Brooklyn Democratic Party

The New York Election Law defines the structure of political parties and requires each party to have county committees. County committees are composed of at least two members elected from each election district as well as two members elected from each assembly district within the county (assembly district leaders). There are approximately 10,000 seats on the County Committee, nearly half of which are typically unfilled.), a male and female for each assembly district in the county, two of each in more populous districts. The Executive Committee is composed of the State Committee members from Brooklyn along with the elected officers of the County Committee. ==Criticism and controversies==

A 2005 study by the Grassroots Initiative found that in New York City more than 50% of all county committee seats were vacant and that 98% of committee member elections were uncontested. Although New York's judicial nominating conventions have been criticized as opaque, brief and dominated by county party leaders, critics claim that in heavily Democratic Brooklyn, party control is extreme. While voters choose delegates to the judicial nominating conventions which pick New York Supreme Court judges, the powerful Democratic machine usually controls the delegates, which critics say gives the party almost virtual control over judge selection. 2016 reform attempt In September 2016 at the first county committee meeting of the new term, the Kings County Democratic County Committee blocked a vote on a set of ethics and transparency amendments to the governing rules proposed by reform activists. The reform amendments were proposed by Brooklyn reform clubs the New Kings Democrats, and Southern Brooklyn Democrats with the main objectives of: • Increasing transparency in Executive Committee decision-making processes like the nomination of judges • Strengthening party ethics to disallow public officials who have been convicted of public malfeasance from being supported by the party • Broadening participation by limiting the use of proxy votes and allowing for resolutions to be distributed via email and posting on the party website The proposed reforms were motioned for a vote as five separate amendments to the party rules by committee members. 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. 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. 2020s In January 2020, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn was chosen to succeed Frank Seddio as Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair. In December 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, newly elected county leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn oversaw a contentious organizational meeting of the Kings County Democratic County Committee that stretched for roughly 26 hours over two days and prompted legal challenges from reform-oriented district leaders and clubs over party rules, vacancy appointments, and the handling of proxy votes. In February 2026, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and a few District Leaders rescinded its endorsement of Governor Kathy Hochul ahead of the New York State Democratic Convention after Hochul selected former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as her running mate for lieutenant governor. The county organization’s statement criticized the governor’s decision as a “political miscalculation” and faulted her for not consulting Brooklyn party leaders before making the announcement. Party chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn argued that the choice could hurt Democrats in down-ballot races, while several district leaders and local elected officials publicly opposed the move and called for greater transparency and noted that there was no official vote to rescind the endorsement. After backlash from within the party and from prominent Brooklyn Democrats who continued to back Hochul and Adams, the county organization later moved to reaffirm its support for the Democratic statewide ticket before the general election. ==History==

Democratic politics in Brooklyn have long been fractious, "between regulars and reformers and along ethnic and then racial lines." and later boss Clarence Norman echoed those sentiments, once asserting "When you're on the outside, you're a reformer; when you're on the inside, you're a regular. Let's be for real." Former boss Vito Lopez has been described as "one of the last of the city's political kingmakers." ==List of chairpersons==

Chairmen prior to 1909 are not listed. After 1990 it was no longer permissible for the chair to hold a county or city office, but those holding state offices are still eligible. ==See also==