| Drew Pritt, known in Alaska as Caleb Pritt, announces run for Congress in ArkansasBent Alaska

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Drew Pritt, known in Alaska as Caleb Pritt, announces run for Congress in Arkansas

Submitted by Melissa S. Green on Thursday, 27 October 2011 – 2:36 PM17 Comments

Andrew Caleb “Drew” Pritt — a former member of Anchorage’s LGBT community who fled back to his home state of Arkansas in September after money from a fundraiser he had organized went missing — announced today that he will run for Congress in Arkansas.

Pritt was known in Anchorage as Caleb Pritt, but he’s better known in Arkansas and neighboring states, where he several times campaigned for political office, as Drew Pritt. He is also known as a drag performer under variations of his drag name Diedra — e.g. Diedra Windsor Walker, Diedra Richards Ho Jenkins, and now Diedra Richards Harrison, the name by which he has performed recently at Zack’s Place, a sports bar in Little Rock.

Pritt organized a fundraiser in August, ostensibly for the charity Homes for Our Troops, which is building a fully accessible home for Sgt. Latseen Benson, an Iraq War vet who lost his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005. Sgt. Benson is the son of Diane Benson, whose 2010 campaign for Alaska lieutenant governor Pritt managed. The August 13 fundraiser involved numerous LGBT performers and contributors and was held at Mad Myrna’s in Anchorage. According to a press release Pritt wrote after the event, it raised $3,170 towards Latseen Benson’s home. But the money never reached Homes for Our Troops, and in mid-September it emerged that Pritt had apparently pocketed the money himself. Former friends allege that Pritt also stole other money, including rent money and utilities from his roommates and a friend’s laptop, before he fled back to Little Rock.

Pritt has a reputation in Arkansas for being something of a perennial (but unsuccessful) candidate under the name by which he is best known there, Drew Pritt. Some of his candidacies didn’t actually result in him standing for election. For example, in his press release announcing his candidacy for U.S. Congress in Arkansas, which Bent Alaska obtained through a news contact, Pritt claims that he “ran for Lt. Governor [of Arkansas] in 2006.” But from prior research, it doesn’t appear that Pritt got enough signatures or paid the filing fees to actually file for office in 2006, or that his name appeared on the 2006 ballot.

Pritt also has something of a checkered history even before his alleged theft from the Homes for Our Troops fundraiser. In 1999, while he was a staff member for U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, a Republican, he was charged with a Class C felony for writing unauthorized checks on a U.S. Senate account. Charges were dropped in 2003 after he paid restitution and fees of $1,617.44, according to an August 9, 2005 story in the Arkansas News. A July 30, 2002 story in the Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal entitled “Hayden says campaign funds wrongly taken” (found via Newsbank archives) recounts other allegations:

Hayden filed a complaint Friday claiming that political consultant Andrew Caleb Pritt, his former campaign manager, wrongly took about $10,000 from his campaign account in Trustmark Bank.

Pritt withdrew funds from the account and wrote checks to pay campaign expenses, Hayden said Monday. The checks were returned due to insufficient funds, Hayden said.

Hayden was running for Congress in the Seventh Congressional District. Pritt had declared himself a candidate in the same race, but was disqualified for an insufficient number of signatures.

Hayden said he knew Pritt “a couple of days” before accepting his offer to manage the Hayden for Congress campaign after Pritt’s candidacy ended. Pritt worked for Hayden a month or less.

Sheriff’s officials could not be reached on Monday. Pritt, whose local phone is disconnected, did not answer an E-mail request for comment.

We’ve not yet been able to discover what came of Hayden’s 2002 allegations.

But at least some people in Arkansas are paying attention to Pritt’s accomplishments in Alaska. At the Democratic blog Blue Arkansas, ARDem writes:

On his [Drew Pritt for U.S. Congress campaign] facebook page, Pritt states:

Pritt is outspoken and as such has made enemies for his outspokeness. He knows what its like to have people spread gossip, rumours, lies, accusations and believes this toughens and prepares him for service in a U.S. Congress already deadlocked by partisan bickering.

To which I will only add a quote from Mrs. Benson:

“It’s bad enough to have it happen at all,” says Benson. “But to have it happen with someone you thought you knew and to have it happen where they are using your child’s injuries to bait people to contribute is beyond the slap in the face.”

You know what they say about the wheels of justice. Hopefully, the Bensons will be able to get some closure on this at some point in the future. It shouldn’t be too hard for the legal system to catch up with Mr. Pritt, considering he’s now flaunting where he is.

From your blog to the Anchorage Police Department’s ears, ARDem.

Update: The Arkansas News posted a story later in the day about Pritt and the Alaska theft allegations about him, under the title, “Ark congressional candidate target of theft probe in Alaska —

LITTLE ROCK — A man who announced his candidacy for the 2nd District congressional seat today is being investigated by Alaskan authorities in connection with theft of funds from a fundraiser to benefit a disabled soldier.

Political consultant Drew Pritt of Little Rock said he plans to seek the Democratic nomination for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock.

The Anchorage Daily News reported last month that Pritt is a suspect in the disappearance of more than $3,000 raised during an August benefit he coordinated. The intended beneficiaries never received the money.

