Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn backs Nikki Lucas as Brooklyn Dems chair

Having declared that she will no longer run for reelection as county leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn is backing Assembly Member Nikki Lucas to succeed her, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter.

Bichotte Hermelyn and allied members of the party’s executive committee met virtually Monday night for more than two hours to discuss who would take over, and Lucas was the only name put forward, said an attendee who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Bichotte Hermelyn unexpectedly announced her plans to not seek reelection as party leader during a Monday night interview on NY1’s Inside City Hall – the latest twist in what’s been months of drama and infighting rocking the county organization. The party’s executive committee is currently slated to meet Tuesday evening to officially vote for a new chair. And after Bichotte Hermelyn pushed controversial rules changes in the lame duck period to put more people aligned with her on the executive committee, whoever Bichotte Hermelyn backs would be expected to emerge victorious – unless her opponents in the reform faction convince the courts to stop what they argue is an illegal vote. 

In an interview with City & State late Monday night, Bichotte Hermelyn declined to specifically confirm that Lucas would be the leader, but praised her record and connections. 

“Well, I can't put the cart before the horse, but if (Lucas) is a candidate, I think she's more than likely to get the support of a lot of people,” Bichotte Hermelyn said, calling Lucas a “a legislator who's running who has a lot of ties to the speaker of the Assembly, who has ties to the Congressman (Hakeem Jeffries) who has been rooted in the community and who has a lot of support. So it’s a good look.”

Lucas did not respond to requests for comment.

While Bichotte Hermelyn didn’t name a specific person as her successor in the earlier interview with NY1, she pointed to Lucas and several others “as great options.” She’d also mentioned Assembly Members Kalman Yeger and Jamie Williams – both conservative Democrats – and state Sen. Roxanne Persaud. 

Lucas has been discussed as a potential successor for months. Both are Black women serving in the Assembly, and Lucas was first elected to the legislature in 2022 with the support of the powerful House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Lucas is considered a mainstream Democrat, unlike Williams, who’s previously run on the Republican and Conservative party lines as well as Democratic, and who backed Republican Curtis Sliwa in last year’s mayoral race.

“I am leaving the party in that capacity a stronger, more inclusive, more transparent party and I am just really excited," Bichotte Hermelyn told NY1. "We have a number of qualified candidates. We have legislators. We have former legislators and former state committee members who can also run for that position."

Bichotte Hermelyn purposefully left out Julio Peña III, the district leader who the reform faction had put forward as their pick for county leader. The reformers, organized with the New Kings Democrats club, felt confident they could elect Peña after winning a majority of the seats on the executive committee in the June election. Then Bichotte changed the rules to ensure that her side would still have a majority. The reformers sued to stop it, and while they won the case, Bichotte Hermelyn’s side appealed, and the court allowed the county party to proceed under her rules for now.

But the reformers are still putting their faith in the court. Hoping to delay the vote for party chair, lawyers for the coalition seeking to elect Peña plan to petition the court for a stay on Tuesday night’s meeting, according to Mark Hanna, a district leader and lawyer representing the group. There’s no guarantee their request will be granted, given the existing stay that’s been in place since Sept. 15. Bichotte Hermeylyn argued the court should let the party work out its own issues. 

“You can't keep running to court because you don't like rules. I think the appellate division and the courts are going to say enough is enough,” she told City & State. “I mean, like, come on now, it's politics. Deal with it.”

The New Kings Democrats, unsurprisingly, is opposed to Bichotte Hermelyn naming any one as her successor.

“Let us be clear: Brooklyn needs a fair vote by the elected District Leaders,” the group wrote on X. “The Party Chair attempting to pick her own successor after she lost an election isn’t democratic."