State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the first Black woman to hold a position as Brooklyn’s Democratic party chair, proposed and passed a last minute structural change to the Kings County Democratic County Committee, sparking a huge backlash among Brooklyn’s political reformers.
“We’re in a new moment, with a new generation of Democratic energy and progressive victories showing what is possible when more people see themselves reflected in the political process,” said Bichotte Hermelyn in a previous statement.
On the precipice of what may be her last term, Bichotte Hermelyn said she wants to “open” the political structure for the sake of more inclusivity and transparency.
Brooklyn’s Democratic County Committee members come from the borough’s 21 Assembly Districts. Every two years, members elect one male and one female District Leader/state committee member for each district. These district leaders vote for things like the executive members, party boss, budget, and judicial candidates. Many have criticized the typical hours-long voting process for how “confusing” and “chaotic” it is.
Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposal gives newly elected officers and representatives from every district full voting rights — altogether, more than 68 members, she said in an interview with NY1. She wants to implement this change by the end of September 2026.
Brooklyn’s reformer group, headed largely by a grassroots civic coalition called the New Kings Democrats, swept a new slate of district leaders into office during this year’s June primary. They recently fully endorsed Julio Peña III, Democratic District Leader for the 51st Assembly District in Sunset Park, as the next candidate to replace Bichotte Hermelyn as chair.
They already claimed they have enough votes — 22 out of 42 — to oust her; if so, she would lose the re-election in September. Less than pleased with the rule changes, the New Kings Democrats are slamming Bichotte Hermelyn for “packing” the committee with more seats so she could possibly get re-elected in the future. They called emergency meetings and protested this week with other political leaders, like Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
The committee voted on Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposal Aug. 25, at a contentious meeting held in the Thomas Jefferson Democratic club in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. Early posts online from dejected New Kings Dems reported that Bichotte Hermelyn’s amendment changes passed by 21-19 vote (1 abstention, 1 no-show). All eight district leaders who voted ‘yes’ were ones that lost their primaries in June, said NKD. They are likely to resort to legal action to stop the proposed amendments from being implemented.
“I’ll say it again for the folks in the back, but you can call yourself a reformer, progressive, moderate whatever. It’s your actions that tell us who you really are & tonight, we saw the actions of a dying party choosing fascism over democracy,” posted Peña on Tuesday night. “We’re not done yet.”
“The outgoing party chair, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, announced a vague plan to throw out the party rules and pack the executive committee with more than two dozen of her handpicked party officers so that she can overrule Brooklyn voters and hang [onto] her position,” said the New Kings Democrats in a previous statement.
The executive committee meeting was private invitation only and journalists were blocked from entering. The window was papered over so no one outside could peer in. At least one person arrived with his face and head completely covered in a black ski mask to hide his identity. Outside of the club where the vote was taking place, police and press camped out late into Tuesday night to get the results.
Regardless of controversy, Bichotte Hermelyn had plenty of support from Black leadership.
She and the county committee released a joint statement online on Aug. 26, saying, “Last night Brooklyn district leaders voted to expand representation on the Executive Committee —adding leaders from every Assembly District and building a party that truly reflects Brooklyn. This strengthens our fight for working families, affordability, and against the Trump agenda. The vote was open, fair, and democratic. No kings in Brooklyn —we move forward together.”
Anthony Beckford, Rules Committee chair who is the outgoing district leader for the 43rd Assembly District, is in favor of the rule change. He lost his primary to New Kings Democrats member Akel K. Williams and maintains that reformers targeted Black district leaders who supported Bichotte Hermelyn.
“No faction gets to declare the outcome before Democrats have actually voted,” said Beckford in a previous statement. “Brooklyn is one of the most diverse places in America, and our party leadership should make room for more of those voices. As a disabled veteran and Black Lives Matter leader activist, I know representation cannot simply be something we talk about. It has to be reflected in who has a seat and a vote.”
Meanwhile, other Black district leaders and political clubs, such as 42nd AD District Leader Josue Pierre and the Brooklyn Young Democrats (BYD), are not on board.
“Tonight, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and every Executive Committee member who supported her rule changes chose personal loyalty and political self-preservation over Brooklyn’s voters,” said BYD in a statement after the vote.
“In June, Brooklyn Democrats went to the polls and elected a new majority of District Leaders to lead their party in a different direction. Rather than respect that result, Bichotte Hermelyn used a lame-duck majority to illegally change the electorate that will decide whether she remains in power. No legitimate effort to expand participation begins by overriding an election. If these proposals were truly about inclusion, they could have been presented through a transparent process to the leaders Brooklyn Democrats just elected. The members who enabled this power grab cannot hide behind procedure, or pretend they were powerless. Each had a choice.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, recently back from a vacation upstate, added in a press conference on Aug. 24, that he opposes the rule change as well: “I very much oppose these proposed changes by the current Brooklyn Democratic Party chair. I 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 — and Americans — to become disengaged and disaffected with politics at large.”
Other state Dems had a more mixed reaction.
“The value of increasing participation by expanding representation on the Kings County executive board may have its merits and deserves consideration, however, the timing of this change stands to do more damage than good. Any proposal to change the makeup of the Executive Committee of the Kings County Democratic Committee should be taken up at its regular Reorganization Meeting by the full County Committee,” said New York State Democratic Chairman Jay S. Jacobs in a previous statement. “The focus of the Committee should be to defeat Brooklyn’s various Republican elected officials presently aligned with the MAGA agenda of Donald Trump. Now is not the time for disunity.”
Bichotte Hermelyn has been the party chairperson since 2020. She is not only the first woman voted into the position, but the first Black woman to lead the party in any of the Five Boroughs. She was also the first Haitian-American woman to hold elected office in the city back in 2014, and has been a district leader since 2010.
She said in an interview with NY1 that she’s not “convinced” that the New Kings Democrats have enough votes to oust her before the election, making little indication that she intends to concede to the opposition until the last votes are counted.
“In this party, people reserve their votes until the very last day, which is the Election Day, and we’ve seen that time and time again. Negotiations have to go through. People are meeting with people to pretty much earn their votes. And again, elections are not decided by rumors,” said Bichotte Hermelyn.
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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from a previous version.
