{"id":328873,"date":"2026-08-25T00:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T00:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/328873\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T00:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T00:43:08","slug":"brooklyn-democrats-rule-change-vote-moves-forward-via-judges-ruling-as-pressure-mounts-on-incumbent-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/328873\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Democrats\u2019 rule-change vote moves forward via judge\u2019s ruling as pressure mounts on incumbent chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brooklyn Democrats<\/a>\u2019 escalating leadership war landed in court Monday, where a reform-aligned challenger whose allies say he has the votes to become the county party\u2019s next leader sought to block sitting Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn<\/a> from pushing through a sweeping package of rule changes Tuesday.<\/p>\n

That meeting can go ahead after Justice Jill Epstein declined Monday afternoon to grant the reformers\u2019 emergency request for a temporary restraining order, writing that the request was \u201cpremature\u201d and could be renewed after the meeting.<\/p>\n

Epstein\u2019s decision leaves unresolved the broader question of whether any rule changes that may be approved Tuesday are legally valid, according to Mark Hanna, an attorney for the reformers.\n<\/p>\n

Julio Pe\u00f1a III<\/a>, who is backed by a coalition claiming 22 of the party\u2019s 42 district leader seats, joined Akel Williams, Jillian Cara Goger and Johnny Sagan in filing the lawsuit against Bichotte Hermelyn, the Kings County Democratic County Committee and its executive committee in Brooklyn Supreme Court Monday morning.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit centers on whether the current executive committee can make sweeping changes to the party\u2019s rules in the window between June\u2019s primary and the newly elected County Committee\u2019s organizational meeting.<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a and his allies argue that it cannot, and they are not alone. Since Bichotte Hermelyn announced the proposed changes last week, a growing number of prominent Democrats have urged her not to proceed, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joining the opposition Monday.<\/p>\n

Bichotte Hermelyn did not respond to repeated requests for comment Monday. The Brooklyn Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment.\n<\/p>\n

How Brooklyn Democrats\u2019 leadership battle landed in court<\/p>\n

The reformers argue that Bichotte Hermelyn is trying to use the post-primary window to change the makeup of the executive committee<\/a> and, with it, the group that will choose Brooklyn\u2019s next Democratic Party leader.<\/p>\n

The first judge assigned to the case on Monday morning quickly recused himself because the dispute could potentially affect his own judicial renomination. Justice Kenneth P. Sherman wrote that he \u201cmay be seeking re-nomination in the next election cycle\u201d and that his nomination could be affected by the issues in the case or by his rulings.<\/p>\n

Sherman said that created, \u201cat a minimum,\u201d the potential appearance of impropriety and referred the case to for reassignment.\n<\/p>\n

Hanna said the case was taken up Monday afternoon by Epstein, who declined to issue the temporary restraining order sought by Pe\u00f1a\u2019s side.\n<\/p>\n

Epstein wrote on the proposed order that she was declining to sign it as \u201cpremature,\u201d adding that the request could be renewed after Tuesday\u2019s meeting.\n<\/p>\n

Hanna said the judge\u2019s reasoning was that the meeting could take place and the amendments could fail, leaving no harm for the court to undo.\n<\/p>\n

The decision allows Tuesday\u2019s gathering to proceed but does not resolve Pe\u00f1a\u2019s underlying claims about whether the current executive committee has authority to adopt the changes or whether everyone expected to vote is legally entitled to do so.<\/p>\n

Hanna said his clients intend to return to court if the amendments pass and seek a ruling on those questions.\u00a0
\n\"\"FILE: Julio Pe\u00f1a III, a reform-aligned Brooklyn Democratic district leader whose supporters say they have the votes to elect him the county party\u2019s next chairPhoto via PoliticsNY\/Julio Pe\u00f1a III\n<\/p>\n

What\u2019s at stake Tuesday<\/p>\n

The court fight comes days after Bichotte Hermelyn, who has led the Brooklyn Democratic Party since January 2020, unveiled a plan to dramatically expand the party\u2019s executive committee amid an increasingly public challenge to her leadership.<\/p>\n

Reform-aligned district leaders won eight of nine contested races in June and say their coalition now holds 22 of the executive committee\u2019s 42 district leader seats \u2013 enough, if those votes hold, to elect Pe\u00f1a as the next county leader.<\/p>\n

Speaking to amNewYork last week, Bichotte Hermelyn denied that her proposed overhaul is an attempt to derail Pe\u00f1a, saying instead that the party gives too much power to district leaders and should bring more elected party officials into its decision-making.<\/p>\n

The full package filed with the lawsuit shows the changes would go well beyond adding a handful of new voters.\n<\/p>\n

One amendment would create eight countywide executive committee positions and several additional County Committee offices. Another would create a new executive committee delegate in each Assembly District.<\/p>\n

Most significantly, the proposal would expand the executive committee itself to include additional party officers and Assembly District delegates and give every member of the enlarged body a vote.\n<\/p>\n

Under the current rules, voting is largely restricted to Brooklyn\u2019s elected State Committee members, commonly known as district leaders.\n<\/p>\n

