Minutes from the New York County Meeting of the 30th Senate District

On March 11, 2017 the members of the New York County Democratic Committee in the 30th Senate District met to elect a Democratic candidate for the Special Election in the 30th SD. Want to join the Committee? Manhattan Young Democrats helps people of all ages get involved.

Below are the minutes of the event and the submitted nomination form declaring Brian Benjamin the Democratic candidate for the 30th SD Special Election.

You can also watch the full livestream of the event.

See Minutes full screen.

Minutes of the 30th SD Meeting on 3/11/17

2017 Civil Court Independent Screening Panel

The New York County Democratic Committee has announced the formation of an Independent Screening Panel to report on candidates for nomination by the Democratic Party for

    • two (2) New York county-wide Civil Court vacancies
    • and one (1) Municipal Civil Court District vacancy,

which will be filled in the November general election. The heads of numerous bar associations, community’s 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 nine most highly qualified candidates for the three (3) Civil Court vacancies.

Candidates for the Court may obtain applications, via email, from the administrator of the panel:

Tanya M. Branch, Esq., at Brody& Branch LLP,
205 Lexington Avenue 4 th Floor, New York, NY 10016,
telephone number (212) 679-7007;
Email: Tanyabranch@brodybranch.com.

Questions concerning this year’s panel should be directed to the Panel Administrator, or the New York County Democratic Committee office at (212) 687-6540.

The deadline for submitting completed Civil Court applications is Friday, March 10, 2017 at 5PM.

2016 New York County Supreme Court Independent Judicial Screening Panel Report

The First Department of the Appellate Division of the State of New York is home to the finest members of the New York State Bar. New York County is filled with brilliant attorneys who aspire to the civil court, transcend to the supreme court, enhance the appellate division and ultimately shape the nation on the New York State Court of Appeals. New York County jurists have also done remarkable things on the federal bench.

In 2016, New York County saw candidates and sitting jurists with unprecedented talent and legal acumen. Many have changed the course of history, providing society with brave interpretations of the law and delivering justice in their various courtrooms. The independent judicial screening process employed by the New York County Democratic Committee has served this County, City, State and Country well. On behalf jolietta in canada of the New York County Democratic Committee and the people of the 1st Judicial District, we thank all those involved, particularly the hundreds of volunteer panel members who have served since 1977, for raising the bar for jurists and the administration of justice nation wide.

Thank you also to the panel and its administrator, Cyril K. Bedford, Esq. for their diligent work.

On July 19, 2016 the New York County Supreme Court Independent Judicial Screening Panel met and began the process of screening candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party, at its Judicial Convention to be filled in the November General election. The panel screened four incumbents and several candidates for five vacancies on the New York State Supreme Court, 1st Judicial District (New York County). The following individuals were designated to serve on the panel by the corresponding organizations:

Anthony P. Luckie, Columbian Lawyers Association
Bruce N. Lederman, Jewish Lawyers Guild
Christine Bae, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
Christoper Carrion, Domincan Bar Association
Daniela Nanau, National Employment Lawyers Association/New York
Deborah Riegel. Esq., New York City Bar Association
Diana Wong, Asian Americans for Equality
Elba Galvan, Esq., National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter
Josh Silber, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rican Bar Association
Kenny Louis, Women’s City Club
Lesley Horton Campbell, Esq., NAACP, Mid Manhattan Branch
Marea L. Wachsman, Esq., Women’s Trial Lawyer Caucus
Meredith Miller, The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (Le-Gal)
Merium Malik, Esq., Muslim Bar Association of New York City
Micahel A. Mosberg, Esq., American Academy of Matrimonial Law
Shu’aib Abdur-Raheem, Fortune Society
Dai Wai Chin Feman, Asian American Bar Association of New York
Trina Moore, Association of Black Women Attorneys
Brenda Gill, Fordham Law School

On August 30th, the Independent Judicial Screening Panel reported that the service of incumbents, Hon. Rolando T. Acosta, Hon. Rosalyn Richter and Hon. Troy Webber merit continuation. The Panel also reported the following candidates as most highly qualified for the six vacancies on the New York State Supreme Court, 1st Judicial District:

Anthony Cannataro
David Cohen
Melissa Crane
Erika Edwards
Paul Goetz
Shawn Kelly
Gerald Lebowitz
Verna Saunders
Jennifer Schecter
Adam Silvera
Lisa Sokoloff
Machelle Sweeting
Alex Tisch

Curtis Arluck & Louise Dankberg
Chair & Co-Cair
Judiciary Committee
New York County Democratic Committee

New York County Democratic Committee Independent Screening Panel for State Supreme Court Vacancies

 

The New York County Democratic Committee has announced the formation of an Independent Screening Panel to report on candidates for nomination by the Democratic Party for one incumbent and four vacancies on the New York State Supreme Court vacancies, 1st Judicial District (New York County), which will be filled in the November general election. The chief operation officer of numerous bar associations, community organizations, and law schools designated the following members to the panel, which will report no more than the twelve most highly qualified candidates for the three Civil Court vacancies and review whether the incumbent’s service merits continuation.

