Why Should Delaware Care?
Jeff Balk, the leader of the Sussex County Democratic Party, is credited by his colleagues for helping the party win back seats in the Republican-dominated county. He also went to prison for committing sex crimes against underage boys. That revelation has created a fracture among Delaware Democrats, with the state leader asking for his resignation, while Balk’s Sussex coalition is standing by his side.
UPDATE: Jeff Balk resigned on Oct. 26.
Sussex County Democrats and their state party leadership are in a standoff over whether the chair of the county party, Jeff Balk, should resign because of his criminal past involving sex crimes against minors.
But Balk isn’t stepping down. And Sussex Democrats are standing by his side, according to a letter sent by the county party’s executive committee to Evelyn Brady, chair of the Delaware Democratic Party.
“The leadership of the Sussex Party have no intention of abandoning our chair,” the letter reads.
The factions have remained in a standoff for the last two weeks, neither willing to blink, and both claiming their side is doing what is best for the party’s future.
Brady, who was elected to lead the Delaware Democrats this summer, said in an email to Spotlight Delaware that she was not aware of Balk’s past crimes until “very recently.” She then “quickly took steps” to gather more information and subsequently asked for Balk’s resignation.
That request, Balk said, came on Oct. 10. He has served as the Sussex County Democratic Party Chair since March.
Balk’s crimes
Balk was arrested in September 1986 in St. Louis and charged with paying young boys for sex, according to reporting by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was then 28 years old, and operated a skating rink and miniature golf course.
Three boys originally came forward, all 15 years old, claiming Balk had abused them more than 60 times over the course of three years. Two more boys would later come forward to accuse Balk.
The boys told police Balk had given them cash and small gifts in exchange for sexual encounters. They had hidden the abuse from their parents, but agreed to go to the police after confiding in a neighbor who was a professional counselor.
Balk pleaded guilty to 17 felonies in January 1988. According to the Post-Dispatch, he did not take a plea deal and instead “threw himself on the mercy of the St. Louis County Circuit Court.”
The judge in Balk’s case sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He ultimately served seven.
“I realize the pain that I’ve caused my victims, my family, my friends, and that’s honestly something I will never, never forget,” Balk said in an interview with Spotlight Delaware. “I know that I’ve caused damage to people’s lives, and I’m deeply sorry for that.”
A Post-Dispatch article about Balk’s sentencing revealed that he had previously been charged with felony sexual abuse for a similar case involving young boys in 1981. Those charges were dropped, authorities said, because the boys were embarrassed.
That same article, from March 1988, claims that just after Balk had pleaded guilty in January of that year, he was stopped in his car at 3:30 a.m. with an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old boy also inside.
When asked by Spotlight Delaware about this incident, Balk said he did not recall that traffic stop, but that he “did not reoffend” after his arrest.
Going to prison, Balk said, was the best thing that could have happened to him. It forced him to stop abusing, and it forced him into therapy.
“I think I’m proof that people can change, and that redemption is possible,” Balk said.
A demanded resignation, a letter of support
Balk received a text message from Brady, the state party chair, on Oct. 9. She asked him to meet with her the following morning.
That virtual meeting, Balk said, lasted no more than five minutes. Brady, who was on the call with State Party First Vice Chair Coby Owens, asked for Balk’s resignation by the end of the day.
The party, Balk said, was concerned about the political consequences of his past crimes.
After the call, Balk spoke to the members of the Sussex County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, which includes six other local leaders.
“That’s when they 100% told me that I needed to stay,” Balk said.
Shortly after his conversation with the executive committee, Balk emailed Brady and told her he would not step down.
Since Balk declined to step down, Brady has been making “ongoing efforts to urge his resignation,” she said in an email to Spotlight Delaware.
But Sussex County Democrats have been engaged in efforts of their own. Efforts to change Brady’s mind.
In a letter sent on Oct. 13, members of the county executive committee asked Brady to rescind her resignation demand. They laid out a two-pronged reasoning for why Balk should stay in his role as county party chair.
A chance at repentance
For the county Democrats, supporting Balk comes down to morals and merits.
First, they argue that Balk has done the penance for his crimes. That he represents the Democratic ethos of the power of second chances.
“He is a model citizen and an example of what people who commit serious offenses in their earlier lives can achieve if they work hard and are given a fair shot by society,” the letter reads.
For Jane Hovington, one of the letter’s signers, standing with Balk comes down to practicing forgiveness, as it is described in the Bible. She quoted from the Gospel of John – “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”
When reached by Spotlight Delaware, Hovington was upset that someone had sent the letter to the news outlet. She said she believed it was an act of “retribution,” though she declined to say what for.
Aside from their moral argument, the Sussex Democrats also pointed to recent growth and electoral success as a reason for Balk to keep his position.
They pointed to flipping the 20th House District and the 6th State Senate District from Republican to Democrat control in 2022, flipping a Sussex County Council seat in 2024 and winning the 20th House District special election this year all as examples of Balk’s importance within the party.
“We need [Balk],” the letter reads.
When asked about these arguments, Brady said in her email that her decision to ask Balk to resign goes beyond one person’s contributions. It is about doing what is good for the party, she said.
The good of the party
Another part of the Sussex Democrats’ letter claims Brady has no basis for asking Balk to resign. Nothing in the party rules requires a candidate for party office to “reveal past transgressions,” according to the letter.
The Sussex County Democratic Party rules do include sections about reporting criminal offenses, but those requirements are outlined specifically for committee members, not the county chair.
In response to the Sussex Democrats claims, Brady said her request for Balk’s resignation was not based on any rule violations. She again pointed to the best interests of the party.
“In my role as State Chair, I requested that he resign based on my judgment about what is best for the party,” Brady wrote.
But Balk has been thinking about what’s good for the party, too.
He said he has considered that him staying on as chair, especially once word of his past crimes spreads, could be detrimental to Democrats’ future electoral success. But he hopes people will see beyond his worst moment.
“I know who I am today,” Balk said. “And my hope is that people who know me, know who I am today and won’t judge me for mistakes that I’ve made in the past.”
This is not the first time Balk’s crimes have pulled him into the center of local controversy. WGMD radio personality Dan Gaffney brought them to light back to 2006 amid a business deal with Balk’s former newspaper EXP. The story was covered in the LGBTQ press but didn’t seem to reach the mainstream media, in part perhaps because Balk was not then a leader in a political party.
Hovington also said the current feud with the state party is not the first time Balk’s past has been brought up, citing those previous news stories. She feels the same about it now as she did back then.
“Give me a break here,” she said. “Everybody can change. Everybody.”
For now, as Brady urges resignation while Balk holds steadfast, the pair – and by extension the larger Delaware Democratic apparatus – are gridlocked. The future of Balk’s position, of the relationship between Sussex and statewide Democrats, and of Democrats’ small foothold in Sussex County, all remain unclear.
Karl Baker contributed to this report.