Brooklyn Young Democrats back Brooklyn’s own Brad Lander in NYC mayor’s race

Brooklyn Young Democrats became the only young Democratic club in New York City to endorse in the ranked-choice mayoral primary this week, positioning Comptroller Brad Lander at the top of its slate and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani second. The endorsements are the latest instance in which the club has operated contrary to Brooklyn Democratic Party leadership.

“Brad has been such a progressive and effective leader with so much experience leading with empathy,” said Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio, president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats, which represents Democrats ages 16 to 35 in Kings County. “It shows that young people are hungry for that progressive, effective manager with a proven track record of delivering and also being very reform-minded.” 

Rounding out its slate of five candidates – determined in a recent vote by the club’s more than 200 dues paying members – Brooklyn Young Democrats ranked state Sen. Zellnor Myrie next, followed by City Council Member Adrienne Adams in fourth, and state Sen. Jessica Ramos fifth. The club shared the ranking with City & State ahead of its spring fundraiser Thursday evening.

While the powerful county organization has not collectively weighed in on the mayoral race, Brooklyn Democratic Party Boss Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn announced in March that she’d be backing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She had previously been one of Mayor Eric Adams’ most loyal allies.

In 2021, the Brooklyn Democratic Party sought to sever ties with Brooklyn Young Democrats – then its official youth arm – after months of clashes over reforms and disagreements over which candidates to endorse. The progressive political club is still recognized as the official Brooklyn chapter of the Young Democrats of America, New York State Young Democrats, New York State Democratic Party and the DNC – though Bichotte Hermelyn has refused to sign off on its charter in the years since (the club is chartered with New York State Young Democrats).

Calzadilla-Palacio said that finding the most effective way to leverage ranked-choice voting was important to Brooklyn Young Democrats – particularly at a time where many voters are still confused about how the process works. To do so, the club adopted a constitutional amendment earlier this month to specifically allow members to rank a slate of candidates as opposed to just backing a single individual. A number of other elected officials and political organizations have stopped short of endorsing a full ranked slate of candidates. The Working Families Party for example released a slate of four candidates earlier this spring, but has yet to rank any of them – and might not end up doing so at all. 

“This is a moment to take bold stances in putting our support and using the full power of the ranked order just like it appears on our ballot to give young people and everyone a sense of where we stand,” Calzadilla-Palacio said.

Brooklyn Young Democrats also voted to endorse Brooklyn City Council Member Justin Brannan in the comptroller’s race and incumbent Jumaane Williams (also of Brooklyn) as public advocate.