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\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Democrats are at war in Brooklyn over a maneuver some inside the party have called \u201ccorrupt,\u201d a \u201cpower-grab\u201d and even \u201cfascist.\u201d And they\u2019re not talking about Republicans.<\/p>\n

With weeks to go before the midterm elections, an intraparty feud is on full display among Democrats jockeying for control of the party apparatus in one of the bluest, most populous counties in the country. And some in the party worry the quarrel is exposing the limits of the party\u2019s two most powerful politicians: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Brooklynites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not great if you’re a powerful national Democrat and you can’t stop what is functionally a coup d’etat from happening in the county party in your own backyard,\u201d said Democratic strategist Jon Paul Lupo, noting that the Brooklyn contretemps \u201cdefinitely has repercussions\u201d and an \u201cimpact on their standing among Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a huge incentive to try and fix it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Controversies are by no means foreign<\/a> to the Brooklyn Democratic Party. But this fight has drawn in some of New York\u2019s biggest political names as they lambast its chair, state Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. In the weeks before a contested leadership election, she moved to change the makeup of the organization by expanding its executive committee, claiming it would promote inclusivity. Her critics insist it\u2019s really just a play to boost her dwindling support ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n

Democrats across the ideological spectrum \u2014 including Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, as well as Schumer and Jeffries \u2014 came out against the move. Schumer warned<\/a> such a change \u201csends the wrong message when we need to rally voters for the November election.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even the widespread criticism wasn\u2019t enough to stop her proposed changes. A vote to implement them was held last month and narrowly passed, 21 to 19 with one abstention.<\/p>\n

In the wake of that vote, leaders aligned with Brooklyn Can\u2019t Wait, the self-described reformer group that claimed they had enough support to unseat Bichotte Hermelyn, are wondering if Schumer and Jeffries could be doing more to support them.<\/p>\n

Julio Pe\u00f1a III \u2014 Brooklyn Can\u2019t Wait\u2019s pick to challenge Bichotte Hermelyn for chair \u2014 told Blue Light News last week he appreciated Schumer and Jeffries coming out publicly against Bichotte Hermelyn’s maneuver, but said he has not spoken with either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think this does not send a good message that this power grab from straight out of the Republican playbook is happening in our own backyard in Brooklyn,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would love if they can have conversations with either \u2026 individual district leaders, or the party chair, and just say like, \u2018This needs to stop.\u2019 We’re hopeful that that can still happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if he thinks they would have sway, he replied: \u201cI would hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Julio$ <\/p>\n

Chi Oss\u00e9, a progressive New York City Council member who briefly considered a primary challenge<\/a> against Jeffries last year, wrote on social media<\/a> that \u201ca simple call or text to a couple of these district leaders\u201d from Jeffries and Schumer \u201cwould\u2019ve changed the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEither they don\u2019t care about this affront to our democracy happening in their own backyard or people don\u2019t take their leadership seriously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The collective pushback is uncommon in a local battle \u2014 a reality Democratic strategist Evan Stavisky said highlights how this isn\u2019t a \u201crun-of-the-mill fight in Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

But both Schumer and Jeffries have more pressing priorities to deal with beyond Brooklyn. Control of Congress tops that list.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything aside from that mission, no matter how important it is, has to take a backseat,\u201d Stavisky said. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s remarkable [Jeffries] and Sen. Schumer both opined on this. Their job has to be winning tough races outside of the city of New York and outside the state of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if Jeffries plans to get further involved in the Brooklyn battle, spokesperson Justin Chermol said the minority leader\u2019s focus is on the midterms.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeader Jeffries has publicly and privately made clear that he opposes the Kings County Democratic Party rule change,\u201d he said in a statement last week. \u201cWith 60 days left until the midterms, he is focused on battling Republicans, fighting for an Affordable America and taking back control of the United States House of Representatives so we can end this national nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumer\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Democrats are clear-eyed that what\u2019s going on with their county party is a mess \u2014 and want to move on so they can focus on the midterms. But some pushed back on the idea that either Jeffries or Schumer should get further involved, arguing that issuing a statement was enough.<\/p>\n

Lupe Todd-Medina, a political consultant and longtime Jeffries ally, contended that for some of Jeffries\u2019 critics, no matter what he does, \u201cit\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

