A court hearing on controversial rule changes within the Brooklyn Democratic Party was adjourned Wednesday to give three respondents more time to secure legal counsel.
Brooklyn Supreme Court justice Jill Epstein had been set to hear arguments in a case seeking to overturn a series of party bylaw amendments proposed by sitting chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in an apparent bid to maintain control of the party and approved in a last-minute, closed-door meeting last week.
Three days after that meeting, on Aug. 28, four reform district leaders — including Julio Peña III— filed suit against Bichotte Hermelyn, the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and 11 individual members of the party’s Executive Committee, seeking to toss the amended rules.
The Executive Committee members named in the suit were lame ducks who had either lost or opted not to seek re-election in June and are set to be replaced by newly-elected District Leaders later this month. Peña and the reformers say state election law and party bylaws bar those committee members from voting, which Bichotte Hermelyn disputes.
Julio Peña III (front) and other District Leaders rallied against the rule changes ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen
The reform group New Kings Democrats, which for years has pushed for change within the party, had finally won a majority of District Leader seats in June, giving them the ability to vote Bichotte Hermelyn out of her position as chair. One of the most significant amendments approved last week added dozens of voting members to the party’s Executive Committee, effectively nullifying the new majority and ensuring Bichotte Hermelyn’s re-election.
At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, lawyer Anthony Genovesi, who is representing Bichotte Hermelyn and the party, told Epstein that three individuals named in the suit — Anthony Beckford, Arleny Alvarado-McCall and Heriberto Mateo — wanted to retain counsel.
The trio had not been served with the lawsuit until Monday morning, Genovesi said, and had not had enough time to find lawyers before the hearing. He asked whether Epstein could delay the hearing to allow them to secure representation.
Mark Hanna, an election lawyer and Brooklyn district leader representing Peña and the reformers, objected. The suit was filed on Friday, Aug, 28, he said, providing “ample time” for Beckford, Alvarado-McCall and Mateo to find representation.
The case has a tight deadline, he said, as the organizational meeting where the party will vote for a new chair has to take place between Sept. 17 and Oct. 1, so the case must be settled before then.
“I believe this is a delay tactic,” Hanna said.
“So they don’t have rights?” Genovesi said of Beckford, Alvarado-McCall and Mateo, asking whether they should have found lawyers “since yesterday.”
“They are co-district leaders with him,” he said. “Why are they not afforded an opportunity to get counsel?”
Epstein noted that the same parties had been in court a week earlier, after Pena and the reformers filed for a restraining order to prevent the Aug. 25 meeting. At the time, she said the request was “premature,” and declined to grant it, but said they could file again after the meeting.
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn after the Aug. 25 meeting and vote. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Both parties knew the second lawsuit was coming, Epstein said, and were ostensibly “on notice.”
She said she could adjourn the hearing until 9:30 on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 3 — 24 hours after it was initially scheduled — and Beckford, Alvarado-McCall and Mateo if they could secure counsel by then.
“Realistically, no,” Beckford said.
Epstein said the trio could opt to represent themselves, or have Genovesi represent their “interests,” which are likely aligned with the interests of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
“I don’t want to represent myself … I don’t even know why I’m here today,” Matteo said.
Alvarado-McCall said she, Beckford and Mateo hold unpaid elected positions and “don’t have the funds” to pay lawyers.
“We need ample time … I can’t say that that’s reasonable,” she said.
After a five minute recess called so Beckford, Alvarado-McCall and Mateo could decide whether they wanted to adjourn or not — a conversation Genovesi declined to join — Beckford asked if they could return in two days.
“I can’t do that,” Epstein said. “I’m happy to give you until tomorrow.”
“It’s our right to be represented,” Beckford told reporters while exiting the courthouse. “We don’t have legal counsel. A day is not realistic for anybody, especially from our communities. I think the courts need to reflect on our actual communities to see and understand when it comes to financial burdens and so forth.”
He said they have not considered asking Genovesi — who serves as law chair to the Brooklyn Democratic Party — represent them in court.
The initial lawsuit had not named Beckford, Alvarado-McCall or Mateo by name, only the Executive Committee. Because of the way things shook out, Hanna said, they had to name the lame duck members who had taken part in last week’s vote individually, and they are entitled to have counsel.
Anthony Genovesi, (center), is not representing members of the Executive Committee named in the suit, though he is representing the party and Bichotte Hermelyn. Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen
But, he said, it was strange that Genovesi was not representing them.
“This is the thing that’s so confusing to me. It’s them claiming, ‘Oh, we don’t have anybody to represent us.’ But when your interests align with the party’s interests at any other time during the election season, you have counsel. The party provides it for you,” he said.
Genovesi has represented the Brooklyn Democratic Party in past battles to knock would-be Democratic candidates off the ballot on behalf of the party’s chosen candidates, Hanna said. He guessed that Beckford, Alvarado-McCall and Mateo would return on Sept. 3 with Genovesi as their lawyer.
“This is the party that we have, [it] has always been this way. It’s always been violently vindictive against anybody that fights against them,” Hanna said. “So, you know, I expect they’ll come back and they’ll have representation.”
Genovesi declined to give comment to reporters as he exited the courthouse.