It has gone from bad to worse for the Chautauqua County Democratic Party. One day after a Zoom meeting Sunday evening by the county committee, at least three local village and town groups have called for the resignation of party Chairman Norman Green.

Those committees voicing displeasure are from Lakewood-Busti, Westfield and Ellery. Last week, eight members resigned from the Jamestown committee noting its frustrations with city leadership in Jim Walton and Green.

“With each passing day (Green’s) decision-making results in deeper division within our party and disgraces our party in the eyes of the general public,” noted the letter from the Westfield Democratic Committee. “Given the demise of a healthy two party system in Chautauqua County, which has occurred and worsened over the last decade, the time of the chair’s tenure, we can ill afford to lose anymore Democratic representation in government. Rather than supporting Democrats with winning records, the chair launches campaigns of retribution against incumbents who express disapproval of his leadership.”

All committees cite poor leadership, ethical concerns, an undemocratic process and unprofessional conduct by Green. “The interests of the full Democratic Committee and, by extension, the Democrats in Chautauqua County, are not best served under current leadership,” writes the Ellery Democratic Committee. “Committee members are routinely kept in the dark regarding important decisions, and are denied any semblance of voting equity. This is not a democratic system, and we cannot enact democratic goals under an undemocratic system.”

Trouble within the party has been brewing within the last year. A heated county committee meeting before the pandemic in February 2020 may have touched it all off. Though The Post-Journal and OBSERVER were not in attendance, those who were talk of how temperamental parties became when the meeting was suddenly adjourned.

Some of what led to those hot heads came over an issue that has led to the current infighting: who will succeed Green as Democratic Election Commissioner. In February 2020, that topic was being broached when the call for adjournment came.

It has been mayhem ever since — and some tied to the party are becoming exhausted by the battle from within that has led to a lawsuit by Green and Luz Torres. Named in the state Supreme Court filing are the County Legislature, Loren Kent, Katherine Tampio, Legislature clerk; and Democratic legislators Charles Nazzaro, Robert Whitney, Paul Whitford, all of Jamestown; Robert Bankoski of Dunkirk and Christine Starks of Fredonia.

Torres won the party nod to become Democratic Election Commissioner in October but has never been voted on by the Legislature. Last week, county legislators approved Kent to take the post.

From his point of view, Green said, the law allows for the party to make the recommendation and then be rejected by the Legislature. At that point, the party has a second vote. If that is rejected, then members of the County Legislature can make a decision on who will serve.

Green said since the Legislature never voted for Torres the first time, they are already in defiance of state law.

In an added twist, Democrats have come up with a new candidate for Election Commissioner. During Sunday’s meeting, Doris Parment’s name was put forth for the position.

That means the lawsuit will continue, which is a contentious issue due to the costs associated with it.

In an email, Green said he would not “allow my critics to drag me into their misguided public fight that absolutely results in the county Democratic Party being damaged. The facts they present are incorrect, inaccurate and false. We have state election law and county party by-laws that we follow. No, I will not be detailing my answers to the public about internal party matters.”