Voters went to the primary polls in June believing that their votes mattered. In Brooklyn, they elected a new majority of reform-minded district leaders, the local officials who determine the future of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and elect the party chair later this month.
Then the party chair changed the rules.
Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn introduced rules to add 48 new voting members — appointed by her — to the body that votes on her role. On Aug. 25 the outgoing district leaders, including eight who just lost their positions in June, voted to approve these in a closely divided, closed-door vote, and behind covered windows.
Bichotte Hermelyn claims the expansion is about inclusion. But she has had six years of leadership to propose inclusive policies.
Reform cannot mean changing the rules when an incumbent is about to lose.
Inclusion should be designed collaboratively, debated openly, and implemented thoughtfully. Not by an eleventh-hour vote, packing the committee with loyalists after voters made their choice in the polls. This is not inclusion; it is cronyism and straight out of the Donald Trump playbook.
The cost to Democrats
Democrats rely on young people, Black and Latino voters, and working-class voters to defend democracy. But we have good reason to distrust institutions that treat our participation as welcome only when it does not threaten the status quo.
We can’t lose a generation of voters.
How can our party fight the dangers of authoritarianism while tolerating authoritarian maneuvers from our own party leaders? Democratic leaders from across New York have warned against this power grab.
Mayor Mamdani called the proposed changes an attempt to “circumvent the will of voters,” and an end to the practices that have made people disengaged and disaffected from politics.
Gov. Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and the Brooklyn congressional delegation, New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, and many others across the political spectrum oppose moving forward with these rules changes before the party’s recently-elected members are sworn in.
Clarke put it plainly: “Altering the rules … just before a leadership election raises very serious concerns about the integrity of the process.”
She is right. If leadership truly wants an inclusive executive committee, it should be thoughtfully discussed by the newly elected representatives.
How can we ask Democrats to stand up to Trump and his fascist government when our own Democratic institutions are using his playbook to hold on to power?
Our coalition believes the party chair’s power grab is illegal and we are fighting it in court, but we also need all Democrats to keep speaking out and holding our leaders accountable.
The question before us is simple: Will the Brooklyn Democratic Party honor the election result, or will they allow insiders to rewrite the rules when voters choose change? Our answer will tell the next generation whether this party belongs to them, or whether they should stop believing it ever will.
Peña is a lifelong Sunset Park resident, the former chair of Brooklyn Community Board 7 and has been a Democratic District Leader since 2020. Smiley is a second generation Brooklynite and the current president of Brooklyn Young Democrats.