Anthony P. Luckie, Columbian Lawyers Association
Bruce N. Lederman, Jewish Lawyers Guild
Christine Bae, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
Christoper Carrion, Puerto Rican Bar Association
Daniela Nanau, National Employment Lawyers Association/New York
Deborah Riegel. Esq., New York City Bar Association
Diana Wong, Asian Americans for Equality
Elba Galvan, Esq., National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter
Josh Silber, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
Juan Gonzalez, Hispanic Bar Association
Kenny Louis, Women’s City Club
Kersuze Morancy, Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Lesley Horton Campbell, Esq., NAACP, Mid Manhattan Branch
Marea L. Wachsman, Esq., Women’s Trial Lawyer Caucus
Meredith Miller, The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (Le-Gal)
Merium Malik, Esq., Muslim Bar Association of New York City
Micahel A. Mosberg, Esq., American Academy of Matrimonial Law
Nial MacGiollabhui, Esq., Brehon Law Society
Shu’aib Abdur-Raheem, Fortune Society
Susan Bender, New York Women’s Bar Association
Dai Wai Chin Feman
Trina Moore
Brenda Gill

2016 Supreme Court Independent Screening Panel

The New York County Democratic Committee has announced the formation of an Independent Screening Panel to report on candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party for one incumbent and four vacancies on the New York State Supreme Court, 1st Judicial District (New York County), which will be filled in the November general election. 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 fifteen most highly qualified candidates for the five vacancies and review whether the incumbents service merit continuation.

Candidates for the Court may obtain applications from the Administrator of the panel, Mr.
Cyril K. Bedford, via email at KBedford@BedfordSoumas.com​​beginning July 7, 2016 at 10AM.

Questions concerning this year’s panel should be directed via email to the Panel Administrator or the New York County Democratic Committee office at (212) 687­6540. The deadline for submitting completed applications is July 18, 2016, 2PM.

 

Why All The Elections?

The next Election is June 28th for the Congressional Primary. Why are there so many this year?

Although the NY Presidential Primary was concluded in April, our State still has three more elections ahead of it:

– A Congressional Primary Tuesday, June 28
– A State Primary Tuesday, September 13
– The General Election Tuesday, November 8

Why all the elections? The Presidential Primary is set by the Democratic Party and has been around the same time every four years for decades; that was expected. The General Election, too, happens in early November every four years.

The packed schedule is the result of Congressional Primary splitting with the State Primary. In 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act to ensure military personnel (and anyone else abroad) would get their absentee ballots with enough time to vote.

Specifically, the MOVE Act requires ballots to be sent out 45 days before a Federal election (primary or general). And, of course, you can’t send out a General Election ballot until you know who won the primary. Since the State Primary, Sept 13, is not 45 days before Federal General Election a new date was required. The legislature decided to make it the old State Primary date of June 28.

That means this coming Tuesday there are four Manhattan Districts with primaries:

  • 7 (Nydia Velazquez); Lower Manhattan
  • 10 (Jerry Nadler); Lower/Midtown Manhattan mainly W. side
  • 12 (Carolyn Maloney); Lower/Upper Manhattan mainly E. side
  • 13 (Former Charlie Rangel); Harlem

 Find your congressional district here.

You might wonder “why not move both primaries to a new day?” Well, that was tried. It passed the Democratic Assembly and failed in the Republican Senate. Sadly, this will likely result in much lower turnout. Unless, of course, you help us get people out to vote!

Lone Voter
Let’s hope voter turnout doesn’t suffer.

5/22/16 Executive Board Meeting Recap

This past Sunday, May 22, the County Executive Board met to endorse candidates in the primary election for Civil Court Judge and approve the Party Call.

Civil Court Endorsements
Josh Hanshaft Esq. and Emily Morales-Minerva Esq. have received the endorsement of the NY County Party for the Countywide Civil Court vacancies.

They will run in the upcoming primary with the support of the Democratic Clubs and county organization which will help them petition and turn out voters for their win.

Should they win the primary, they will then proceed to the general election as the Democratic candidate.

The Party Call
The “Party Call” lists all of the available Judicial Delegate, Judicial Delegate Alternate and State Committee positions.These party positions will be elected during the Primary in September.

Judicial Delegates are proportional to the Democratic voter turnout (how many ppl vote for the Dem) in the last Gubernatorial election by district.

