A New York Supreme Court judge ruled against Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn on Monday, declaring that outgoing executive committee members had \u201cno authority\u201d to vote on sweeping rule changes at a recent August meeting.<\/p>\n
The decision by Judge Jill Epstein, which the party said it will appeal, blocks an effort by party leaders to add dozens more members<\/a> to the executive committee. The move would have likely allowed Bichotte Hermelyn to keep control of the party.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that the court finds that the vote at the meeting by the outgoing Executive Committee members was improper and given that the votes of these outgoing members made the difference,\u201d Epstein wrote, \u201cthe court finds that the rule changes must be declared a nullity and a permanent injunction enjoining the implementation of these amended rules is thus warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n New Kings Democrats president Tony Melone celebrated the ruling<\/a>, writing in a statement to The City Reporter, \u201cThe court has affirmed what nearly all our city, state and federal representatives have said: It\u2019s time for our party to hold a normal meeting under the rules that were in place at the time of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen we can work together to win in November,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Party, told The City Reporter he was \u201cglad to see the result.\u201d \u201cDemocrats need to know that their Democratic Party is going to operate democratically,\u201d he said in a phone interview after the ruling. \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to hold a fair election, you lose all legitimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brooklyn Democratic Party in a statement called Epstein\u2019s decision \u201ca disappointment\u201d and defended the August vote as \u201clawful.\u201d The ruling \u201cmisinterprets\u201d the party\u2019s rules and \u201cdisrupts the established practice that ensures stability during transitions,\u201d the leadership alleged.<\/p>\n Epstein was recently elevated to the state Supreme Court with the backing of the Brooklyn Democratic Party<\/a> and had acknowledged during the proceedings that she knew all the parties involved<\/a>, though neither party objected to her presiding over the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI never have to run for re-election,\u201d she said at a hearing last week, causing the courtroom to erupt in laughter. Party leaders play an instrumental role in selecting and elevating judges<\/a> to the state Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Brooklyn Democratic Party\u2019s Future at Stake<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s ruling comes as the future of the Brooklyn Democratic Party hangs in the balance \u2014 and the clock is ticking.\u00a0<\/p>\n At a Sept. 23<\/a> meeting in Downtown Brooklyn, the county committee could select a host of new executive committee members according to the new rules, and tip the balance of power in a subsequent executive committee meeting where a party chair would be selected.<\/p>\n The legal fight is the culmination of nearly two decades of organizing by New Kings Democrats<\/a>, who for the first time flipped enough district leader seats in the June primary to be able to select their own party chair, with 22 of the existing 44 seats.<\/p>\n That coalition, which included some existing district leaders and other incoming ones, in July announced their unanimous support of Julio Pe\u00f1a III<\/a>, a longtime district leader from Sunset Park. (District leaders are elected, unpaid positions; together they pick a party chair every two years.)<\/p>\n But before that vote could take place, Bichotte Hermelyn convened a meeting of the outgoing district leaders<\/a>, who voted with a slim majority on a series of changes that added dozens of new voting members to the executive committee. The move would have rendered the New Kings Democrats\u2019 newfound majority irrelevant.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe party chair\u2019s attempt to pack the executive committee with loyalists in order to keep her seat \u2014 instead of respecting the election results \u2014 is an affront to our party\u2019s commitment to democracy,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said in a statement following Monday\u2019s ruling.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the changes were allowed to go into effect, reformers argue, Bichotte Hermelyn would have had the power to select dozens of new executive committee members through proxy votes at the county committee, bringing the number of people on the executive committee from 44 to nearly 100.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even if all the elected district leaders banded together, they would still be outnumbered by the non-elected members of the committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n Promised Appeal Comes Ahead of Key Meeting<\/p>\n Bichotte Hermelyn took over as party chair in 2020 with near-unanimous support<\/a>, but the brief detente between establishment and self-styled reformers quickly ended. Her critics alleged she\u2019d spent more party resources fending off challengers to her leadership<\/a> than fighting Republicans in Southern Brooklyn swing districts where Democrats have lost ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n The rules changes she pushed through drew the condemnation<\/a> of every major Democrat in the state, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n Reformers sued<\/a>, arguing the vote violated state election law and the party\u2019s bylaws. Part of their argument rested in a section of election law<\/a> indicating district leaders \u201cshall hold office until the next election at which members of the committee are elected.\u201d Because terms run election to election, the outgoing members of the executive committee no longer had voting authority, reformers argued.<\/p>\n