Manhattan Democratic Party

“Every New Yorker should be deeply disturbed by President Donald Trump’s strong-arming of the Justice Department to attack our New York Attorney General Letitia James on trumped-up charges,” said County Leader Keith L.T. Wright. “Tish James has served the people of New York with integrity, professionalism, and courage. Her office’s work confronting corporate fraud, defending tenants and consumers, and holding powerful actors accountable, embodies the equal-justice principles that define our state. Attacks on her are attacks on those principles. They are designed to intimidate public servants who dare to enforce the law without fear or favor. The firing of US Attorneys who concluded that there was no case to be brought is a direct assault on our nation’s rule of law. The Manhattan Democratic Party stands behind Tish now and in defense of our country’s strong norms of prosecutorial independence, and we urge all Americans, regardless of party, to oppose Trump’s authoritarian attempts to persecute his opponents.”

On Monday, September 29th, the Manhattan Democratic Party held the 2025 County Committee Organizing Meeting in order to elect the Officers of the New York County Committee, fill County Committee vacancies, and advance important changes to Party Rules.

The meeting, which took place at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, opened with remarks by members of the Manhattan Young Democrats, Councilman Yusef Salaam, County Leader Keith L.T. Wright, and several elected officials from across the borough, including Senator Robert Jackson, Assemblymembers Linda Rosenthal, Alex Bores, Tony Simone, and Jordan J.G. Wright, and Councilmembers Christopher Marte and Erik Bottcher.

After a series of nominations and votes, the duly-elected and appointed Members of the New York County Committee voted to fill hundreds of vacancies across the borough, and elected the following individuals to serve on County Committee leadership:

• Chair of the County Committee | Kyle H. Ishmael
• 1st Vice Chair | Mariama James
• 2nd Vice Chair | John Wahlmeier
• 3rd Vice Chair | Johanna Garcia
• Secretary | Barry Weinberg
• Treasurer | Charlette Mimiasie
• Vice Treasurer | Paula Diamond Román
• Sergeant-at-Arms | Councilwoman Diana Ayala

“It’s the responsibility of this County Committee to bring the grassroots Democratic members of this borough together — to empower our communities, organize in our communities, and to make sure that we’re spreading the message of the Democratic Party throughout Manhattan,” said newly elected Chairman Kyle H. Ishmael. “It’s a really exciting time but it’s a really troubling time, and I think we have a great opportunity to set a good example for Democrats around the country of what it looks like to organize, what it looks like to protect our blue seawall here in Manhattan, and what it means to be a good Democratic friend to districts around the city, around the state, and around the country who could really use our help. And with your support, that’s what I look forward to doing as Chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party.”

On the evening of Tuesday, September 16, 2025, the duly elected District Leaders of the Manhattan Democratic Party (otherwise known as the Executive Committee of the New York County Democratic Committee) gathered to be sworn-in and elect officers for the 2025-2027 term.

Upon motions from the floor, Keith L.T. Wright (70th AD), Paul Devlin (75th AD), and Mariama James (65th AD) were elected to serve as County Leader, Executive Committee Chair, and Executive Committee Vice-Chair respectively.

On Monday, August 11th, the Democratic Judicial Delegates of the 1st Judicial District convened for the Manhattan Democratic Party’s 2025 Supreme Court Judicial Convention.

Greeted by County Leader Keith L.T. Wright, with remarks by Assemblymember Alex Bores, Democrats and guests convened at SVA Theatre to consider the large, diverse group of highly-qualified candidates who have been reported out of independent judicial screening panels. After several rounds of voting, the following candidates were selected as the Democratic Nominees for Supreme Court in the 1st Judicial District for the election to be held on November 4, 2025:

Hon. Deborah Kaplan (Incumbent)
Hon. Judy Kim
Hon. Suzanne Adams
Hon. Jim Clynes

On July 24, 2025, the Independent Screening Panel concluded its Supreme Court deliberations by reporting out as most highly qualified the following candidates:

Hon. Betty Lugo-Martinez
Hon. Emily Morales-Minerva
Hon. John Wang
Hon. L. Austin D’Souza
Hon. Seth Steed
Hon. E. Deronn Bowen
Hon. Eric Schumacher
Hon. Kathleen Waterman-Marshall
Hon. Richard Tsai
Hon. Deborah Kaplan (Incumbent)

The Judiciary Committee of the Manhattan Democratic Party has approved the report of the screening panel, administered by Hon. Rolando Acosta, which extensively reviewed the background and experience of a number of applicants and determined these well-deserved candidates would be most qualified to vie for Supreme Courts to be filled at the general election set for November 4, 2025.

On behalf of the Manhattan Democratic Party, County Leader Keith L.T. Wright and Judiciary Co-Chairs Curtis Arluck and Rebecca Weintraub, we sincerely thank the panel and its administrator for their diligent work and congratulate the applicants who join the following candidates reported out of previous panels:

Hon. Suzanne Adams
Hon. Shahabuddeen Ally
Hon. Christopher Chin
Hon. Jim Clynes
Hon. Ashlee Crawford
Hon. Judy Kim
Hon. Hasa Kingo
Hon. Ilana Marcus

On behalf of the Manhattan Democratic Party, County Leader Keith L.T. Wright and Judiciary Co-Chairs Curtis Arluck and Rebecca Weintraub, we sincerely thank the 2025 Independent Judicial Screening Panel and its administrator for their diligent work, and we congratulate all the applicants. As per the report of the 2025 Independent Screening Panel, the following candidates have been identified as most highly qualified:

Civil Court
Onya U. Brinson
Keshia J. Espinal
Colleen K. Faherty
Jennifer Marie Frankola-Crawford
Vlad Frants
Eric J. Wursthorn

Upon a vote of the Executive Committee on Monday, July 7, 2025, the Manhattan Democratic Party elected to endorse Democratic Nominees in the upcoming 2025 General Election. County Leader Keith L.T. Wright issued the following statement.

“Tonight, the Manhattan Democratic Party’s Executive Committee was proud to endorse Assemblyman Zohran K. Mamdani for Mayor. While Democratic Clubs across our borough made their own endorsements for the June Primary, we are excited to come together as one party and support Assemblyman Mamdani’s vision for a Manhattan and a New York City that are affordable for those who keep our city running every day. We look forward to working closely to maintain the dramatic increase in voter engagement and turnout we saw this June and grow it for the November General Election.

In keeping with Party unity, we were also proud to endorse our other Democratic Nominees for citywide races. We offer congratulations and look forward to continuing to work with Jumaane Williams as Public Advocate, Mark Levine as Comptroller, Brad Hoylman-Sigal as Borough President, and Alvin Bragg as District Attorney.”
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The New York County Democratic Committee previously announced the formation of an Independent Judicial Screening Panel. As an update, the screening panel for 2025, administered by Hon. Rolando Acosta, Esq., consists of:

David Mou | Asian American Bar Association of New York
Tiffany Miao | Asian American Bar Association of New York
Rob Rickner | Brehon Law Society
Molly Senack | Center for Independence for the Disabled
Ralph E. Preite | Columbian Lawyers Association
Jeanette Cepeda | Dominican Bar Association
Jason Zakai | Jewish Lawyers Guild
Christina Nguyen | Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
Dante Bellardita-Fernandez | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL)
Reginald Greene | Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Donnell Bolden | Mid Manhattan Branch of the NAACP
Marijo Adimey | New York State Trial Lawyers Association
Marcia Maxwell | New York Urban League
Dawn M. Cardi | New York Women’s Bar Association
Molly Mangus | Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
Erika Calderon | Puerto Rican Bar Association
Urvashi Sinha | South Asian Bar Association of New York
Oksana Pelekh | Ukrainian American Bar Association
Rikki L. Davidoff | Women’s Trial Lawyers Caucus