Other amendments would set the executive committee\u2019s quorum at 25 members, give Assembly District committees 60 days rather than 30 to organize and require an 85% vote for future rule changes involving proxies.<\/p>\n

The party called its special meeting for 6 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in Mill Basin. The notice says members are expected to consider and adopt the proposed rule changes in a closed executive session.<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a\u2019s lawsuit argues that such major changes should wait until the newly elected County Committee holds its organizational meeting this fall.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAn outgoing party leadership should not rewrite the rules on the eve of the organizational meeting to change the electorate before that electorate has the opportunity to vote,\u201d the petition states.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also raises a separate challenge to who is allowed to vote Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n

It argues that several people invited to participate no longer qualify as voting members because they lost State Committee races in June or did not seek reelection.\n<\/p>\n

The filing names Anthony Beckford, Michelle Tege, Doug Schneider, Lydia Bella Green, Arleny Alvarado-McCalla, Heriberto Mateo, Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, Henry Butler, Michael Boomer, Mercedes Narcisse and Roxanne Persaud.<\/p>\n

Epstein did not rule on those underlying claims Monday, according to Hanna.\n<\/p>\n

He told amNewYork that Pe\u00f1a and his allies would challenge any approved amendments on both fronts: whether the executive committee had authority to make substantive changes during the post-primary period and whether votes were cast by people who no longer hold the State Committee status required under the existing party rules.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, Schumer speak out on Brooklyn Dems drama
\n\"\"Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at an unrelated press conference Monday, where he joined a growing chorus of Democrats opposing proposed Brooklyn party rule changes backed by Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

The proposed overhaul has drawn mounting opposition from some of New York\u2019s most prominent Democrats, with Mamdani and Schumer joining House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs in urging Brooklyn party leaders not to change the rules now.<\/p>\n

When asked about the plans at an unrelated press conference Monday, Mamdani said the changes were an attempt to \u201ccircumvent the will of voters.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI very much oppose these proposed changes by the current Brooklyn Democratic Party chair,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cI oppose them because they are an attempt to circumvent the will of voters, and what we should see is a Brooklyn Democratic Party that is a reflection of what New Yorkers want to see in their home, as opposed to a representation of so much of what has led New Yorkers \u2014 and Americans \u2014 to become disengaged and disaffected with politics at large.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumer made a similar argument Monday afternoon, saying the party should accept the outcome of the primary rather than alter its rules ahead of the leadership fight.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cRespecting the outcome of elections is a bedrock principle of our democracy, and our Democratic Party must defend that principle,\u201d Schumer wrote on X. \u201cGiven the clear results of the June Democratic primary in Brooklyn, the party should not change the rules in the middle of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should respect the will of the voters,\u201d he added in a follow-up post. \u201cNot to do so sends the wrong message when we need to rally voters for the November election.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Their comments follow opposition from Jeffries, whose office told amNewYork last week that he was surprised by Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s proposed expansion and \u201cdoes not support it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Jacobs also urged the party to hold off, saying expanded representation \u201cmay have its merits and deserves consideration\u201d but that making the change now \u201cstands to do more damage than good.\u201d Jacobs said any overhaul should instead be taken up by the full County Committee at its regular organizational meeting.<\/p>\n

Citizens Union and Common Cause New York also came out against the full package Monday, arguing that the timing and substance of the 10 amendments would undermine the results of June\u2019s elections rather than broaden participation.<\/p>\n

In a joint memo, the groups said the proposals, taken together, would rewrite the rules governing the chair election \u201cin an apparent effort to reverse a result already reached at the ballot box\u201d and make it harder for reformers to exercise the power they won in June.<\/p>\n

The groups also raised concerns about provisions that would expand the executive committee, alter quorum rules, shift control over Assembly District Committee organization and make future changes to proxy rules subject to a supermajority vote. They urged party leaders not to act on the package on the current timeline.<\/p>\n

Denial of power grab<\/p>\n

Bichotte Hermelyn has pushed back on accusations that the proposal is a power grab, arguing that expanding the executive committee would give more elected party members a voice in its decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not handpicked. This is not appointed,\u201d she told amNewYork last week, noting that the additional party officers would themselves be elected.\n<\/p>\n

She also defended making the changes ahead of the organizational meeting.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always proposed rules ahead of the county committee organization,\u201d Bichotte Hermelyn said. \u201cWe did it last year. We did it two years ago. We did it four years ago. So this is not uncommon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked directly whether the expansion was intended to stop Pe\u00f1a from taking control of the party, she replied: \u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d Bichotte Hermelyn also said last week that she had not decided whether to seek another term as chair.<\/p>\n

With Epstein declining to block the meeting, the amendments are set to be considered Tuesday evening. Hanna said Pe\u00f1a and his allies intend to return to court if they pass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brooklyn Democrats\u2019 escalating leadership war landed in court Monday, where a reform-aligned challenger whose allies say he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[122816,98,18390,100,99,2065,22925,9,24,63,123648],"class_list":["post-328873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-assemblymember-rodneyse-bichotte-hermelyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-democratic-party","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-chuck-schumer","tag-mayor-zohran-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rule-changes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}