Democratic Party leaders 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 have issued statements opposing the Chair’s proposed power grab: U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Yvette Clark, Nydia Velázquez; Democratic Congressional nominees Brad Lander and Mike DeCillis; New York State Attorney General Letitia James; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; NYC Comptroller Mark Levine; New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes; New York State Assemblymembers Brian Cunningham, Robert Carroll, Joanne Simon, Phara Souffrant Forrest, and Emily Gallagher; NYC City Council Members Crystal Hudson, Jennifer Gutierrez, Shahana Hanif, Sandy Nurse, Lincoln Restler, Chi Ossé, and Kayla Santosuosso; and New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he was “surprised” by the plan and “does not support it.” Rep. Yvette Clark said: “What is being proposed flies in the face of our democratic values.” Rep. Nydia Velázquez also condemned the power grab: “This is exactly the kind of machine politics that makes Americans lose faith in our system. A blatant, undemocratic attempt to hold onto power and block reform.

Let Brooklyn Democrats pick their own leaders.”

Brad Lander, Democratic nominee for Congress in NY-10, called for Bichotte Hermelyn to step aside: “The Brooklyn Democratic Party leadership must respect the results of the June elections and the will of voters, not change the rules in a backroom deal in an attempt to cling to power.” Democratic Congressional nominee Mike DeCillis, running in a Republican-held district that includes Southern Brooklyn, added: “We have to be laser-focused to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. The transition of power must be fair and orderly. We have no time to waste when our democracy is on the line this November.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams issued a joint statement: “New Yorkers deserve leaders who are committed to serving their communities, not rewriting rules to hold onto power. Changing the makeup of an executive committee on the eve of a leadership vote goes against what we believe in as Democrats and should not move forward.”

Assemblymember Brian Cunningham, who represents a district including Flatbush, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Crown Heights, posted: “Brooklyn voters made their choice in June, and any effort to preserve the current leadership by rewriting the rules now would be a direct rejection of that choice. We cannot ask voters to trust the Democratic Party while disregarding their will when it becomes politically inconvenient. The values we defend in public must also govern how we conduct ourselves within our own party.”

City Councilmember Crystal Hudson posted: “Why worry about Republicans trying to steal elections in battleground states when we have Democrats stealing elections right here in Brooklyn?”

New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs said: “the timing of this change stands to do more damage than good… The focus of the Committee should be to defeat Brooklyn’s various Republican elected officials presently aligned with the MAGA agenda of Donald Trump.”

NYC Comptroller Mark Levine issued a statement: “Such a drastic change to the governance structure of the Brooklyn Democratic Party should only be made by the party leaders who primary voters just elected in June.

We are 10 weeks out from the General Election. It is not an exaggeration to say that the fate of our democracy is on the line. Our entire focus should be on winning races up and down the ballot in November, not on internal power struggles.”

A number of clubs and organizations also condemned the proposed changes, including Citizens Union, Indivisible Brooklyn, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Young Democrats, Bay Ridge Democrats, and Independent Neighborhood Democrats, among others.

See New Kings Democrats' previous statement on the proposed rules changes here.