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Jay Parmley, who resigned as executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party in April after a staffer accused him of sexual harassment, is entitled to unemployment benefits, an appeals referee for the state Employment Security Commission has ruled.

Parmley’s resignation was forced, which amounted to a discharge, and was “solely due to political reasons” and not for misconduct or poor job performance, referee Mia Bass ruled Monday.

An attorney for a former state Democratic Party staffer wants to depose Chairman David Parker on Sept. 5 -- in the middle of the national party convention in Charlotte.

Parker's attorney filed a motion earlier this week to quash the deposition, suggesting it is "politically motivated."

"The scheduling of a deposition in the middle of the Democratic National Convention will cause harassment, annoyance, oppression and undue burden or expense upon Parker," the motion states.

Adriadn Ortega, the junior staffer who sued Parker and the party for defamation in relation to sexual harassment charges he made earlier this year, is represented by Kieran Shanahan, a top GOP fundraiser who also works as a spokesman for the state Republican Party.

A Wake County judge on Wednesday denied a request for a preliminary injunction against the state Democratic Party filed by a former staffer.

Adriadn Ortega filed the injunction request in June as part of his defamation lawsuit against the party and Chairman David Parker. Ortega alleges he was fired in retaliation for making sexual harassment complaints against his boss, Jay Parmley, the party's executive director, and the party violated a nondisclosure agreement and disparaged him.

His attorney, Kieran Shanahan, a prominent Republican who serves as a state GOP spokesman, said Ortega is concerned the party won't abide by the confidential agreement going forward nor make forthcoming financial payments as prescribed in the settlement. He also worried that the campaign season and upcoming Democratic convention in Charlotte will call attention to the case and prompt comments about Ortega.

The North Carolina Democratic Party has hired someone within its ranks to oversee party operations temporarily following the resignation of its executive director in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, AP reports.

The party says Tammy Brunner is the interim executive director of the party. She most recently was the party's director of operations. She previously served as executive director of the Wake County Democrats and as a worker in Erskine Bowles' U.S. Senate campaigns.

A party spokesman said Brunner began a few weeks ago. It's unclear when a permanent director will be named. Brunner assumed the post a month after Jay Parmley resigned from his job. Documents show a former party headquarters employee accused Parmley of harassment and being wrongly fired when he spoke up about it. Parmley denied any harassment.

An attorney for a former state Democratic Party staffer is considering a lawsuit against the party and its controversial chairman as the fallout continues from an alleged sexual harassment scandal.

Kieran Shanahan, a high-profile Raleigh attorney, sent a letter to Chairman David Parker on Tuesday asking him to preserve all records related to Adriadn Ortega's employment and complaints of sexual harassment from former Executive Director Jay Parmley. The notice is often a precursor to a lawsuit. 

"Sometimes someone thinks certain information hurts them and they begin to destroy it," said Shanahan in an interview Wednesday, explaining the letter.

Shanahan said he anticipates filing a legal action contending that Parker made defamatory comments about Ortega and the party violated a confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement as part of a financial settlement in which the party paid Ortega roughly $10,000 to end a federal discrimination complaint about sexual harassment. 

A number of top Democratic Party activists are lobbying behind the scenes to keep controversial Chairman David Parker at the helm.

Parker announced in April he would step aside amid national pressure and boisterous calls for his resignation concerning his handling of a sexual harassment controversy at party headquarters.

But just days before Saturday's election to pick a new leader, scenarios are being contemplated to keep Parker -- a move that is likely to distress top Democratic leaders at the state and national level who are concerned about the scandal becoming a distraction at the Democratic convention later this year.

Bill Franklin, a state executive committee member from Burlington, sent an email earlier this week to the pool of voters who will pick a new chairman asking them to reject the "sabotage" of Parker. Democratic insiders say it echoes other conversations occurring privately in party circles.

"On May 12, help those who really care and let’s keep David Parker. If you send a proxy, give them specific instructions to go with the Parker faction," Franklin wrote in an email obtained by The News & Observer. "Do not accept any attempts at his resignation or disposal by anyone."

The N.C. Democratic Party made a $9,135 transfer on March 19 to its secretive legal fund as part of a partial financial settlement with a former staffer who alleged he was sexually harassed, new documents indicate.

John Wallace, the party's attorney, confirms that the legal defense fund -- never acknowledged until the controversy exploded at Democratic headquarters in April-- is the source of the payment, according to a letter sent Friday to the state Board of Elections.

Answering a complaint filed by the conservative Civitas Institute about the financial settlement, Wallace wrote that the party "made a transfer to the NCDP Legal Fund from which the primary obligation arising from the settlement was paid." Wallace further writes that two other transfers were made from the party's state account to cover a "related tax obligation" and "certain expenses associated with benefit obligations."

State Sen. Don Vaughan became the first Democrat to make a bid for state party chairman. In an email sent to party activists Thursday, the Greensboro attorney said "it's time for a change in Raleigh."

The current chairman, David Parker, plans to step aside later this month after a sexual harassment scandal roiled the party, forcing the quick exit of Executive Director Jay Parmley and raising questions about a secret settlement agreement Parker authorized with a former staffer.

"Now more than ever we need to keep our eye on the ball and get to work," Vaughan wrote in the email. (Read full text below.)

Here's how Charlotte Observer editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers sums up Democratic Party Chairman David Parker's press conference Thursday.

UPDATED: A former staffer accused the Democratic Party’s executive director of showing him a picture of a penis, caressing his leg and discussing his sexual exploits, according to a new document obtained by The News & Observer.

The sexual harassment claims are detailed in a Dec. 8 letter from Adriadn Ortega, a former party staffer, to then-Executive Director Jay Parmley. Ortega claims he was “fired in retaliation for my complaints of sexual harassment” and asks for a severance agreement equal to one year’s pay and health care coverage. Ortega, 26, made roughly $20,000 a year, according to campaign finance reports.

Ortega did not respond to questions. Parmley, 41, could not be reached for comment. He resigned Sunday but denied harassing any employee. He blamed political reasons for his departure.

Read the full story here.

*This post has been updated to correct description of picture in the letter.