Political boss slammed for wine tasting in Napa at ‘critical junction’

The CEO of liberal political group Democracy for America enjoyed a holiday at a Californian vineyard while the organisation fell apart around her, claim former employees.

Yvette Simpson, CEO for the now defunct political group Democracy for America (DFA), was tasting wine in Napa while the group struggled to raise enough funds to keep its head above water.

According to two former DFA employees, Simpson had informed her team that they needed to raise US$320,000 in order to survive the year. But as the group’s financial situation continued to deteriorate Simpson attended a personal wine tasting and sommelier course at Domaine Carneros Winery in Napa Valley.

The former CEO posted: “Is this heaven? No, but it’s pretty close!” on Instagram before holding an all-staff Zoom call from Napa, in which she announced that DFA had run out of cash.

As first reported by the publication Politico, former DFA staff alleged that Simpson’s time away at that “critical junction” was a contributing factor to the group going under. Instead of rallying with the team to raise funds, she was holidaying at Domaine Carneros, a winery founded by Claude Taittinger of Champagne Taittinger legacy, and known for its méthode traditionelle sparkling wine.

Simpson resigned from her position on 7 December and most of the group’s staffers were laid off the same day without severance pay.

“Being part of a legacy of an amazing, impactful organisation that has meant so much to our nation, and following the leadership of some of the best activists in the progressive movement  has been an honour and a privilege,” Simpson wrote on Twitter, following her resignation, adding that the experience had been “humbling” and had “shaped her life and leadership”.

However, members of DFA have accused Simpson of being largely responsible for the demise of the group.

“As we understand it, no effort was made by you to meet or call with donors for the first three weeks of November,” read a memo written by 10 staffers to Simpson just a few days before she resigned, and revealed in Politico. “You should know that your staff no longer has confidence in your ability to lead this organisation. We feel you should have spent more time with donors and that we should have had a clearer understanding of the budget and an earlier warning of things going in the wrong direction.”

Another employee alleged: “She had said that [raising money] is not something she liked to do, but it’s also your job as CEO to fundraise and she didn’t want to do it.”