{"id":318,"date":"2026-06-24T22:43:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T22:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318"},"modified":"2026-06-24T22:43:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T22:43:30","slug":"reformers-clinch-a-majority-of-brooklyn-dl-seats-threatening-rodneyse-bichotte-hermelyns-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318","title":{"rendered":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Things aren\u2019t looking good for Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s reign over the Brooklyn Democratic Party machine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Hochul has her strategy, and she\u2019s sticking to it after primary day<\/a><\/p>\n

Nearly two dozen candidates backed by the Brooklyn Can\u2019t Wait coalition \u2013 a group spearheaded by progressive reform club New Kings Democrats \u2013 won district leader races in the borough Tuesday night, giving reformers the majority of seats on the county party\u2019s 42-member executive committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The night was rife with seismic upsets. Eight of the nine reform-aligned candidates running in contested races successfully unseated old guard incumbents. In addition to the coalition\u2019s 14 returning district leaders who ran uncontested, that\u2019s likely enough to wrest control of Brooklyn\u2019s political machine from Bichotte Hermelyn \u2013 if reformers are able to consolidate around a candidate during the county leader election this September.<\/p>\n

The New King Democrats have been attempting to gain influence in the party for years, but progress had been slow. Power struggles between reformers and Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s county-aligned allies for thankless, unpaid district leader roles have been savage. This cycle was no exception. A handful of candidates sought to get their challengers knocked from the ballot. Still, Bichotte Hermelyn was contemplative while speaking with City & State about the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cChange is hard for many \u2013 even when it\u2019s your own party,\u201d Bichotte Hermelyn said. \u201cI believe that you embrace the winners, even those you were not with, and you move forward with change. I think yesterday\u2019s results, all of these unprecedented victories, says that progress requires both reflection and renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bichotte Hermelyn, who has led the party for six years, didn\u2019t commit to running for reelection. She said that decision depends on the committee members \u2013 and that she looks forward to working with everyone who won in the weeks to come. \u201cMy priority is to be supportive of our members and to continue to build a team, a party, whether I\u2019m county leader or not,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her hands will likely be full in the months to come. She said one of her biggest priorities is to help flip several Republican-held Southern Brooklyn seats this November. Of course, one of reformers\u2019 arguments against her is that she has said the same thing in the past, while doing far too little to keep all of Brooklyn blue.<\/p>\n

Read more Who is Frank Carone, the former Eric Adams official who allegedly accepted $120K in bribes?<\/a><\/p>\n

Insurgent challengers triumphing over establishment Democrats was the theme of last night\u2019s primaries across the city \u2013 a colossal reckoning of the political power showcased by the left. All three congressional candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani notched decisive victories against powerful opponents, ousting one of Congress\u2019s wealthiest members and the chair of Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The slate of candidates for state legislative seats endorsed by the mayor and the Democratic Socialists of America also triumphed.<\/p>\n

The parallels between these higher profile races and the district leader contests in Brooklyn aren\u2019t an exact parallel. New Kings Democrats is not DSA. Only some of the candidates endorsed by the Brooklyn Can\u2019t Wait coalition also scored endorsements from DSA. And one of the candidates who lost his congressional race last night, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, actually founded New Kings Democrats two decades ago. In that particular race, Bichotte Hermelyn said she\u2019s more aligned with its victor, democratic socialist Claire Valdez \u2013 her colleague in the state assembly \u2013 than she is Reynoso.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Kings Democrats President Tony Melone was thrilled by how well the coalition\u2019s candidates performed. Going in, he\u2019d said the group needed to unseat eight establishment incumbents \u2013 a feat they\u2019d ultimately accomplished with races across the borough.<\/p>\n

New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, co-chair of the legislative body\u2019s progressive caucus, and community organizer Alan Gamboa were among the winners, easily capturing their district leader races in Bushwick and Cypress Hills. As did deed theft advocates Carmella Charrington and Omar Hardy in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. The two political newcomers successfully unseated the county-aligned Kenesha Traynham-Cooper and Brooklyn Dems Executive Committee Vice Chair Henry Butler, who many had seen as a potential compromise candidate for party chair. Former state committee member Akel Williams unseated Anthony Beckford in Central Brooklyn. And the lone insurgent candidate who\u2019d lost, Stanley Scutt, did so against one of the party\u2019s most powerful members: former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Frank Seddio in Southern Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The dust is still settling \u2013 it\u2019s unclear which reformer will emerge to challenge Bichotte Hermelyn should she run again. Melone said many important meetings between coalition members loom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly don\u2019t want to get ahead of them and we don\u2019t want to rush the process,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems important that the coalition have some real conversations and really talk about what this party should look like and how we can make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Cait Conley wins NY-17 primary to take on Lawler<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New Kings Democrats\u2019 long political project may finally be over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city"],"yoast_head":"\nReformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New Kings Democrats\u2019 long political project may finally be over.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"headline\":\"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318\"},\"wordCount\":849,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"New York City\"],\"articleSection\":[\"New York City\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318\",\"name\":\"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=318#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Business Relocation Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest","og_description":"The New Kings Democrats\u2019 long political project may finally be over.","og_url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318","og_site_name":"Business Relocation Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"headline":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power","datePublished":"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318"},"wordCount":849,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg","keywords":["New York City"],"articleSection":["New York City"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318","name":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power - Business Relocation Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-24T22:43:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c3968154d5af43f60cca1a3e2a763141.jpg","width":400,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=318#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reformers clinch a majority of Brooklyn DL seats, threatening Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s power"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/","name":"Business Relocation Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}