THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The news comes after The Independent reported the attack on Morse was planned by the leadership of the UMass Amherst College Democrats since at least last October. It also makes clear political motivations were involved from the beginning, in part because the former president of College Democrats wanted a job with Morse's opponent, U.S. Representative Richard Neal. The Independent also says the leadership of UMass Amherst College Democrats plotted to find Morse on dating apps to bait him and cause damage to the campaign. That effort was unsuccessful.

Sean Meloy, Senior Political Director for LGBTQ Victory Fund, said the following about the latest developments:

"We commend the party chair for recognizing the importance of investigating this orchestrated political hit job on Alex, but we urge him to conduct an independent investigation immediately so voters can fill out their ballots with all the information available to them. We now know the leadership of UMass Amherst College Democrats was conspiring to damage Alex's campaign since at least October. Yet they chose to release the information ten months later — literally as ballots dropped in voters' mailboxes — and motivated by hopes of a future political career with Alex's opponent. We said from the beginning that the allegations were timed with the political calendar and that it is a disservice to voters and to everyone involved. Now we know that timing was purposeful."

"While these allegations appear to be a political stunt, it is important to underscore how damaging lies can be to the fact that most sexual harassment allegations are true. We must ensure students and all people have safe ways to report cases of sexual harassment and that their cases are taken seriously and fully investigated."

On Monday, LGBTQ Victory Fund released a statement calling the attacks "timed with the political calendar." Yesterday, it also released a statement condemning a homophobic attack from Holyoke Councilmember Mike Sullivan, who used homophobic tropes to describe allegations against Morse.

LGBTQ Victory Fund

LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America's politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government.

victoryfund.org .