Tonight at 6 p.m., the 42 sitting district leaders who make up the Kings County Democratic Party’s executive committee are scheduled to gather at the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in Mill Basin to vote on a 10-amendment package that would expand their own body to more than 68 voting members before this fall’s chair election, grant former party chairs permanent voting rights in future leadership contests, and require an 85 percent supermajority for any future changes to proxy rules.

The vote is the culmination of a summer-long fight between the party’s current chair, Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, and a coalition of 22 district leaders elected in June, calling itself Brooklyn Can’t Wait, that has pledged to elect Sunset Park District Leader Julio Peña III as chair between September 17 and October 6 under the current 42-member structure. On Monday afternoon, hours before a reform-side rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall, Kings County Supreme Court Justice Jill Epstein denied the reformers’ request for a temporary restraining order to block tonight’s vote, calling the request premature.

Why this matters for East New York

The fight is, at first look, a borough-wide party procedural dispute. But for East New York, Brownsville, and Canarsie readers, the party rules the executive committee votes on tonight shape who gets nominated to the Brooklyn courts that hear the deed-theft, foreclosure, housing, and family-court cases that reach this coverage area — and how transparently those nominations happen.

What the amendments would do

According to reporting on the party’s own filings and its notice to members, the package Bichotte Hermelyn is asking the executive committee to adopt tonight includes:

In an interview last week on NY1’s Inside City Hall, Bichotte Hermelyn described the expansion as an effort “to create a perception of inclusiveness” by giving voting rights to county committee members and Assembly District representatives who currently sit on the executive committee without a vote.

The lawsuit

On Monday, Peña, incoming AD 43 district leader Akel Williams, and two other reform-aligned party members filed suit in Kings County Supreme Court seeking an emergency temporary restraining order to block tonight’s vote. Their attorney, Mark Hanna, argued that the current executive committee lacks the authority to adopt substantive rule changes between the June primary and the newly elected County Committee’s fall organizational meeting. The filing also challenges the voting eligibility of several people expected to participate tonight who, plaintiffs argue, lost their State Committee races in June or did not seek reelection.

The first judge assigned to the case, Justice Kenneth P. Sherman, recused himself, writing that he “may be seeking re-nomination in the next election cycle” and that his rulings could be affected by, or affect, the party leadership at issue — creating at minimum an appearance of impropriety. The case was reassigned to Justice Jill Epstein, who denied the temporary restraining order Monday afternoon as premature and noted that the plaintiffs could return to court after tonight’s meeting.

At the Borough Hall rally

At roughly 3 p.m. Monday, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, Council Members Shahana Hanif and Alexa Avilés, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, Democratic congressional nominees Brad Lander and Mike DeCillis, incoming reform district leaders including Shaquana Boykin (AD 57), Emmitt Sklar (AD 44), Akel Williams (AD 43), Akwasi Agyeman (AD 57), Omar Hardy (AD 56), and Peña gathered on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall to condemn the proposed rules package.

Gounardes called it “an act of political cowardice.” Public Advocate Williams called it “one of the worst representations of how this party has operated for such a long time.” Simon warned that the 85 percent supermajority for future rule changes was designed so “you’re never going to get 85 percent of anything.” Peña, whom the coalition has pledged to elect chair, said, “I want to hear voices in our community. I want people part of our coalition, and I want folks included and not excluded.”

Beyond the podium, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Rep. Yvette Clarke, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and New York State Attorney General Letitia James have all publicly opposed the rules package. Jeffries’s spokesman, Justin Chermol, told amNewYork last week that Jeffries “was surprised by yesterday’s announced plan to expand the executive committee of the Kings County Democratic Party and does not support it.” Velázquez, in a statement, called the package “a blatant, undemocratic attempt to hold onto power and block reform.”

Asked directly at the rally why no elected officials representing East New York, Brownsville, or Canarsie were on the podium, Peña told the East New York Times that Council Member Sandy Nurse was part of the coalition but had a scheduling conflict. Other East Brooklyn officials in the coalition, he said, were also unable to attend. “It is the end of the summer. School’s about to start, and this is the time when most people go on vacation,” Peña said. “So it’s an unfortunate time to call the meeting.”

