Manhattan Democratic Party

On behalf of the Manhattan Democratic Party, County Leader Keith L.T. Wright and Judiciary Co-Chairs Curtis Arluck and Louise Dankberg, we sincerely thank the 2023 Civil Court Independent Judicial Screening Panel and its administrator for their diligent work, and we congratulate all the candidates. On the evening of February 1, 2023, the panel reported the following candidates as most highly qualified:

Civil Court
Andrea Krugman
Lauren Esposito
Ralph Wolf
Anna Mikhaleva
Mark Shawhan
Matthew Lombardi
George Santana
Brian Krist
Harold Bahr
Denise Dominguez
Yael Wilkofsky
Dana Catanzaro

The New York County Democratic Committee, having previously announced the formation of an Independent Screening Panel to report on the qualifications of candidates seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party for one (1) countywide vacancy and up to three (3) Municipal Court District seats, is proud to announce that the screening panel for Civil Court 2023, administered by Attorney William Pagan, consists of:

Eric Wrubel | American Academy of Matrimonial Law
Levon Golendukhin | Armenian Bar Association
Christopher Leung | Asian American Bar Association of New York
Uel Rheem | Asian Americans for Equality
Sean Kerley | Brehon Law Society
Gianni Tribuzio | Columbian Lawyers Association
Melissa Ryan Reitberg | Jewish Lawyers Guild
Michael Lynch | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL)
Phillip Hamilton | Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Florence Hutner | New York Law School
Vivian Rivera Drohan | New York Women’s Bar Association
Richard Freire | Puerto Rican Bar Association

Tonight, the Executive Committee of the Manhattan Democratic Party voted to designate retiring Judge Carol Edmead as our nominee to the Board of Elections Commissionership.

“Judge Edmead is one of us”, said County Leader Keith L.T. Wright. A former Democratic Club President, Surrogate Court Judge and Supreme Court Justice, her experience — particularly as an election law judge — will serve our County well at the Board of Elections as we continue to strengthen voting rights and ballot access all across New York.

We respect Justice LaSalle’s service to the public, and admire the Governor’s thoughtful approach to this appointment. We understand how, earlier in this process, many of our state’s leaders would find his candidacy compelling. In recent days, a closer examination of Justice LaSalle’s record has caused our party to believe that another jurist would be better suited to lead our state’s highest court. Further, Justice LaSalle brings a prosecutorial background to the bench, of which the Court already has adequate representation. We respectfully request that the Governor withdraw the nomination and put forward a new nominee whose record better shows a commitment to the Governor’s vision for an equitable and just New York.

The New York County Democratic Committee has announced the formation of an Independent Screening Panel to report on the qualifications of candidates seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party for one (1) countywide vacancy and up to three (3) Municipal Court District seats. The heads of numerous bar associations, community organizations and law schools have been invited to nominate members of the panel, which will be directed to report a total of no more than the three (3) most highly qualified candidates for the one countywide vacancy and each of the remaining vacancies.

Candidates for the Court may obtain applications from Mr. Kyle Ishmael, the Executive Director of the New York County Democratic Committee, via email at manhattandems@gmail.com. The deadline for submitting completed applications is January 4, 2023 at 5pm. Questions concerning this year’s panel should be directed to Mr. Ishmael via email.

On Thursday, September 29th, the Manhattan Democratic Party held the 2022 County Committee Organizing Meeting in order to elect County Committee leadership, fill County Committee vacancies, and advance rule changes to strengthen our party and better align us with our progressive values.

“As the County Committee of the Manhattan Democratic Party, you all are the eyes and ears across the borough. You know the issues that are most important to the diverse communities you represent; and, as such, you are closer to the solutions,” said County Leader Keith L.T. Wright. “Our party is stronger for your engagement — and in case no one else does, allow me to Thank You immensely for your service to the Party, our County, and the great State of New York.”

The meeting, which took place at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, opened with remarks by County Leader Keith L.T. Wright, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, and announcements by District Leaders Kim Moscaritolo and Jennifer Hoppe about ways Democrats across the borough can get engaged in this year’s critical elections.

