any such plot, but "commends these courageous students."