She questioned when he would even have the time to make calls to district leaders on this: \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot going on,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about a hyperlocal position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fight is playing out in court. After the reformers unsuccessfully sought legal action in state Supreme Court to stop the rule-change vote, they sued again<\/a>. That suit argues outgoing county committee members should not have been allowed to participate, and that if they were excluded, the amendments would have failed.<\/p>\n

A ruling is still pending after a hearing Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Bichotte Hermelyn has argued it was fair game<\/a> to amend the county party\u2019s internal rules and leadership structure \u2014 and she\u2019s taking the drama in stride on social media. In a video posted last week<\/a>, she questioned the outrage over \u201cmore people\u201d being involved in the committee, insisted they \u201cdidn\u2019t undo any election\u201d and mocked her opponents, saying they had \u201cbeen out-organized again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In between cuts of her eating a Haitian beef patty, Bichotte Hermelyn, the first Haitian-American woman elected to the state Assembly from New York City, said, \u201cMelting down over a harmless rule change, but Haitians are being fired<\/a>. That didn’t deserve a statement?\u201d<\/p>\n

The reference was to how, after the Trump administration ended temporary protected status for Haitians, Mamdani fired municipal employees who had the status. Bichotte Hermelyn wrote an op-ed<\/a> questioning the move. The mayor said<\/a> the city kept people on the payroll as long as legally possible.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Brooklyn Democratic Party did not respond to questions directed at Bichotte Hermelyn regarding communications with Schumer and Jeffries, or the court fight.<\/p>\n

$\"Assemblymember$ <\/p>\n

Amid all the division, some have floated the idea of a consensus candidate. But Pe\u00f1a said he doesn\u2019t think the 22 district leaders supporting him will flip. (Twenty-two votes would constitute a majority under the original structure of the committee, but not after Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s changes.)<\/p>\n

While Jeffries and Schumer spoke out against the changes, neither have explicitly put their weight behind either candidate.<\/p>\n

A Brooklyn Democratic insider, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said it\u2019s a \u201cbig mistake\u201d to assume that Jeffries has a \u201cmagical allegiance to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not his responsibility to manage anyone\u2019s campaign,\u201d that person said. \u201cIt\u2019s lazy for anyone to expect him to clean up messes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank Seddio, a former Brooklyn party head who’s now a district leader and helped orchestrate the latest rule changes, said he hasn’t heard from Jeffries or his team and that he doesn’t believe any other party members have either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess he\u2019s staying out of it,\u201d Seddio said. \u201cIt\u2019s not his business \u2026 although he\u2019s certainly someone I admire and respect and one of the most important people in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Democratic Party hasn\u2019t been an integral organization to campaigning. In fact, some Democrats have accused Bichotte Hermelyn of actively helping Republican opponents<\/a> and waging a legal battle<\/a> to remove district leader candidates aligned with Brooklyn Can\u2019t Wait from the ballot. But the party does have power in nominating judicial candidates, a process Pe\u00f1a and his allies say<\/a> they want to make more transparent.<\/p>\n

Bichotte Hermelyn has served as chair since 2020. The leadership vote that will decide her fate has yet to be scheduled, but party rules dictate that vote must take place by Oct. 6.<\/p>\n

If she remains in her role, Lupo warned, it could become fodder for Republican attacks about the \u201cevil specter of corrupt New York Democrats in Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like Hakeem Jeffries did this or Chuck Schumer did this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very different from Trump’s active interference in democracy, but it can be weaponized by Republicans if it goes through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the concern is likely to quiet down if Democrats do retake Congress \u2014 and Schumer and Jeffries claim the highest leadership positions. But if they don\u2019t, critics, especially from the left flank of the party, are likely to get even louder.<\/p>\n

The latter scenario would make having a cohesive county party even more critical, said Basil Smikle, a former executive director of the New York Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does create vulnerability depending on what happens to Democrats nationally at the end of the cycle,\u201d Smikle said. \u201cThere’ll be questions about Hakeem’s leadership and Chuck\u2019s leadership. \u2026 If you don’t have a strong county organization pushing those voices back, those detractors back, that creates real vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Sommerfeldt contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Democrats are at war in Brooklyn over a maneuver some inside the party have called \u201ccorrupt,\u201d a \u201cpower-grab\u201d and even \u201cfascist.\u201d And they\u2019re not talking about Republicans. With weeks to go before the midterm elections, an intraparty feud is on full display among Democrats jockeying for control of the party apparatus in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}