Manhattan Democratic Party

In order to select a Democratic Nominee for the Special Election to be held in February 2026, the 74th Assembly District Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 in the East Village. Despite the cold and rain, members packed the hall of The Sirovich Center with a 77% turnout rate.

The Manhattan Democratic Party is proud to support the selection by the 74th Assembly District Committee of Keith Powers as their Democratic Nominee for the New York State Assembly. After one round of voting by the 168 County Committee Members present, Councilman Keith Powers achieved 61% of the vote. We congratulate State Assembly Democratic Nominee Keith Powers and thank each County Committee Member, District Leader, member of the public who engaged in this process, and especially the nominated candidates — honorable public servants from their community who included: Sarah Batchu, District Leader Marquis Jenkins, and Kevin O’Keefe.

The Manhattan Democratic Party is deeply saddened by the passing of Charles Bayor, a committed public servant whose presence in Chelsea and in our Democratic community was felt for decades.

Charles brought principle and purpose to everything he touched. As a District Leader and longtime member of the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, he helped anchor one of Manhattan’s most civically engaged neighborhoods. He believed in a Democratic Party that listens, organizes, and delivers for everyday New Yorkers– and he showed up consistently to make that vision real.

A lifelong educator and member of the United Federation of Teachers, Charles dedicated his career to New York City’s public school students. He understood that strong communities begin in strong classrooms, and he never wavered in his advocacy for fairness, access, and opportunity.

Charles was also a steadfast voice for LGBTQ rights and equality. Through his involvement with Stonewall Democratic Club and other advocacy spaces, he worked to advance protections and dignity for LGBTQ New Yorkers long before those fights were politically easy. His leadership helped move our city toward greater inclusion and understanding.

Those who knew Charles remember not just his activism, but his kindness– his steady presence, his loyalty, and his belief that civic life is, at its core, about caring for one another.

On behalf of the Manhattan Democratic Party, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Charles’ family, friends, and the many colleagues and neighbors who will feel this loss. His contributions will continue to shape our borough, and his commitment to justice and community will remain part of our shared legacy.

Keith L.T. Wright
County Leader, Manhattan Democratic Party

As per the resignation of Harvey Epstein, a vacancy exists in the office of the Member of the Assembly of the State of New York from the seventy-fourth Assembly District in New York County.

In order to select a Democratic Nominee for the Special Election to be held in February 2026, the Manhattan Democratic Party will hold a nominating meeting of the 74th Assembly District Committee on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 7:00pm. All interested candidates are invited to participate.

For additional details: https://manhattandemocrats.org/ad74-2025/
Contact: manhattandems@gmail.com

“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