What a Brooklyn reform district leader says the fight is about

Council Member Sandy Nurse, whose 37th Council District covers Cypress Hills, City Line, Brownsville, and Bushwick, is one of the 22 incoming Brooklyn Can’t Wait district leaders, having won the female district-leader seat in the 54th Assembly District in June. Under current rules, her seat does not take effect until the fall organizational meeting, so she is not among the 42 executive-committee members eligible to vote tonight.

In a phone interview with the East New York Times on Tuesday, Nurse called the proposed amendments “a very blatant power grab by the current chair to retain power.”

“She saw that many Brooklyn voters voted for reform-oriented district leaders,” Nurse said. “Twenty-two of us won our election committed to transforming the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and what she is doing is essentially trying to undermine, negate, and circumvent the will of Brooklyn voters who voted for us. It’s undemocratic.”

Nurse said the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s dysfunction has practical consequences for the neighborhoods this paper covers.

“District leaders — they pick judges. We nominate, and endorse, and help judges win. And judges do everything from criminal work to civil work to who’s fighting deed theft and who’s supporting workers in family court in all of their cases. These are important decisions, and right now they’re being made in ways that are not really transparent.”

She said the county party has not communicated the stakes to East Brooklyn residents. “The party doesn’t try to educate East New Yorkers or people in Brooklyn about how important it is to have good judges in these roles and why that would impact your life.”

Asked whether her coalition still stands behind Peña for chair, Nurse said the 22 reform district leaders remain committed. “Our coalition of 22 district leaders, we all signed a pledge as part of joining this coalition,” she said. “Julio is the one that we have voted amongst ourselves to put forward as the candidate for chair. And we’re standing behind him.”

Nurse said she was unable to attend Monday’s Borough Hall rally because of a scheduling conflict, “not because I didn’t want to be there.”

An Election Law Committee chair explains why she isn’t taking sides

Assembly Member Latrice Walker, whose 55th Assembly District covers Brownsville, chairs the New York State Assembly’s Election Law Committee — the state legislative body that reviews and shapes New York’s election-law statutes.

In a statement to the East New York Times, Walker said she would not take a public position on the proposed Brooklyn Democratic Party rules changes.

“I understand the concerns that have been raised regarding the timing, process and potential impact of these proposed changes, and I appreciate the importance of ensuring that our political institutions operate in a manner that is transparent, democratic, and consistent with applicable law,” Walker said. “At the same time, in my capacity as Chair of the New York State Assembly’s Election Law Committee, it’s important that I maintain my independence and impartiality on matters that may ultimately involve provisions of New York State Election Law.”

Walker added that as chair, she does not want to “prejudge those questions or take a public position that could compromise — or create the appearance of compromising — my ability to evaluate them fairly should they come before the Committee.”

“My decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement or rejection of the actions of any individual or faction involved,” she said. “Rather, it reflects my responsibility as Election Law Committee Chair to preserve the Committee’s ability to objectively consider any legal or policy questions arising from this matter.”

What tonight’s vote actually decides

Tonight’s meeting does not elect a party chair. That vote is required by party rules to be held between September 17 and October 6, at an organizational meeting Bichotte Hermelyn has not yet scheduled. What tonight decides is whether the outgoing 42-member executive committee will, before the newly elected 22-member reform bloc takes its seats this fall, expand its own body to more than 68 voting members — a body that would then vote on the next chair.

What’s at stake for East New York

The Kings County Democratic Party’s endorsement shapes the field of judges elected to Brooklyn Supreme Court, Civil Court, and Surrogate’s Court — the same courts that hear the deed-theft, foreclosure, housing, and family cases that reach East New York, Brownsville, and Canarsie residents. Nurse’s argument, echoed by other reformers, is that a more transparent and democratic executive committee would produce a more accountable judicial-endorsement process. Bichotte Hermelyn’s position, echoed by her allies, is that expansion of the executive committee broadens participation rather than narrows it.

Which of those framings holds up will be tested first tonight at 6 p.m. in Mill Basin, and again this fall at an organizational meeting whose date has yet to be set.

The East New York Times sought comment from multiple Brooklyn elected officials whose districts include East New York, Brownsville, or Canarsie. Council Member Sandy Nurse spoke by phone. District Leader Julio Peña III answered questions at the rally. Assembly Member Latrice Walker provided a written statement declining to take a public position. State Sen. Roxanne Persaud’s office declined to comment. Other offices had not responded on the record as of press time.