There is a new call for the resignation of convicted sex offender and Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member, Chris Dumler.  In demanding that the recalcitrant supervisor step down, the Socialist Party of Central Virginia joins a growing list of influential individuals and organizations who have made a similar plea:

Read the Socialist Party of Central Virginia’s full statement:

Statement of the SP-CVA approved by the general meeting March 10, 2013

Socialist Party of Central Virginia Calls for Dumler to Resign

The SP-CVA supports the call for Chris Dumler to resign his position on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors immediately. We call on our community to vigorously and vocally engage in action that will make this a reality. We support non-violent direct action towards this end. We support the disruption of all ACBOS events and other gatherings where Chris Dumler will be present to make the day-to-day operations of county government untenable until something is done to remedy this situation.

Sexual assault is a hard reality for millions of women and men alike. As a physical, cultural, and personal reality it is also a political reality that demands a political response. That response should based on the concept of that which is personal is political. We call for a new politics in this crisis, a politics that demands the end of male-dominated and class-dominated power structures that are reinforced by rape and patriarchal dominance while simultaneously protected from the legal consequences for sexual assault.

We know that there are crisis workers and more than three women who know the truth about Chris Dumler’s actions. We know that justice has not been served. We know that this lengthy delay in justice, and lack of accountability in our legal system towards those of privilege and power like all matters of justice when deferred are ultimately denied.

We know that the events surrounding Dumler’s actions and the response from our judicial system, media system, and local political party systems contribute to the under reporting of sexual assault in general and to the personal trauma experienced by the female victims of Dumler’s assaults.

Though we consider the subjugation of women in the family, in the workplace, and in the public consciousness an inherent property of capitalism, we support the call for Chris Dumler to resign solely on the grounds that his brutal behavior has caused unspeakable harm to our fellow human beings. To compound his crimes, he has been unwilling to admit to, or apologize for his actions. Those who support Chris Dumler and would prefer to place concern for the local party machine over justice, participate in denying aid and comfort to Dumler’s victims. Support for Chris Dumler detracts from the cause of women’s liberation in the most insidious way- it serves to validate the denial of the existence of rape in our society and contributes to pressuring victims of sexual assault to remain silent and suffering especially if those assaults are perpetrated by white men born into positions of power.

Mr. Dumler’s plea bargain allows him to continue to serve on the Board of Supervisors. Were he an ordinary citizen, would his crime be so easily bargained down from a felony to a simple misdemeanor? This extraordinary leniency confirms that the rule of law has broken down. If Chris Dumler is not held accountable for the heinous crimes he has committed against his neighbors, how can he be trusted to serve and promote the public good?

Chris Dumler Resign Now!

The Socialist Party of Central Virginia is a local chapter of the Socialist Party USA and is a democratic socialist feminist party; We support the cause of women’s liberation as defined by women themselves.

www.spcva.org

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6 COMMENTS

  5. I am not a Democratic Socialists but I do appreciate this Feminists group comming foward. S.A.R.A. Is the only other women’s group that I have heard defending these women. But many other women’s groups remain silent when this is squarely their issue.

    The court has finished with Mr. Dumler, it seems. The charges were reduced and the penalty was allowed to be served conveniently. He agreed to issue a public apology which he did but not for his crime but for being “discuterious”.

    Now if another woman comes foward with charges, imagine the judge’s reaction! Maybe ” Mr. Dumler, your back?”. It’s doubtful such a plea deal will fly. Dumler would likely end up in prison for years. It is said that prisoners have a societial order, with child molesters only slightly below those who assault women. It would be likely that Mr. Dumler would experience his own crime unless special protections were provided.

    So the woman who could legitimately enter a new charge, similar to the original Forcable Sodomy charge has unusual power over Mr. Dumler. With just a whisper she can extort him, possibly earning a tidy sum from those who wish to influence his votes. Or, with a good Commonwealths Attorney she can end the angst of the community and vindicate the victims properly.

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