Scandal and federal investigations among prominent Black Democratic leadership in Brooklyn erupted last week, casting real concern about the state of the county’s party. But district leaders, who are all up for reelection this year, seem determined to push on.
So far federal prosecutors are circling Councilmember Farah Louis; her sister, Debbie Louis, who is Governor Kathy Hochul’s Assistant Secretary of New York City Intergovernmental Affairs; and lobbyist Edu Hermelyn, who is the husband of Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair and Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn as well as a former senior advisor in the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS) under former Mayor Eric Adams.
The elected officials are not specifically named in the indictment and arrest of four men in March in connection with the bribery scheme to funnel millions in city contracts into a migrant shelter provider and steal $1.3 million from the organization, according to The Associated Press, but their phones were seized. As a result, Debbie Louis was placed on leave from the governor’s office, and Hermelyn resigned from his position at Mercury PR Firm. The Amsterdam News reached out to Bichotte Hermelyn’s office, but officials declined to comment.
Anthony Beckford, the District Leader for the 43rd Assembly District and Male State Committee Member, has always been outspoken about the need for change and transparency. He just completed petitioning to get his name on the ballot and is gearing up for the June primary. In the past, Beckford has aggressively run against Louis for her city council seat in District 45 and lost in 2021, 2019, and 2017. He also ran against Bichotte Hermelyn in the 42nd Assembly District and lost in 2018.
Beckford said, regardless of what happens at the top, “the party is the district leaders” and is adamant in his support of Black leadership. He serves in an unpaid, volunteer party position that serves the community by staffing polling sites, conducting voter outreach, and shaping local policies. Perhaps most importantly, district leaders can select candidates for judgeships and vote for the party chair.
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 the first Haitian-American woman to hold elected office in the city back in 2014, and has been a district leader since 2010. She’s been described as a “micromanager” or “demanding” by her staff, but she’s said in the past that if she were a man, she’d simply have a strong work ethic.
Political consultants said that despite her talent for fundraising, she has always been a controversial figure because she is a complete departure from previous “white male party bosses.” One pointed out that her predecessor, lawyer Frank Seddio, is caught up in the courts over a lawsuit for $2 million dollars in missing escrow money that isn’t getting nearly as much coverage as the downfall of Bichotte Hermelyn’s reign as chair.
“If it’s about the community, then the scandal should be no impact,” said Mike Boomer, a longtime Male District Leader for the 57th Assembly District, about the ongoing investigation. “I vote for the person I believe can do the job.”
Beckford added that there’s a wave of “progressive” factions, like the New Kings Dems, that will likely capitalize on the current scandal to sway district leaders from voting Bichotte Hermelyn in as party chair again this August.
“I think the morale of district leaders and our party [has] been low for some time. These allegations are just the newest iteration and our party leadership has shown a pattern of behavior that [has] no place in our Democratic Party,” said Julio Peña III, Democratic District Leader for the 51st Assembly District in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Should Bichotte Hermelyn not get enough votes (at least 23 district leaders), Peña is rumored to be the next promising candidate to replace her. “I haven’t made a decision on if I’d run for party leader but my hope is that regardless of the June outcome, District Leaders will be on record about the future of our party; whether that’s with the current leadership or someone with fresh ideas and a vision for our borough,” said Peña in a statement.
Meanwhile, Louis is under scrutiny over an alleged feud between her office and former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is now Hochul’s running mate in this year’s governor’s race.
Louis is of Haitian descent and has always been a close colleague of Bichotte Hermelyn. Shortly after Adams was announced as the Lieutenant Governor, when the position was reportedly promised to a Brooklyn pick, Louis filed a $10 million lawsuit against Adams and two members of her staff, alleging, among other things, that she’s been yelled at, retaliated against, and discriminated against as a Haitian woman while Adams was in her role as Speaker.
“This is a baseless lawsuit by an elected official seeking to take away $10 million dollars from the City and services New Yorkers depend on,” said Mandela Jones, Adams’ former council spokesperson. “Former Speaker Adams is proud of her proven track record as a leader and her work to expand housing affordability, invest in early childhood education, and fight back against hate crimes while serving on the New York City Council.”
Louis was reportedly referred to the council’s internal ethics committee. Amsterdam News reached out to her office, but they declined to comment.