State Committee is two per Assembly District (Male and Female).

Meeting Live Tweets

Democratic Clubs III: It’s That Easy

Last time, our friend Keiko decided to get involved with a local Democratic Club. But there are two Clubs in her Assembly District — which one represents her?

To be an official Club, the Club has to be affiliated with an elected Democratic District Leader. You can find a list of the district leaders elected in Manhattan County HERE.

Each District Leader represents a neighborhood which is called an Assembly District Part. Figuring out the Part lines can be a bit tricky, so it may make the most sense to e-mail our County Secretary at manhattandems@gmail.com and ask which Part you live in.

In Keiko’s District, there are four Leaders representing two Parts: Kim Moscaritolo & Adam Roberts, and Jill Eisner & John Halebian. Remember, each district leaders’ job is to engage with the Democrats in their district, so you should never feel hesitation in reaching out.

Keiko, lives in the Part jointly represented by Kim Moscaritolo and Adam Roberts. She remembers Adam — when he was gathering signatures last year, she bumped into him and traded e-mails. Now it’s as easy as reaching out! She finds his information on the District Leader page (or, if it’s missing contacts manhattandems@gmail.com) and send hims a note.

“Dear Adam,” Keiko writes, “I’m a Democrat and I live on 80th & 2nd. Am I in your district? Which club am I in? I want to get more involved, what should I do next?”

Now, we just wait for Adam to write back — and then we take it from there.

How a Judge Becomes a Judge Part 1: Civil Court

One of the most honorable duties of the New York County Democratic Committee is to endorse candidates in the Democratic Primary for Civil Court Judge races. Since Judicial races are often under most peoples’ radar, these endorsements can be very important.

In Manhattan, we have a marquee process. The Judicial Committee, a sub-committee of the County Committee composed of a District Leader from each Assembly District (AD), creates an independent screening panel, attended by representatives from third party organizations. The panel proceeds with a thorough review of all applicants and endorses between two and three candidates for each open seat; some of which are County wide and some of which fall within specific districts (but we’ll get into that another time).

Next, the County Executive Board (composed of all the District Leaders and the elected County Leader) votes on which of these candidates will be the endorsed candidate in the Primary. The winner of that, of course, goes to run in the general election. The winner of that, is a judge.

Sound complicated? Here’s a handy graphic.

Civil Court Infographic 3

 

2016 Civil Court Independent Judicial Screening Panel Report

On April 5, 2016, the Independent Judicial Civil Court Screening Panel met and began the process of screening candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party for two (2) New York County-wide Civil Court vacancies, one vacancy in the 4th Civil Court District, and two incumbents in the 2nd and 4th Civil Court Districts, to be filled in the November 8, 2016 General Election. The following individuals were designated to the panel:

  • Albert Barruceco, Hispanic National Bar Association, Region II
  • Dana M. Catanzaro, Columbian Lawyers Association
  • Stacey Charland, Neighborhood Defenders Service of Harlem
  • Joshua Crespo, New York Urban League
  • Khalil El Assaad, New York Law School
  • Patricia Fersch, New York Women’s Bar Association
  • Alan Greenberg, Jewish Lawyer’s Guild
  • Irving Hirsch, City Bar Association of New York
  • Emily Hoffman, Community Service Society of New York
  • Chris Kwok, AABANY
  • Arnold Levine, Criminal Bar Association
  • Cynthia Liang Weaver, Asian Americans for Equality
  • David Oddo, New York State Trial Lawyers
  • Wanda Sanchez Day, Puerto Rican Bar Association
  • Chul Pak, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
  • Karol Robinson, Association of Black Women Attorneys
  • Crystal Shipp, NAACP Mid Manhattan Branch
  • Asha Smith, Metropolitan Black Bar Association
  • Nasreen Syed, South Asian Bar Association of New York
  • Michael Weiner, LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (Le-Gal)

On May 3, 2016, the Independent Judicial Screening Panel for Civil Court reported that the service of incumbents, Hon. Eileen Rakower in the 4th Civil Court District and Hon. Margaret Chan in the 2nd Civil Court District merit continuation. The Panel also reported the following candidates as most highly qualified for two (2) county-wide Civil Court vacancies and a single vacancy in the 4th Civil Court District:

  • Judy Kim, Esq.
  • Phaedra Perry Esq.
  • Josh Hanshaft Esq.
  • Emily Morales-Minerva Esq.
  • Robert Rosenthal Esq.
  • Nicholas Moyne Esq.
  • Shahabuddeen Ally Esq.

Thank you to the panel and its administrator, Lucas A Ferrara, Esq. for their diligent work.

Sincerely,
Curtis Arluck and Louise Dankberg
Co-Chairs, Judiciary Committee