An Open Letter of Resignation from the Ohio Democratic Party Pride Caucus.
To the Ohio Democratic Party, the Pride Caucus, and Democratic Allies,
This is a particularly difficult letter to write, as I feel it’s necessary to do something I had vowed not to do. It is with a very heavy heart that I must announce my official resignation from the Ohio Democratic Party Pride Caucus—both as Vice Chair and as a member.
Over the past two years, it has been my honor to serve first as a member of the steering committee and then as the Vice Chair. I accepted the position because I felt it was an important opportunity to represent the LGBTQ+ community (and especially the trans community) to the Ohio Democratic Party. However, it has been made abundantly clear that the Ohio Democratic Party does not view the role of the Caucus in the same way.
For party leadership, the caucus is simply a recruitment and sales team. The job, in their eyes, is not to represent the LGBTQ+ community to the party, but to sell Democratic candidates to the LGBTQ+ community, regardless of the harm those candidates may cause. I have been aware of this dynamic for some months now, but I chose to stay in the hope that the caucus would ultimately live up to its responsibility to our community. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
The Caucus has refused to defy the dictates of the ODP, even when advocacy for our community demands it. No greater example can be found than the recent letter written by our two elected trans leaders. Their statement addressed the harmful comments made by Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Amy Acton, while ultimately concluding that they would still support her bid for the governor’s mansion. While I did not necessarily share their conclusion, I deeply appreciated their honest criticism of the harm done by her prior remarks.
Yet, the ODP denied the Caucus permission to post that letter, and the Caucus accepted that censorship.
According to the message relayed by ODP staff, the State Party Chair felt that even a letter aimed at unifying LGBTQ+ support for Acton would be an "unwelcome distraction." This is a deeply discouraging reality. It demonstrates how little value party leadership places on the votes, voices, and inherent dignity of LGBTQ+ Democrats.
Since that decision, every Caucus plan, every potential post, and every path forward has been filtered through a lens of strict compliance and ODP approval. That may very well be the party's rule, but following those rules right now is a dereliction of our duty to the LGBTQ+ community.
For me, any rule that silences advocacy for the trans community during this time is an unjust rule, and I see no obligation to follow it. In alignment with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:
“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
We are living in incredibly dangerous times for the trans community. We are in an era where the GOP has so thoroughly weaponized trans lives that even some formerly self-professing allies within our own party have fallen prey to the rhetoric. Looking at the national trend towards Democratic anti-trans triangulation, as well as our own internal conversations, it is clear to me that this shift is much more than a simple coincidence.
We have to speak up—loudly, strongly, and unapologetically—or I fear what our 2028 choices may look like. The ODP would like everyone to believe they are a "big tent" party. However, their successful efforts to silence even the Pride Caucus—even in cases where we are simply begging our candidates not to trade on our lives for perceived electoral advantage—has proven otherwise. The tent hasn't gotten any bigger; it has simply shifted, leaving many trans individuals, progressives, and allies out in the rain.
I will continue to advocate, organize, and fight for our community with everything I have. But I can no longer compromise my own moral principles by remaining part of a caucus that appears more interested in party approval than in true, defiant advocacy.
Sincerely,
Arienne Childrey
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