In a victory for democracy, today New York Supreme Court Justice Jill Epstein ruled that the Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair has no right to change the party rules to prevent a legitimate handover of power. Justice Epstein's decision declares these farcical, undemocratic rule changes null and void. The newly elected majority of District Leaders should now proceed to elect a new chair.

Justice Epstein's ruling concerns a meeting of the Kings County Democratic Party Executive Committee held on August 25, over two months after the June primaries. At this meeting, the current party chair held a vote on changing the rules to pack the Executive Committee with handpicked loyalists so she could stay in power after losing majority support.

This meeting included eleven District Leaders who either lost their re-election campaigns or chose not to run for re-election. Eight of these outgoing District Leaders voted for these rules changes that would effectively strip incoming elected District Leaders of their power to elect the party’s next chair, instead giving it to people hand-picked by the current chair. These changes would have effectively denied voters any say in party governance.

The court ruled today that outgoing District Leaders cannot legally change the rules after an election that they lost.

“This ruling could not be clearer: the party chair must respect the election result,” said Tony Melone, President of New Kings Democrats. “The court has affirmed what nearly all our city, state, and federal representatives have said: it’s time for our party to hold a normal meeting under the rules that were in place at the time of the election, and let the elected District Leaders choose the next party chair. Then we can work together to win in November.”

District Leader Julio Peña III said, “Today is a victory for democracy, the will of the voters, and the rule of law. The party chair's attempt to pack the Executive Committee with loyalists in order to keep her seat – instead of respecting the election results – is an affront to our party's commitment to democracy.”

In a statement given to The City, Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York State Democratic Party, cheered the ruling and said, “Democrats need to know that their Democratic Party is going to operate democratically. If you’re not going to hold a fair election, you lose all legitimacy.”

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams sent this statement: “Today’s ruling is an important check to remind us that no political leader should push to be above the rules, the law, or the voters. When an election produces an unfavorable result, the answer cannot be to change the rules to preserve one’s position. Brooklyn Democrats deserve a party that respects voters’ will and the integrity of our democratic process.”

The lawsuit was brought by District Leaders Julio Peña III and Akel Williams and County Committee members Jillian Cara Goger and Jonny Sagan, represented by fellow District Leader and election attorney Mark Hanna of Khalifeh & Strupinsky, PC; Howard Graubard, Esq.; and Manhattan District Leader Paul D. Newell, Esq.

Hours after the ruling came down, the party chair sent a mass email stating that the Executive Committee (the 42 Brooklyn District Leaders) would appeal the court’s decision. The District Leaders were not consulted or given a vote on whether to appeal. The party chair is once again circumventing the democratic process and dedicating more of our party’s resources to a fight to preserve her own power. The party already owes Abrams Fensterman nearly $300,000 — fighting this case again to try to keep the chair in power could bankrupt New York’s largest county party before it spends anything on the November election.

The party chair should heed the court, Democratic officials, and the voters of Brooklyn and accept a normal transition of power on September 23, under the rules that were in place during the June primary.

UPDATES 8/25: NY Governor Kathy Hochul told NY1 “Governor Hochul is opposed to this proposal to rewrite the rules…the Brooklyn Dems’ leadership vote should be a fair and transparent process.” 

With this statement from Congressman Dan Goldman, Brooklyn’s entire Democratic Congressional delegation, plus the Democratic House nominees, are all opposing Bichotte’s proposal.

Democratic elected officials from Brooklyn overwhelmingly slammed Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn’s announced plans to rewrite party rules in order to keep herself in power. Bichotte faces a coming leadership vote after a new majority of District Leaders, who make up the party’s Executive Committee, were elected by Brooklyn voters in the June primary. She is now trying to rig that vote in her favor by packing the committee with dozens of her handpicked supporters.

The following leaders issued statements opposing the Chair’s proposed power grab: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Yvette Clarke, Nydia Velázquez, and Dan Goldman; Democratic Congressional nominees Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Mike DeCillis; New York State Attorney General Letitia James; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; NYC Comptroller Mark Levine; New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes; New York State Assemblymembers Monique Chandler-Waterman, Brian Cunningham, Robert Carroll, Jo Anne Simon, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Maritza Davila, and Emily Gallagher; NYC City Council Members Alexa Avilés, Crystal Hudson, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Shahana Hanif, Sandy Nurse, Lincoln Restler, Chi Ossé, Rita Joseph, and Kayla Santosuosso; and New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs.

Nearly two dozen elected leaders also signed on to a letter demanding that Bichotte Hermelyn abandon her plan:

“Respecting the outcome of elections is the bedrock of our democracy, and our Democratic Party must defend that principle…

As Democratic elected officials, we demand that Chair Bichotte Hermelyn stop attempting to rewrite the rules and allow the chair vote to proceed as specified in the rules that were in place at the time of the primary.”

Signatories of the letter include: Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; State Senators Julia Salazar and Kristen Gonzalez; Assembly nominees Christian Celeste Tate and Eon Huntley; and City Council Member Rita Joseph.

This June, Brooklyn Democrats elected 22 District Leaders from the Brooklyn Can’t Wait coalition who had pledged to bring a new era of leadership to a Brooklyn Democratic Party that for too long has been weak, corrupt, and visionless. 

Those 22 District Leaders make up a majority of the 42-member executive committee that will elect the party chair once they are seated at the party’s yet-to-be-announced organizational meeting. Last month, the Brooklyn Can’t Wait coalition announced their united intent to elect Julio Peña III as the new party chair.

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 on to her position. 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.