Brooklyn Party Boss Bichotte Hermelyn stirs up controversy

New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the first Black woman to hold a position as Brooklyn’s party chair, has proposed a controversial structural change to the Kings County Democratic County Committee and the move has sparked a huge backlash among Brooklyn’s political reformers.

“We’re in a new moment, with a new generation of Democratic energy and progressive victories showing what is possible when more people see themselves reflected in the political process,” said Bichotte Hermelyn in a statement.

On the precipice of what may be her last term, Bichotte Hermelyn said she wants to “open” the political structure for the sake of more inclusivity and transparency.

Brooklyn’s Democratic County Committee members come from the borough’s 21 Assembly Districts. Every two years, members elect one male and one female District Leader/state committee member for each district. These district leaders vote for things like the executive members, party boss, budget, and judicial candidates. Many have criticized the typical hours-long voting process for how “confusing” and “chaotic” it is.

Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposal would give newly elected officers and representatives from every district full voting rights — altogether, more than 68 members, she said in an interview with NY1. She wants to implement this change by the end of September 2026, which is after her re-election vote.

Brooklyn’s reformer group, headed largely by a grassroots civic coalition called the New Kings Democrats, swept a new slate of district leaders into office during this year’s June primary. They recently fully endorsed Julio Peña III, Democratic District Leader for the 51st Assembly District in Sunset Park, as the next candidate to replace Bichotte Hermelyn as chair.

They already claimed they have enough votes — 22 out of 42 — to oust her; if so, she would lose the re-election in September. Less than pleased with the proposed changes, the New Kings Democrats are slamming Bichotte Hermelyn for “packing” the committee with more seats so she could possibly get re-elected in the future. They are likely to resort to legal action to put a stop to Bichotte Hermelyn’s last-ditch effort.

“Today, the outgoing party chair, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, announced a vague plan to throw out the party rules and pack the executive committee with more than two dozen of her handpicked party officers so that she can overrule Brooklyn voters and hang [onto] her position,” said the New Kings Democrats in a statement. “This would be a flagrantly anti-democratic power grab, a return to the worst days of bossism — Vito Lopez tried the same trick two decades ago before he resigned in disgrace. It would go against everything our party should stand for. All Democrats should reject it.

“We call on Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn to withdraw this anti-democratic scheme before she does even more damage to the Democratic Party and to the public’s trust in our elected leaders.”

Bichotte Hermelyn said that she’s not “convinced” that the New Kings Democrats have enough votes to oust her before the election, making little indication that she intends to concede to the opposition until the last votes are counted.

“In this party, people reserve their votes until the very last day, which is the Election Day, and we’ve seen that time and time again. Negotiations have to go through. People are meeting with people to pretty much earn their votes. And again, elections are not decided by rumors,” said Bichotte Hermelyn.

The committee is slated to vote on Bichotte’s proposal this Tuesday, August 24.

Anthony Beckford, Rules Committee chair who is the outgoing district leader for the 43rd Assembly District, is in favor of the rule change. He lost his primary to New Kings Democrats member Akel K. Williams and maintains that reformers targeted Black district leaders who supported Bichotte Hermelyn.

“No faction gets to declare the outcome before Democrats have actually voted,” said Beckford in a statement. “Brooklyn is one of the most diverse places in America, and our party leadership should make room for more of those voices. As a disabled veteran and Black Lives Matter leader activist, I know representation cannot simply be something we talk about. It has to be reflected in who has a seat and a vote.”

Meanwhile, other Black district leaders, such as 42nd AD District Leader Josue Pierre, are not on board.

“District Leaders are elected by Brooklyn voters to represent the diverse communities and interests of our borough. I will not support diluting that mandate by adding unelected voting members to the Executive Committee,” he said in a posted statement. “Our party should respect the choices voters made at the ballot box. I will be voting NO on this proposal.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, recently back from a vacation upstate, added in a press conference on Monday, August 24, that he opposes the rule change as well: “I very much oppose these proposed changes by the current Brooklyn Democratic Party chair. I oppose them because they are an attempt to circumvent the will of voters, and what we should see is a Brooklyn Democratic Party that is a reflection of what New Yorkers want to see in their home, as opposed to a representation of so much of what has led New Yorkers — and Americans — to become disengaged and disaffected with politics at large.”

Other state Dems have had a more mixed reaction.

“The value of increasing participation by expanding representation on the Kings County executive board may have its merits and deserves consideration, however, the timing of this change stands to do more damage than good. Any proposal to change the makeup of the Executive Committee of the Kings County Democratic Committee should be taken up at its regular Reorganization Meeting by the full County Committee,” said New York State Democratic Chairman Jay S. Jacobs. “The focus of the Committee should be to defeat Brooklyn’s various Republican elected officials presently aligned with the MAGA agenda of Donald Trump. Now is not the time for disunity.”

Bichotte Hermelyn has been the party chairperson since 2020. She is not only the first woman voted into the position, but the first Black woman to lead the party in any of the Five Boroughs. She was also the first Haitian-American woman to hold elected office in the city back in 2014, and has been a district leader since 2010.

The post Brooklyn Party Boss Bichotte Hermelyn stirs up controversy appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.