Kings County Democratic County Committee

Kings County Democratic County Committee
Headquarters Brooklyn, NY
Ideology Modern American liberalism
Progressivism
Center-left
National affiliation Democratic Party
Colors Blue
Website
brooklyndems.com

The Brooklyn Democratic Party, officially the Kings County Democratic County Committee, is the county committee of the Democratic Party in the New York City borough of Brooklyn (Kings County).

In New York, county executive committees typically select candidates for local public offices, with the county committees ratifying the selections.[1] County committees are composed of at least two members elected from each election district as well as two members elected from each assembly district within the county (assembly district leaders).[2][1]

It is one of the largest Democratic county organizations in the United States, and the largest that is not its own city.[3]

Structure

The New York Election Law defines the structure of political parties and requires each party to have county committees.[4][5][1] County committees are composed of at least two members elected from each election district as well as two members elected from each assembly district within the county (assembly district leaders).[6][1]

As of 2005, Brooklyn was home to 929,459 enrolled Democrats.[7] There are approximately 10,000 seats on the County Committee, nearly half of which are typically unfilled.[7] There are forty-two elected State Committee members (who also function as assembly district leaders[8]), a male and female for each assembly district in the county, two of each in more populous districts. The Executive Committee is composed of the State Committee members from Brooklyn along with the elected officers of the County Committee.[9]

A 2005 study by the Grassroots Initiative found that in New York City more than 50% of all county committee seats were vacant and that 98% of committee member elections were uncontested.[10]

Chairmen

Leadership of the party is held by the Chairman of the Executive Committee, voted on by the State Committee members (who collectively form the Executive Committee). Chairmen are known colloquially as "Brooklyn Boss" or "Party Boss."[7]

Chairmen prior to 1909 are not listed. After 1990 it was no longer permissible for the chairman to hold a county or city office, but those holding state offices are still eligible.

Name
with years of birth & death		 Term
John H. McCooey (1864–1934) 1909–1934[11]
Frank V. Kelly (1880–1946)[12] 1934–1946[12][13]
John Cashmore (1895–1961) 1946–1950[13]
Francis J. Sinnott (c.1891–1956)[14] 1950–1952[13]
Kenneth F. Sutherland (1888–1954)[15] 1952-1954[16]
Joseph T. Sharkey (1893–1991) 1954–1962[16][17]
Stanley Steingut (1920–1989) 1962–1969[18]
Meade Esposito (1907–1993) 1969–1982
Howard Golden (1925–) 1982–1990
Clarence Norman Jr. (1951–) 1990–2005
Vito J. Lopez (1941–2015) 2005–2012
Frank Seddio (1947–) 2012–

History

September 17, 2014 meeting

Democratic politics in Brooklyn have long been fractious, "between regulars and reformers and along ethnic and then racial lines."[7] However, the tension between "regulars" and "reformers" has always been somewhat fluid, as past bosses have acknowledged. "Today's reformer is tomorrow's hack," party boss Meade Esposito is reputed to have said,[19] and later boss Clarence Norman echoed those sentiments, once asserting "When you're on the outside, you're a reformer; when you're on the inside, you're a regular. Let's be for real."[7]

Corruption has been an issue in the party, as four of the last five party bosses (Steingut, Esposito, Norman, and Lopez) have been investigated or indicted on corruption charges (in the case of Steingut, after leaving office). For example in 2003, Supreme Court Judge Gerald Garson, the treasurer of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, was indicted for bribery.[20]

The party boss in Brooklyn was for most of the 20th century a figure of national influence and power; in recent years that influence has waned somewhat.[7][21] Former boss Vito Lopez has been described as "one of the last of the city's political kingmakers."[22]

Criticism

Although New York's judicial nominating conventions have been criticized as opaque, brief and dominated by county party leaders,[23] critics claim that in heavily Democratic Brooklyn, party control is extreme.[24] While voters choose delegates to the judicial nominating conventions which pick New York Supreme Court judges, the powerful Democratic machine usually controls the delegates, which critics say gives the party almost virtual control over judge selection.[24]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Zimmerman 2008, p. 55.
  2. ↑ Election Law § 2-104
  3. ↑ "BP Markowitz Calls on Democratic Party to Select Frank Seddio as New Kings County Democratic Chair" (Press release). August 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ Election Law article 2
  5. ↑ Zimmerman, Joseph F. (2008). The Government and Politics of New York State (2nd ed.). SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7435-8.
  6. ↑ Election Law § 2-104
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roberts, Sam; Hicks, Jonathan P. (October 2, 2005). "Democratic Leader's Demise Followed His Organization's Slide". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Rules for the Government of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, Article V, § 11
  9. ↑ Rules for the Government of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, Article V, § 1
  10. ↑ Benjamin, Gerald (2012). The Oxford Handbook of New York State Government and Politics. p. 55. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195387230.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-538723-0.
  11. ↑ "John H. McCooey is Dead of Heart Ailment at 69: Brooklyn 'Boss' 25 Years". The New York Times. January 22, 1934.
  12. 1 2 "Frank Kelly Dies; Brooklyn Leader: Democratic Party Chieftain For 12 Years Was Successor to Late John H. Mccooey". The New York Times. July 6, 1946.
  13. 1 2 3 "Sinnott is Chosen by Unanimous Vote: Succeeds Cashmore, Target of Mayor, As New Brooklyn Democratic Leader". The New York Times. July 29, 1950.
  14. ↑ "Francis Sinnott, Brooklyn Leader: Kings County Clerk Who Had Been Democratic Chief and Postmaster There Dies". The New York Times. September 17, 1956.
  15. ↑ "K.F. Sutherland Dies in Brooklyn". The New York Times. November 15, 1954.
  16. 1 2 "Sharkey Is Due to Get Top Kings Party Job: Sharkey is Slated as Leader in Kings". The New York Times. April 8, 1954.
  17. ↑ Fowler, Glenn (January 3, 1991). "Joseph Sharkey, 97, Former Head Of New York City Council, Is Dead". The New York Times. (Start of tenure misreported as 1953.)
  18. ↑ Carroll, Maurice (January 8, 1975). "Brooklyn Democrat Takes Over Vowing to Reduce Dominant Role of Speaker". The New York Times.
  19. ↑ Barrett, Wayne. City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York. The Nation Institute.
  20. ↑ Marks, Alexandra (12 August 2003). "In Brooklyn, fixing a 'corrupt' court system". Christian Science Monitor.
  21. ↑ Roberts, Sam (May 23, 2010). "Now, City Party Bosses Do Little Moving and Shaking". The New York Times.
  22. ↑ Kleinfield, N. R.; Rashbaum, William K.; Goldstein, Joseph (September 4, 2012). "If This Brooklyn Kingmaker Is Asking, Saying No Is Risky Option". The New York Times.
  23. ↑ Williams, Milton L. (19 September 2012). "A better way to pick New York judges". New York Daily News.
  24. 1 2 Marks, Alexandra (12 August 2003). "In Brooklyn, fixing a 'corrupt' court system". Christian Science Monitor.

External links


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