It’s not an elected office you may have paid attention to, but in Brooklyn, a fight over state committee seats — often referred to as district leaders — is set to test the county’s power in the borough.
“I believe the slate wants to see a change in leadership,” said one candidate, Akel Williams, in Brooklyn this week. “It’s not about any one person, but it’s about coming to a consensus of a leader who can actually fight for Democrats, who supports Democrats.”
What You Need To Know
A slate of nine district leader candidates is looking to challenge the Democratic Party establishment
Those insurgents said they need to win nine seats to take over the party
The party leader is dismissing the challenges
Williams is running as part of a slate of nine candidates — part of the Brooklyn Can’t Wait Coalition — looking to gain a majority of seats on the county Democratic Party’s executive committee.
The point — to get new leadership in Brooklyn.
“We’ve seen for many, many years under different party leadership, the same culture of corruption, the same pay to play and a party that has just not been effective,” said Tony Melone, the president of the New Kings Democrats.
The New Kings Democrats, a progressive, insurgent political organization in the borough, is spearheading the effort. In a map the group gave to NY1, they said they already have allies as district leaders in the blue-shaded districts. The teal-shaded districts are the races they’re targeting.
If they win and get a majority of the county committee, they plan to oust the county committee’s current leader — Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
“This opponent of mine, his candidate is the same one in past videos that I revealed and exposed along with Tony Melone himself for collecting fraudulent signatures,” said incumbent Anthony Beckford, who is facing off against Williams, on social media.
Where the current party establishment tried to kick these candidates off the ballot. They ended up in court in some cases.
But the insurgent candidates won.
“The current leadership is definitely pay to play. It’s all about status,” said another insurgent candidate, Carmella Charrington. “It’s all about power.”
“It’s not about policy. It’s not about legislation,” Bichotte Hermelyn told NY1. “It’s about getting access to the throne and taking over.”
The chair of the party appeared on “Inside City Hall” on Tuesday, responding to the allegations.
“Frankly, there is some racial undertone to that because the New Kings Democrat is being led by white men who really have targeted all the Black leaders to take them down because they want to support me,” she said.
In the end, while these races might be small, both sides realize the stakes could be much bigger.