After a series of nominations and votes, the duly-elected and appointed Members of the 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 | Domenico Minerva
• 1st Vice Chair of the County Committee | Kyle Ishmael
• 2nd Vice Chair of the County Committee | Louise Dankberg
• 3rd Vice Chair of the County Committee | Kelmy Rodriguez
• Secretary of the County Committee | Barry Weinberg
• Treasurer of the County Committee | Charlette Mimiasie
• Vice Treasurer of the County Committee | Sharase DeBouse
• Sergeant-at-Arms of the County Committee | Senator Robert Jackson
• Parliamentarian of the County Committee | Darren Marks

Additionally, in light of the Gender Inclusive Ballot Act recently signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, the County Committee voted to establish rules that allow for individuals who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to serve as District Leaders. At a time when Republicans in New York and across the nation are seeking to roll back LGBTQ rights, the Manhattan Democrats are proud to lead the effort to increase rights and protections for all Democrats in Manhattan, and encourage democratic engagement that does not intentionally or effectively disenfranchise any residents. On behalf of County Leader Keith L.T. Wright, Chairman Domenico Minerva, and the entire Manhattan Democratic Party, we are thankful for the hard work of the Rules Committee and the leaders who brought this law and rule-change to fruition:

• Kyle Ishmael | Executive Director, Manhattan Democratic Party
• Chung Seto | Rules Committee Chair, Manhattan Democratic Party
• David Siffert | Legislative Affairs Committee Chair, Village Independent Democrats
• Emilia Decaudin | State Committee Member, 37th Assembly District
• Senator Zellnor Myrie | Senate Bill Sponsor, 20th Senate District
• Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas | Assembly Bill Sponsor, 34th Assembly District
• Paula Diamond Román | Democratic District Leader, 69th Assembly District
• Arthur Schwartz | Democratic District Leader, 66th Assembly District
• John Blasco | Former Democratic District Leader, 74th Assembly District
• Marti Cummings | Political Activist & Advocate
• Zachariah Boyer | Brooklyn, NY
• Carlyn Cowen | Manhattan, NY
• Alana Sivin | Manhattan, NY

In order to select a Democratic Nominee for the General Election to be held on November 8, 2022, the 3rd Municipal Court District Committee held a meeting on Thursday, August 18, 2022 in Chelsea.

The Manhattan Democratic Party is proud to support the selection by the 3rd Municipal Court District Committee of L. Austin D’Souza as their Democratic Nominee for Civil Court. In a strong show of support, the quorum of County Committee Members called for a voice vote and unanimously nominated D’Souza. We congratulate Civil Court Democratic Nominee L. Austin D’Souza and thank each County Committee Member, District Leader, and member of the public who engaged in the meeting.

As per the declination of Democratic Civil Court Nominee Lisa Sokoloff due to her acceptance of a Supreme Court nomination, a vacancy exists in the office of Civil Court Judge of the State of New York from the 3rd Municipal Court District in New York County.

In order to select a Democratic Nominee for the General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the Manhattan Democratic Party will hold a nominating meeting of the 3rd Municipal Court District Committee on Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 6:15pm. All interested candidates are invited to participate.

For additional details: https://manhattandemocrats.org/mcd3-2022/
Contact: manhattandems@gmail.com

On Tuesday, August 9th, the recently-elected Democratic Judicial Delegates of the 1st Judicial District convened for the Manhattan Democratic Party’s 2022 Supreme Court Judicial Convention.

Over 300 Democrats and guests gathered at the beautiful Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to consider the large, diverse group of highly-qualified candidates who have been reported out of independent judicial screening panels. After all voices were heard in a show of transparent democracy, the following candidates were selected as the 2022 Democratic Nominees for the 1st Judicial District election to be held on November 8th:

Hon. Sabrina Kraus
Hon. Dakota Ramseur
Hon. Lisa Sokoloff

On July 18, 2022, the Supreme Court Independent Screening Panel concluded its deliberations by reporting out as most highly qualified the following candidates:

Hon. Shahabuddeen Ally
Hon. Jim Clynes
Hon. Denise Dominguez
Hon. Gerald Lebovits
Hon. Ilana Marcus
Hon. Phaedra Perry
Hon. Lisa Sokoloff
Hon. Leslie Stroth
Hon. John Wang

The screening panel, administered by Michael Weiner, extensively reviewed the background and experience of a number of applicants and determined these well-deserved candidates would be most qualified to vie for three (3) open positions on the Supreme Court, to be filled at the general election set for November 8, 2022.

On behalf of the Manhattan Democratic Party, County Leader Keith L.T. Wright and Judiciary Co-Chairs Curtis Arluck and Louise Dankberg, we sincerely thank the panel and its administrator for their diligent work and congratulate tonight’s applicants who join the following candidates reported out of previous panels:

Hon. Suzanne Adams
Hon. Althea Drysdale
Hon. Lyle Frank
Hon. Judy Kim
Hon. Sabrina Kraus
Hon. Lou Nock
Hon. Dakota Ramseur
Hon. Cori Weston