Forty years of being a member of the Democrat Party, I was always proud of calling myself a Democrat. I cannot say that anymore.

I am so embarrassed and angry at the same time for all the back-stabbing Chuck Mason and Katie Lacey have done in The Citizen against David Dempsey. They will be the downfall of the Democratic Party with their personal vendetta.

How Mason can criticize and judge David, supposedly Chuck's friend, I will never understand. Chuck, you must have forgotten when you went to David four years ago and asked him, as a friend, to step aside and not run for mayor because you wanted to. Against the advice of other party members, including me, David stepped aside saying he wanted to give his friend a chance to run for mayor. We all knew it was not Chuck's time to run, for lack of experience. As an executive committee member at that time, I regret not nominating Dempsey to run for mayor at the primary meeting. I truly believe the outcome for mayor would have been different.

Dempsey has been totally behind the Democratic Party for almost 20 years. He has been the longest-serving Democrat, bringing victories for the party and serving the people in the county and the city of Auburn. David has worked for years trying to keep the landfill open to save the jobs of all who work there. Our current mayor would like to see it closed.

With all due respect for Mr. Quill, I don't think Mike has the experience as yet for the job of mayor. It would have been to the benefit of the party to run Dempsey for mayor and Quill for council, but this is just my opinion.

Everyone has made mistakes in their lives and has skeletons in their closets. I am sure if they take the time to remember, so do Mr. Mason and Ms. Lacey, but we all try to go on with our lives, learn from our mistakes and better ourselves.

To the people of the City of Auburn, please don't go by what you read in The Citizen from the so-called higher-ups in the Democratic Party with all their mud slinging. Not all the party members and voters agree with them. Do your homework, check David's record as councilman, and watch the forums.

Please take the time to get out and vote this year. God bless us all

Diane Adams

Auburn