BROOKLYN, Sept. 11, 2019 — At Monday night’s Kings County Democratic Committee (KCDC) meeting at the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island, KCDC members at large successfully passed a resolution calling for the Party to convene its Finance Committee and for an audit of the Party’s finances. These wins enabled us to propose a path by which KCDC members (rather than just leadership) can oversee the Party’s problematic finances, and have paved the way for financial accountability of Party leadership to everyday Brooklynites.

BROOKLYN, Feb. 15, 2019 — At Tuesday night’s Kings County Democratic Committee (KCDC) meeting at the Brooklyn Expo Center, we witnessed progress toward a Democratic Party held accountable for its priorities and actions – but also still-pervasive intransigence we will continue to challenge.

On February 12, 2019, the Kings County Democratic Committee (KCDC) will hold its winter meeting, the second of four meetings of the two-year KCDC term. New Kings Democrats is encouraging our members and the general public to attend. However, we are concerned by indications from KCDC leadership that they will not allot time for New Business.

BROOKLYN, Sept. 29, 2018 — The biennial organizational meeting of the Kings County Democratic Committee (KCDC) on Thursday was business as usual for the Party, as longtime insiders used obscure rules to systematically exclude hundreds of active members from participating. Votes – the conclusions of which are still in question – were decided by the Chair, Frank Seddio, plus the hundreds of proxy votes he carried along with those signed over to him by what County leaders described in the six-hour meeting as “allied” electeds, even when most KCDC members crowded into the Kingsborough College auditorium sought a different outcome.

BROOKLYN, Sept. 13, 2018 — New Kings Democrats believes Kings County Democratic Party leadership is actively attempting to reduce attendance and participation of County Committee members by scheduling its first meeting of a newly elected body on Thursday, September 27 at 6:00 PM at Kingsborough Community College, located in the far reaches of the borough. The meeting time and location will make it difficult or nearly impossible for many members to attend the meeting. The college is, at best, 20 minutes from the nearest subway station, and the very last stop on the two bus lines that service that neighborhood.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2017

Press Contact: Anusha Venkataraman, President, New Kings Democrats ([email protected])

KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE BLOCKS REFORMS ON TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS

Brooklyn, NY — In a move emblematic of New York State politics, the Kings County Democratic County Committee (aka Brooklyn Democratic Party) failed to provide substantive updates on a set of ethics and transparency amendments to the governing rules of the Brooklyn Democratic Party committee proposed by Kings County reform activists at the previous County Committee meeting on September 21st of 2016.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Press Contact: Anusha Venkataraman, President, New Kings Democrats ([email protected])

KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE BLOCKS REFORMS ON TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS

Brooklyn, NY — In a move emblematic of New York State politics, the Kings County Democratic County Committee (aka Brooklyn Democratic Party) blocked a vote on a set of ethics and transparency amendments to the governing rules of the Brooklyn Democratic Party committee proposed by Kings County reform activists at the first County Committee meeting of the new term.

The reform amendments were proposed by Brooklyn reform clubs the New Kings Democrats, Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform, and Southern Brooklyn Democrats with the objectives of: 1. Increasing transparency in Executive Committee decision-making processes like the nomination of judges; 2. Strengthening Party ethics to disallow public officials who have been convicted of public malfeasance from being supported by the Party; and 3. Broadening participation by limiting the use of proxy votes and allowing for resolutions to be distributed via email and posting on the Party website. A full list of the common sense reforms brought forward last night can be found at http://www.newkingsdemocrats.com/county_committee_reform.

The proposed reforms were motioned for a vote as five separate amendments to the Party Rules by members of Kings County Democratic Committee. In a dramatic turn of events the amendments were motioned for review by the Party’s Executive Committee instead of being afforded an up or down vote by the county committee’s members as required by Party rules.

In response to the absence of a committee vote on the proposed reforms, the auditorium erupted into chants of "Reform Now!" followed by impassioned pleas by County Committee members to the borough leadership. The general County Committee meeting was ended abruptly and prior to the completion of full agenda.

Kings County Party Chairman Frank Seddio, who replaced disgraced late Assemblyman Vito Lopez, promised a review of the progressive reforms by a committee made up of members of his choosing.

"While New Kings Democrats is disappointed with the outcome from the County Committee meeting tonight, we feel there could be no better demonstration for the need for immediate reform. We are proud of all the members that stood alongside us, demanding a more open, democratic process of engagement for our Democratic Party. We look forward to building further partnerships across the borough to make these reforms, and many more, a reality," said Anusha Venkataraman, President of New Kings Democrats, after last night’s meeting.

"We want an active Democratic Party, we want a party that will help everybody in this borough. The folks that came up with these reforms deserve a vote, and they deserve a vote tonight," said Robert Carroll, Democratic Nominee for the 44th New York State Assembly District, in an impassioned plea during the meeting.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY JUNE 14, 2016

Press Contact: Anusha Venkataraman, President, New Kings Democrats ([email protected])

NEW KINGS DEMOCRATS ADOPTS REFORM PLATFORM FOR THE BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND LAUNCHES BOROUGH-WIDE CAMPAIGN TO ELECT 1,000 BROOKLYNITES TO SUPPORT REFORM EFFORT

Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn political club New Kings Democrats (NKD) has adopted a reform platform for the Kings County Democratic Committee (AKA  Brooklyn Democratic Party) aimed at improving the transparency, ethics, and accessibility of the local Democratic Committee. The platform’s adoption was accompanied with the launch of the #RepYourBlock campaign (www.repyourblock.com), a borough-wide effort to elect over 1,000 Brooklynites to the Kings County Democratic Committee to support the party reform effort. Fellow political reform clubs Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) and Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform (PHDR) have signed on to Rep Your Block.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 6, 2014
Press Contact: Andrew Sloat, info@newkingsdemocrats.com

NEW KINGS DEMOCRATS DENOUNCES THE SURPRISE REMOVAL OF COUNCILMEMBER CARLOS MENCHACA AS CO-CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL’S BROOKLYN DELEGATION

Brooklyn, NY — New Kings Democrats is upset to learn of the sudden decision to remove Councilmember Carlos Menchaca from the leadership of Brooklyn’s city council delegation.

In the same week that the state assembly was roundly criticized for employing a closed-door process to elect a new leader, it’s distressing that the progressive borough of Brooklyn would follow suit. The delegation leaders play a central role in the negotiation of the city’s budget, making their selection important to the entire borough. The people of Brooklyn deserve a transparent process in the selection of this leadership.

Press Contact:

Matt Cowherd