As ostensibly-deep-blue Brooklyn still reels from a November red wave that flipped three Southern Brooklyn State Assembly seats to the GOP and led to the closest gubernatorial election in a generation, Democratic leaders could learn a thing or two from their counterparts in the Midwest and elsewhere.
One key lesson: to remain viable, the Brooklyn Democratic Party must invest in Gen-Z and Millennial voters and organizers.
With the county party largely inactive, the New York State Democratic Party and local political clubs are attempting to pick up the slack.
The state Democratic Party has committed $100,000 in the last week alone to getting out the vote in Brooklyn, state party chair Jay Jacobs told New York Focus on Tuesday. That money will pay for canvassers, printed campaign materials, and radio ads in multiple languages in support of Governor Hochul, other statewide elected Democrats, and local state Senate and Assembly candidates, according to a campaign memo reviewed by New York Focus.
And local political clubs such as the Bay Ridge Democrats, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, and Lambda Independent Democrats are also running multiple volunteer canvasses a week, electeds and club leaders told New York Focus.
“Some of the clubs have been going out there every single weekend since September,” said Hunter Rabinowitz, president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats, which he said has been canvassing and leafleting for Hochul, Rose, state Senate candidate Iwen Chu, and Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus.
Rabinowitz said he hasn’t heard anything from the county party. And although Brooklyn Young Democrats has clashed with county party leadership in the past, Rabinowitz said that he would welcome a chance to collaborate with them.
“We would absolutely be willing to work together,” he said. “Despite all of our differences with the county party, right now we should have the same priority, which is making sure that Democrats are able to win.”
Voters got a chance Monday to talk with the candidates running for the open seat in New York's 10th Congressional District, which covers Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Young Democrats hosted the meet and greet, inviting candidates running in what many consider one of the most competitive races in the August primary election.
Six of the 12 Democratic candidates on the ballot spoke to voters to let them know more about them.
Many residents in the crowd came prepared with tough questions, asking about topics from climate change to student loan forgiveness.
Candidates took their turns to make their case on why they should be voted for. They also laid out their plans for if they are elected.
Early voting runs through Sunday. Primary election day is on Aug. 23.
The local ties could be a deciding factor in the race, especially as candidates look to draw a contrast with Jones, who is not from the district. Voters still care about candidates’ roots, some observers said.
“It’s certainly a factor when people go to vote,” said Hunter Rabinowitz, the president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats, whose group has not yet endorsed a candidate. “People love people that come from the community. It’s a huge, huge thing in New York.”
“This is going to be a really exciting race,” said Hunter Rabinowitz, Brooklyn Young Democrats president. “The way that Manhattan and Brooklyn are split this time around are really important and really interesting. A large majority is in the 52nd Assembly District, which is the highest turnout voting district in all of New York state, and that is a really significant fact about the way this race is going to shape up.
“Obviously you have Bill de Blasio who appears to be the only official Brooklyn candidate to announce and you have Yuh-Line Niou, who is the only official Manhattan candidate to announce. So I think what you're really going to see is a play out between Brooklyn and Manhattan candidates.
“When push comes to shove, Mondaire Jones obviously has a lot of money in his bank, and it's going to help him, but I think what you're seeing here is a matter of disconnect between party politics and actual, on-the-ground politics here. What I mean by that is, obviously a lot of this has come from Sean Patrick Maloney announcing he is going to continue to run in what is now Mondaire Jones' district. Given his status in the larger Democratic Party, it's clear that this is a shift that was done, whether officially or unofficially, by larger party politics. As much as I understand that plan, I do think that Mondaire Jones has been quite a great legislator. He definitely has a lot of money, but he's also not even from New York City.
“There are still more players to come out here, but I do think that you’re going to see how strong party politics is compared to community politics in this race.”
(Image: Westley Bayas)
“While it’s tough to prioritize any one issue in trying to move forward, Mays-Williams does place the concerns of parents, small business owners and small landlords in the foreground of her campaign. Food insecurity and gun violence prevention are also big parts of her platform.
She’s already met the 1,000-signature requirement for securing a spot on the ballot in New York’s June 28 Democratic primary — tripled that, in fact, to guard against potential challenges to her candidacy. She’ll be going up against combative incumbent Kevin Parker, who has held the seat since 2002, and David Alexis, a business owner endorsed by the New York City Democratic Socialists, among other organizations.
Mays-Williams has scored numerous endorsements of her own, including ones from Run for Something, Brooklyn Young Democrats and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Still, she views herself as something of an underdog in this race, especially considering Parker’s long-time occupation of the role.”
(Image: AP Photo/Michael Perez)
“Harris’ path to the vice presidency is even more pronounced for Christina Das. As the president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats, she’s the first South Asian woman to hold the position. She also recently graduated from law school and wants to pursue a path in public service like Harris.
“‘Indian American women in politics—we're forging a new path,’ she said. ‘And [Harris] is at the forefront of that. We're underrepresented voices in government and especially in political activism so it's that much more powerful that she is now one of the two positions of leadership in this country.’
“As Harris’ victory started to become more certain on Friday, Das felt a flood of emotions.
“‘I'm proud, emotional—all these feelings are circulating right now,’ she said. ‘Kamala talks about her mom a lot so it makes me think about my parents and their experience and how being an immigrant really shapes why we're involved in politics and activism. And that's really sentimental for me [thinking about] the family members and others that have sacrificed for you.”’
(Image: @em4assembly)
“‘New Kings Democrats, Brooklyn Young Democrats and, actually…Our Progressive Future, they were so helpful, and I think it’s because they are also activists,’ Gallagher said. ‘All of them saw me and knew me and wanted to be a part of it. They really stuck their neck out for me. In many of the meetings that I went into, they would say, ‘Who’s supporting you?’ and that was what I had to name. I didn’t have a [elected] politician I could name, even though I fought full out, everybody was a little uncomfortable with what I was doing.’”