“It’s still under investigation,” Sgt. Lawrence Rhodes of the Anchorage Police Department’s financial crimes division, told The Arkansas News Bureau today. “There is an investigation, but it’s not done.”

Rhodes confirmed that Pritt is a suspect.

Pritt denied any wrongdoing.

The newspaper recounted some of the facts of the fundraiser, then talked with Pritt:

“Yes, I performed and hosted an event … but I never had control of the money,” Pritt said today. “The simple fact of the matter is, there is no warrant out there for me, there is no evidence to substantiate that. I actually had to borrow money from my mother to move home. It was a bad situation that happened.”

Pritt neglects to mention the very large check he cashed from credit card proceeds of the fundraiser.

Pritt said he hopes the issue does not affect his campaign for Congress.

“I’m sorry that it happened, but the issues in this congressional race are not dealing with things in my personal life,” he said.

… Pritt is no stranger to Arkansas politics. He announced plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2006 but did not file for the post. He later ran for the Little Rock School Board and lost.

Confirmation there for my earlier statement that Pritt did not actually file or appear on the ballot for the 2006 lieutenant governor race — he didn’t, in fact, run “for Lt. Governor in 2006 as the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Arkansas” since he did not, in fact, file as a candidate.

And it appears that his campaign for Congress has already been affected. ARDem posted an update to his post on Blue Arkansas:

Update: Looks like Pritt may have pulled the plug on the campaign in less than 24 hours. The [Drew Pritt for U.S. Congress] facebook page seems to be gone, but who knows, he might just be laying low for a bit hoping this will blow over. Not on my watch it won’t.

Thanks, ARDem. Not on ours, either.

Update: Pritt announced the end of his short-lived campaign on October 31, four days after he announced his intention to run. Accounts of his decision to not run:

1 Nov 2011. “Target of fraud probe withdraws from congressional race” by Rob Moritz (Arkansas News Bureau).
4 Nov 2011. “Alleged Con Artist Drops Out Of AR House Race” by Jillian Rayfield (TPM Muckracker).

“Drew Pritt for Congress” press release

Below is Pritt’s press release. (Typos and misspellings have not been corrected.)

Drew Pritt for Congress <pritt4congress@gmail.com>
10/27/11 12:15 PM
PRESS RELEASE – Pritt will challenge Griffin for U.S. Congress

FOR IMMIEDIATE RELEASE

Drew Pritt, an openly gay Democratic activist who ran for Lt. Governor in 2006 as the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Arkansas, has announced he will challenge Tim Griffin for U.S. Congress in Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District. He is the first Democrat to announce a challenge to Griffin in 2012.

“I believe this is going to be an unorthodox year in American politics,” said Pritt. “I believe Americans need someone in U.S. Congress who understands the struggles of being unemployed, owning a small business or who understand what it means to be denied basic civil rights because of who you love or choose to share your life with. I believe most of all its time to stop being politically safe and lets truly be a democracy where we stand by our pledge when it says liberty and justice for all. All means all, not just some. That means civil liberties and economic liberty for ALL Americans, not just some. I am running for U.S. Congress to shake things up and be a voice that helps to get America working again!”

Pritt said his main issues in running are economically based.

“Its Economics 101,” said Pritt. “The only way to produce wealth is grow it, plant it, or make it. We have become a nation of consumers of foreign products. Therefore we have a huge foreign debt and huge national debt. We must develop all the U.S. energy resources available in a responsible manner — coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. Cutting spending is good but will not solve all the deficit problems by itself. The key to reducing the deficit is putting Americans back to work. The inflow of revenue to the U.S. Treasury and the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds from taxes paid by working Americans and profits from businesses will solve the deficit problems.”

Pritt is a political consultant. He ran for Lt. Governor in 2006 and Little Rock School Board in 2007, losing both races. He says his somewhat unorthodox style and willingness to discuss difficult subjects openly have made enemies for himself.

“Its sad to see that the internet can be used to spread gossip and misinformation, but thats the age we live in,” said Pritt. “The fact is, I am unbought and unbossed and that is a threat in politics. But thats what is needed in our Congress today. Arkansans know if I am elected as their next Congressman, I will speak my mind, vote my conscience, and work everyday for Arkansas first, Arkansas always.”

Pritt lives in Little Rock. He is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. He is a member of the Pulaski County Democratic Committee, the Arkansas Democratic Party, national Stonewall Democrats, Supporter of the Arkansas Black Democratic Caucus and the Arkansas Hispanic Democratic Caucus, the National Cathedral Association, the Lions Club, and Diamond State Rodeo Association.

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For more information email here or call 1.501.425.1660

Also known as

These are the known variations on Andrew Caleb Pritt’s name:

Andrew Caleb Pritt
Caleb Pritt — the name he was best known by in Anchorage
Drew Pritt — the name he’s best known by in Arkansas, where he has been a sometime political candidate
A. Caleb Pritt — the name under which Pritt was a contributor on Bent Alaska
Caleb Andrew Pritt — the name he had at least some checks at the Homes For Our Vets fundraiser written out to

Drag names: