Kings County Democratic Committee – Time To Engage With Your Members! OPINION

By Yaneth Lombana, LMSW, Trauma therapist and County Committee Member 56 AD 91 ED

CROWN HEIGHTS – One of the nation’s largest Democratic county organizations, the Kings County Committee, is located in Brooklyn and has the power to influence judgeships and the potential to politically engage neighborhoods. As a trauma therapist, I work with clients who are greatly impacted by the judicial system’s lack of understanding of their realities. Selecting judges that best represent communities would be a great step towards rectifying the current imbalance and move towards true representation and justice.

As a human rights-minded individual who lives and works in Brooklyn, I’m happy that there is an opportunity for everyday citizens to get involved in the decision-making process for selecting local judicial candidates. I’ve served one two-year term — and, as of last month, am beginning my second — as a County Committee member for the 56th Assembly District’s 91st Election District, which is in Crown Heights, a neighborhood historically made up predominantly of people of color. Yet, during my first two years, the Kings County Democratic Party’s attempt to engage me never went beyond a notification via mail of the twice-yearly County Committee meeting — a paltry call for participation that signaled they hoped for just the opposite.

The Party never contacted me to help me capitalize upon the potential of my position, strategize on how to increase voter engagement, or mobilize my community to support candidates running for office; all of these tasks would be possible because County Committee members like me represent a radius of just about three blocks. Engaging my community could increase awareness not only about candidates for judgeships but also, about special elections and ballot initiatives.

Given the possibilities for the County Committee role, the Party’s lack of engagement is simply baffling to me, especially because even though I’ve lived in this country for over 30 years, the decision to run for anything had felt incredibly scary for me as a woman and an immigrant.

Days before last week’s County Committee meeting, I received a phone call and a visit to my home from the Kings County Democratic Party inquiring about my attendance and wondering if I would sign over my proxy to its Executive Committee Chair, Frank Seddio, in case I didn’t attend.

These canvassers provided no explanation that at this meeting some districts would be able to nominate judicial candidates, County Committee members would be voting for the new Executive Committee that would lead us during our two-year term, and that District Leaders would be voting for Party and Executive Committee Chairs. Historically, County Committee’s nearly five thousand available County Committee seats have gone unfilled and many seats that are filled have been assigned to people that aren’t aware they were assigned to the role of County Committee Member.

Capitalizing on the status quo, County Committee leadership has used this proxy system to allow them to make decisions that County Committee members should be making. However, this year, thanks to the #RepYourBlock campaign, an effort led by New Kings Democrats and other reform-minded groups, a historic number of people ran for County Committee, giving communities an opportunity to finally be included.

In spite of #RepYourBlock’s effort to get hundreds of everyday citizens to run for office, the Chair’s control of proxies overrode the room full of elected officials who, like myself, were present and had spent time engaging their neighbors and gaining their support in order to run.

I watched the Party elect a slate of leaders those in attendance did not vote for, I watched as newly elected members were asked to vote for judges without receiving information about them, and I watched as the same Chair kept power to continue exerting his influence on which judges preside over our communities. I watched and felt the all too familiar disenfranchisement and pain felt by my clients and closed ones, survivors of trauma, have felt when they engage in a system that does not hear them or understand their needs.

As a trauma therapist, I bear witness to pain and injustice as well as to resilience and transformation. As a Kings County Democratic Committee member, I hope to help the Party transform — that is, if its leaders are willing to finally meaningfully engage me.

Bklyner welcomes opinion pieces and letters to the editor on any topic and across the political spectrum, and will consider for publication, as long as they are timely and of concern to Brooklyn residents. Please email submissions to Liena@bklyner.com. Opinions expressed are those of the writer.