A faction of the Brooklyn Democratic Party met late Sunday night to elect a new leader, but the validity of that meeting is already being challenged in court.
Allies of the former chairwoman, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, called a virtual meeting for the party for 10 p.m. Sunday night, despite a judge determining last week the party could not move forward with a leadership meeting to elect a new chair.
At that meeting, that faction elected what it said was its new chair — Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas. Lucas did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did representatives from the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
This is the second attempt that allies of Bichotte Hermelyn have made to replace leadership of the party after an appellate court invalidated rules to expand the party’s leadership. Hermelyn decided to not seek another term as the head of the party following an intense legal and political battle over that party’s leadership. Much of this is playing out in court, and it’s unclear who is at the helm of the Brooklyn Democratic Party currently.
So-called reformers within the party have said Sunday’s meeting and leadership vote is illegitimate. The voting members have been invalidated by an appellate court decision, and a lower court approved a temporary restringing order last week to prevent any vote from moving forward.
Those reformers, and their lawyer Mark Hanna, have already filed a proposed contempt motion in court.
Source: ny1.com
